Printing with sandwiched negatives

From my test and confirmation strips I have determined that I will need to expose this image for around 35 seconds at grade 2.5. As my strips dried they fell of the wall and onto a bench worktop. When I picked them up I realised that they had patches of gloss. This really surprised me since as it is matt paper, maybe there was something on the worktop that left chemical residue on the paper and dried glossy.

Gloss on left.

 Gloss on left.

Gloss on lower right corner.

This is my first full sized print. It doesn't look too bad, one of the negatives is placed slightly too far into the other image and looks strange, I feel that there is too much white, I may have to split grade print. After repositioning I have quickly gone over the negatives with a fine brush to get the dust off.

The second print looked a lot better. I switched the grade 2.5 exposure to 30 seconds and 5 seconds at grade 00, however I think it still needs slightly more mid tones, I will try 27 seconds to 8 seconds.

Both prints 1 and 2 fell of the drying cord overnight which has dented a corner on both. Print 2 was face down on the floor. Something has effected print 2 whilst drying, it looks like chemical burns, possibly bleach that is used to clean the floor. Overall more pegs are required to hold the weight of the paper and water.

Print 3 has a lot of dust and hair marks from the negative so I am going to have to clean them again. However the paper is quite flat, this may be the best method to dry them.

I am starting to get a little frustrated with this print because I am using a lot of paper and time, I am going to make everything perfect with this print. I have cleaned and positioned the negatives correctly. I washed my hands before I handle the paper out the bag, expose the image and slide it into the developer. I stood with the trays and gently agitated them, just before I have to transfer it to the stop I wash my hands again, then I stay with it, wash my hands again before sliding it into the fix. Once again washing my hands before popping it in the wash. I am putting it in the wash upside down since as the paper floats so that I know it is completely washed. I left it in the wash for at lest 30 minutes before taking it out to view. So far it looks almost perfect, there are 3 small dust marks but they are unnoticeable from a distance. Hopefully it dries correctly.

Which it has, the print is relatively flat and has barely any marks or stains. I am very pleased with this final outcome.

Display and finals decision

This set of images is the safe bet just in case I cant get my multiple exposure images done in time. These are all strong images that are asexual so they don't suggest the sex of the model therefore it is unsexualised.

This last template is the strongest three images from all that I have taken in my opinion however the movement image looks out of place against the other two.

After measuring these images up on the wall it would be a very tight squeeze to fit any of the above templates. If the student next to me has work that is spread out then my work will look cramped.

After measuring the intended print size up against the proposed wall it turns out that I won't be able to have three in a column because one would be on the floor.

 I feel that this template would look awkward because the two images above are collectively wider than the bottom image if it was to scale.

This is the only template that won't look awkward or squashed. It includes 2 of my favourite pieces and I think that they compliment each other especially if I can print them correctly. However I am determined to get my motion image into the show so I will have to ask, request and take any chance I can get to have that image included.

Printing

I have decided that I am going to do the printing myself which means that I will have to buy very big paper and for greater quality I will also have to use fibre based paper. FB paper is very sensitive to touch, flexing and chemicals so I will have to be very careful with it. 

I have decided that due to limitations in the darkroom and cost I am going to buy and use this paper. However I don't think that I need 50 sheets. As I was talking to a tutor she showed interest in it and proposed to split the price in half for half the sheets; I agreed to this proposition.

FB paper has a tendency to curl and wrinkle as it dries so if I can make it dry as flat as possible and get it heat pressed onto a mount board with an adhesive tissue in between then it shouldn't be a problem.

Fifth Shoot

Using a Bronica ETRS medium format camera I was able to produce 15 images.

I find that the multiple exposure images from this shoot was simply too surreal or gave the wrong message to the audience however the motion images that I have experimented with are very strong. 13 and 14 are too detailed and show the identity of the model which isn't what I wanted and 12 was poorly timed. However 11 was perfectly timed, doesn't show details and has stages in the exposure giving it the impression of a multiple exposure instead of a 1 second exposure.

Forth Shoot

I was using a Bronica ETRS medium format camera. Very few of these images were exposed or developed successfully.

From this I found that it would be a lot harder than expected to take strong images as a lot of these are much too confusing, I would class most of them as surreal pieces. Some of them have a strange bubble effect over them which is most likely from the development stage. If not enough developer was used then this might happen. Since as I cannot confirm how this effect occurred and most are not as strong as previous images I have taken so I won't be using any of these.

Pierre Boucher

After viewing a lot of Boucher's work I can determine that he was a great admirer of the female form as a large percentage of it included women's body and/or face. I would also regard him as an avant garde photographer; meaning that he experimented greatly with different techniques and subjects.He has contributed a lot to the photography culture determining what is acceptable and possible with modern and contemporary photography.

This image is called Two Nudes (overlapped) and was taken in 1935 which would suggest that this image was taken on film. I really admire the skill that is took to make this image. As single images I understand how hard it is to get these positions without creating lens flare from the light as I have previously attempted single images like this. One image is an angled view of the models back, bum, upper thighs and shoulders. The other is a side view of her with her arm up and shoulders angled inwards slightly revealing a toned back, it also shows the side of her breast and bum. One image has the model completely illuminated from the right and lower left whilst the other has the very edge of her skin illuminated so that the rest of the body is covered in shadow, I am sure there is another source of light from above the model as well displayed on the raised arm. Using the light tones from the first image is also shows details of the other that might not have been visible before. Since as he was an avant garde; it would explain the reasoning behind the double exposure. The subject is directly in the middle of the image where the model seems to blend into one and the shapes merge.

Third shoot

I wanted to test some film that I have never used before because of work by Paul Himmel where the grain makes a texture on the image and diffuses the detail in the image. I was using Ilford Delta 3200 on my Olympus OM10 35mm camera. Due to the effects that appeared during the last shoot I was really interested to see the result. 

These show that the camera still works as it should and the effects in the last shoot must have just been an anomaly. Attempting to recreate some of Himmels work was unsuccessful so I decided to attempt my own style again. Two images have appeared to be quite strong however I am unsure if they are strong enough. 

 I find this image very angelic if you take it that the hand is her own. If not; and you take it as it is someone else's hand I think this image becomes quite sinister. It feels like someone is trying to claim her or take the innocence from her. This could even be interpreted as a child becoming a woman.

I really like this image because of it's simplicity. The subject is only on the right leaving the left as space to emphasis the importance that her standing there might communicate. Focus on the subject is very soft, which is a feature of the film and the amount of grain that it produces. I think that it might have been more effective if I hadn't cut the models curve off the edge of the frame but I still think its very effective.

These images are still too similar to the sort of work I have previously produced. I think that I will continue with the multiple exposure work as the images are very strong, appealing, test my ability on taking the images and selecting which are best overall.