After we had successfully created our contact sheets, we then picked some of our best photographs to enlarge and develop.
I started off with a photograph of a dandelion bed.
To begin enlarging our image, we had to slot our chosen film strip into the negative holder and close it securely, so no excess light passed through.
We then had to adjust the film scanner so our image would be neatly projected into the rectangular light grid, and once we had the image to scale, it was time to focus the image.
To focus our image we had to use a focus-finder so we could see a close-up of our image, as it functioned as a microscope.
We also had to adjust the dial on the side of the film scanner to alter the focus, similar to a pair of binoculars.
Our goal was to have the close-up of our image resemble clear little grains of sand. I found this part quite tricky as I was too small to reach the dial and have my head down looking through the focus-finder at the same time.
I started off with a photograph of a dandelion bed.
To begin enlarging our image, we had to slot our chosen film strip into the negative holder and close it securely, so no excess light passed through.
We then had to adjust the film scanner so our image would be neatly projected into the rectangular light grid, and once we had the image to scale, it was time to focus the image.
To focus our image we had to use a focus-finder so we could see a close-up of our image, as it functioned as a microscope.
We also had to adjust the dial on the side of the film scanner to alter the focus, similar to a pair of binoculars.
Our goal was to have the close-up of our image resemble clear little grains of sand. I found this part quite tricky as I was too small to reach the dial and have my head down looking through the focus-finder at the same time.
To create our photographic prints, we each needed to test how long our photographs need to be exposed to the light, as each photograph may be slightly different, to do this, we turned off the lights and applied a small strip of the light-sensitive paper underneath the window, aligning it up with where the light hits.
We set the timer for 10-20 second intervals so the light could expose the paper to the light, creating a small replica of our negatives. with each 10-20 second exposure, we would set a piece of opaque card on top of a section of our light-sensitive paper, this is so we can see what would look better as an exposure before we waste an entire sheet of the paper. I then repeated the developing process. |
You can see that on the very left of the swatch that the photograph is clear and nicely exposed, whereas the photographs on the far right were very dark.
I believe the far left swatch was 10 seconds of light exposure, I then proceeded to repeat the process again, but with a full sheet of light-sensitive paper, instead of a swatch strip. |
Here is how my photographs turned out.
(I had a difficult time photographing my prints as there was a lot of glare)
(I had a difficult time photographing my prints as there was a lot of glare)
We had to make sure to do a swatch tester sheet for ever photograph, as each one has a different ideal exposure.
I'm really happy with how my photographs turned out, although the photograph of my classmate does have a nasty thumbprint engraved into it, but I now know for next time to be more careful when handling my film negatives, and to try not to touch the photographs themselves in negative form, to prevent any more thumbprints.
I would most certainly love to work with film photography again, it was extremely fun and interesting learning what happens when you send your film canister away to get printed. I really enjoyed the limitation with the film photography, as we could only take a set amount of photographs, each one felt a lot more special as I really had to put a lot of thought into them.
It was also really enjoyable learning something new as I would typically be more inclined to create drawings or traditional art, and it was a throwback to science class in high school, working with the chemicals and getting practical.
I'm really happy with how my photographs turned out, although the photograph of my classmate does have a nasty thumbprint engraved into it, but I now know for next time to be more careful when handling my film negatives, and to try not to touch the photographs themselves in negative form, to prevent any more thumbprints.
I would most certainly love to work with film photography again, