..and is infact an essay..written for part of my second year.
So why does it need to be here?
well.. I wanted to 'set the scene' as it were to make my future posts make any sense. I was going to do this step by step but I felt the essay summed up my intial ideas so here it is for your viewing pleasure! (I promise there will be no more 3300word entries from this point forth!)
Pinhole Photography- A Journey to Explain the Essence of Photography.
As a photographer taking a technically perfect photo is undoubtedly an art but does it convey the essence of photography?
As my predominant medium I feel under obligation to discover what it is about photography that motivates me to make art. A task which will continually evolve as time passes and will open my mind to both traditional and more expressive ways of working with cameras. Obviously this requires a starting point and I have decided that going back to the roots of my practice is a logical base to do so. As I'm sure we have all experienced, science lessons in school touch on the basic physics of how light reacts with a hole to produce an image. However it is not satisfying to purely be handed this nugget of information and just accept it, I needed to experience this primitive photography for myself . This essay will outline my exploration and draw conclusions throughout concerning what I have experienced so far.
I initially began building various camera obscuras as a way to physically experience the science. Essentially the obscura is a dark box or room with a hole in one end, if small enough, the light penetrating the hole will create an inverted image of the outside surroundings. After transforming my bedroom and creating a more portable box obscura I have been able to get a feel for this spectacle. The inverted image plays with ones perceptions, seeing the world from a different perspective is a surreal feeling. This idea of viewing the outside world sheltered from the elements is quite fascinating, creating a timeless piece of art, turning the familiar into an ever changing canvas of ones choice.
Times Square in Hotel Room, 1997
Abelardo Morell is a particularly influential artist who works in this way, creating obscuras in hotel rooms all over the globe, seamlessly bringing the culture of unfamiliar territory into a safe, personal space. Transforming predictable spaces into private, living pieces of art which show the rhythm of each location. The rooms used in his images are, to me, relatively mundane. Even though some are located in prestigious, well recognised Hotels, they are still only temporary accommodation, lacking the personality of a residential home. However, once the camera obscura is in place the rooms are transformed into the sublime. The bland interior is overpower by the organised chaos of nature and architecture. I think this is enhanced by the fact the imagery is inverted. It further plays with the senses. Not only is it surreal to see the outdoors whilst indoors in this manner but we also would not be familiar with the surroundings upside down. The projected image also covers every surface which creates new textures, distorted imagery creating new fabrics and design. This transformation of a space gives it an enhanced feeling of status and it is this idea which has given me such respect for the artist. The only negative about this work, in my opinion, is that we do not ever experience these majestic rooms for ourselves. If one was in the room it would be possible to witness changes in the environment. The spectacle of becoming part of the image would also enhance ones viewing experience, being part of those incredible spaces. Unfortunately this is obviously not practical. “When I am making a picture I am just interested in making a very interesting photograph. I don't care where it's going to go. I feel like I am in a lucky position to do whatever I want. And, if the results please, that's fine. But I am just interested in making my own very personal take on something interesting to others.” (Abelardo Morell 2003) This statement from the artist suggests that his satisfaction comes from producing the image not necessarily the display to an audience. I feel this relates strongly to my own work. I do not always necessarily set out to make art with an audience in mind, particularly with my current studies. I see my photography as a journey to discover not only more about the fundamentals but where my place in the practice actually is. I am inspired by abstraction, perspective and how to view the world in an alternative manner. I would like my work to portray this to a viewer but at this stage in my practice it is a secondary concern. I feel I need to enlighten myself before I can do this for others. The images of Morell's work that we see, in my opinion, are not necessarily the art. The process and the living of the moment are just as poignant. I have found this to be one of the drawbacks of working with camera obscuras. The images are far from permanent, in fact they are ever changing. Which, as an artist, living the moment and creating pieces is fascinating but the way the experience is flattened when presenting it to an audience is a big downside to my practice. However it is something I wish to come back to in the future, being able to share the intimacy with an audience in a successful manner.
At this point I felt I needed a new avenue to explore. The logical transition was to venture into pinhole photography. By nature pinhole photography uses the same scientific principles as the camera obscura in the sense that it is a lens-less process however I feel as a photographer being able to physically capture the image it is much more relevant to my practice. This fundamental difference means that there are many more processes to be tried and decisions to be made. Exploring these avenues is where my studies are currently directed. The initial inspirational artist I researched relative to my work was Justin Quinnell. I first came across his work at college where I partook in a workshop where we made simple cameras from 110 film cartridges. At this time I had very little experience in using film let alone in a camera-less way. His raw enthusiasm to experiment and push the boundaries of his practice opened my eyes to how unique this type of photography is.
Dentist (Date Unknown)
Quinnell's most familiar work is based around these 110 'smiley cam's'. Used inside his mouth they produce images which are instantly surreal to the viewer. His teeth act as a frame to many everyday, fairly intimate scenes. Although they are his most well known work I do not feel that these images sum up why I admire the playful style of working. The slightly vulgar nature personally repels me from the photos although they are a good example of an artist breaking from tradition. Its this idea which has captivated me, the idea of transforming the ordinary by means of a process and the unexpected. As a photographer Quinnell has perfected his understanding of the techniques to the point where he can test the cameras to their limits but sympathetically towards the properties of the different cameras he uses. A good example of this 'rule breaking' is his work with solargraphy.
SS Great Britain (2007-2008)
He utilises a simple beer can pinhole camera, loaded with black and white photographic paper which he then exposes for up to six months at a time. The result is the skyline of Bristol. A very ordinary cityscape contrasting against sun trails showing the rise and fall of the sun and how the seasons effect this, obviously a scene we will never view with the human eye. What I find particularly interesting is how although black and white paper is used the resultant image is coloured. This is something I am finding hard to research as it appears to not be understood by many at all! Six months is an exceptionally long time to expose photographic paper to light. If developed with chemicals the image would simply be black however if a scanner is used a digital image is created. This I find very interesting. One can shoot onto a physical surface but can only then see the result in a digital format, its a strange juxtaposition. These images created are a beautiful and extreme example of how pinhole cameras capture movement, an area I will address later. Quinnell's approach to photography I feel is quite liberating, due to the fairly inexpensive cost of home made cameras. He does not have to be too precious about the way in which he works, and as such he has been known to attach his cameras to just about anything from trains to shopping trolleys to shuttlecocks. Obviously this means some cameras become lost forever and I am sure many rolls of film are wasted but its this desire to experiment and break from the often controlled nature of photography which has really prompted me to ask questions about my own practice. I am very particular in my way of working which often means I probably do not push the boundaries as much as I should through fear of failure and retrogress. Since discovering the freedom associated with pinhole photography I have already started to conquer this by seeing unsuccessful photos as a learning curve. A challenge to re-evaluate the process and work out a more suitable method to get the photo I desire.
I have been building and judging a range of home made cameras. One of the most successful being the 110 canister camera I touched upon earlier, used by Justin Quinnell. The camera is very simple purely utilising the physical attributes of the cartridge, as shown in the picture below.
The other noteworthy camera is crafted using 35mm film and canisters reminiscent of the 'Dirkon' camera published in 'An ABC of young technicians and natural scientists' in 1979 which was popular as it made pinhole photography easily accessible to the masses. This camera is far more work to produce but due to 35mm film being most easily accessible its the cheaper of the two.
Both of these cameras are incredibly primitive on many levels, they lack the mechanical features of a camera one is used to. For me the most prominent being no viewfinder. When ordinarily taking photos it is standard to spend an amount of time choosing a composition. I am very particular about this however pinhole cameras have a 170 degree field of view as well as an unlimited depth of field. Definitely a benefit of shooting without a lens but also a trait which gives the resultant image an element of chance. There is nothing on these cameras to aid the image capturing process, no light meters or pre-programmed settings. Although initially I found this very daunting it means I have entire creative input over the images I am producing, there are no calculations made for me. All the decisions are under my control. I have to take into account everything; from the size of my pinhole (aperture), the amount of time I expose the film according to this as well as the conditions I am shooting under, all the way to which film is most suitable to the images I want to produce. This means I have really gotten to grips with the basics of taking a technically correct photograph as I have had to make these fundamental decisions in an educated manner instead of purely relying on the settings or tools on my cameras. It is liberating to feel in control in this sense but the opposing factor to this is the nature of shooting on film. Unlike what I am used to with digital cameras it is not possible to instantly sample what you have just taken, it is unnatural to wait. This anticipation is both exciting and nerve racking, for me it really puts into perspective the importance of taking a photo and why we do it. One takes a photo to capture a moment, these moments are all unique. By using pinhole as a medium there is a relatively high risk that this moment may be in a sense lost by a mistake made whilst using the cameras. By having to wait to see the images due to processing, whether this is done personally or by a lab, the photos become more precious feeling. A photo to many of us is not just the physical print we have in front of us, its the emotional attachment to a fond memory which makes a photo feel special. Our subconscious binds a period of time to one image which elevates its status. The impact the photo has to the photographer is undoubtedly going to be different to that of just a viewer who does not necessarily have this emotional connection to the piece.
A creative Mistake, 35mm experiment (2010)
110 Experiment (2009)
I am inspired by the freedom of lens-less photography. Starting from the basics my experimentation has taught me the properties of pinhole photography. I find them refreshing particularly compared to my extensive use of a digital SLR. Firstly pinhole photography has an infinite depth of field due to the lack of a lens; everything in a composition is in focus. This can be utilized to create imagery which plays with ones perception. Creating views of the world we simply could not see with the human eye. One can shoot from very close range to create bizarre compositions, anything in the foreground becomes enlarged to the size of items in the distance to play with what one thinks is normal. This idea of playing with what is expected is something I wish to pursue. I want to 'edit' the world in which we live in manually through selective photo shoots which exaggerate this property, as well as capturing the mundane in interesting ways. Due to the long exposure time needed when working in this way movement can be given a form on film. The movement becomes a ghostly deposit, it is transformed into a series of shapes and although abstract it becomes a pure recording of a moment in time, something we usually would not be aware of in a photograph. This links rather well to my thoughts above, about what a photograph actually means. Pinhole photography quite literally captures minutes of time onto film whilst exposing and records the movement in a way we are not used to and our eyes are not able to do. In a sense this edits the memory. This ability to capture time beyond vision can transform the busiest of spaces into one of solitude purely by process. This way of creating contrast in a piece is an area I am going to push further within my practice.
An artist who I feel has definitely tested the boundaries of pinhole photography is Thomas Bachler. He takes these properties I have spoken about and utilizes them in a sympathetic manner. Pushing the specific quality to create a diverse range of images his experiments with long exposure are particularly interesting.
Bon Voyage 01 (Date Unknown)
One example is a series of photos taken from the back of his truck which he has modified into a camera. These photos are of course very abstract in appearance and may initially seem to lack a purpose to the viewer but when you take into consideration that these images have captured a whole journey they feel more complete. I appreciate how a journey can be given a form in this way. That a period of time is permanently recorded and can be physically held. Another example of this idea is a piece where Bachler sends a pinhole camera package in the mail, thus recording a journey we will never experience. In a sense he is giving a visual to what is unknown. The viewer will never witness these journeys as they are personal to either the artist or package however it is translated and shared in a discernible way. The abstract pieces are actually the markings of time. Bachler works in a way that compliments the properties I have discussed. I find his approach to the process intriguing. His work is not just photography, it is contextualised by the unconventional methods used, for example using his mouth as a camera.
The Third Eye - Self Portrait (Date Unknown)
Placing a piece of light sensitive paper in his mouth and creating a pinhole with his lips to capture his reflection in a mirror. It is this pure experimental slant which draws me to his work, it is pinhole photography but with an intellectual twist and has prompted me to think about the context of my own work. I intend to push what can be achieved and aim to show an audience that this type of photography is not just an experiment carried out in school.
Whilst extensively working with film I have also modified my Digital SLR into a pinhole camera so I could experience the differences in the mediums.
Untitled (2009)
Untitled (2009)
This turned out to be a very prominent moment in my studies as the contrast began to answer the question I set out to answer concerning the essence of photography. For one, shooting digitally was simply far less exciting. The instantaneous nature of the photos was of course useful as I could see whether or not what I was capturing was successful but this just sucked the anticipation and excitement out of the whole process. I noticed that I took a much larger quantity of photos as I subconsciously must have been aware I had far more opportunity on a memory card as opposed to a film. This meant I considered composition less as I knew if it wasn't pleasing I could simply just take it again. I also felt almost distanced from what I was doing. I think part of this is because less intervention is required on my part, even when it just comes down to not removing and replacing my primitive shutter and winding on my film with a paper clip every time I captured an image. The exposure time is a lot shorter when capturing an image onto the CCD opposed to film, the minutes that passed when shooting in film were therapeutic yet productive as I has no choice but to wait and evaluate what I was doing. These small changes just made the whole experience feel flat in comparison. I think this might be because they lacked the quirk of creative mistakes. The images themselves are a lot more clinical looking. We would all recognise a photo taken on film, they have a certain quality to them, a far more aged appearance as well as the added texture of blemishes on the film. The digital images lack this and in turn I feel they appear flat and uninteresting. The nature of my home made cameras means that there are impurities, particularly where the film is framed inside my camera. Although I took a great deal of care to make this as square as possible without machine intervention the edges do appear rough in places. This is exaggerated on film, especially when enlarged into prints, but I do not necessarily think this is a negative. I think it accentuates the primitive feel of the photos. I do feel pinhole photography is a very expressive medium due to the abstraction in the images, the process is quite free and I only think the chapped edges add to this. Not only do they frame the image, they are a realisation of the process that has occurred, showing where the light has not contacted the film. Educating myself in this process has been my main goal throughout my second year studies so a physical reminder of it adds an emotional layer to my work. The lack of this emotion in the digital images is disappointing but reaffirms why I am working predominantly working without mechanical parts. I have learnt there are things I can do using film and my home made cameras which I simply could not recreate digitally. This realisation is one step towards finding out what the essence of photography means to me. Pinhole photography has opened my eyes to an alternative way of viewing the world, one I feel will dominate my practise for a considerable time.
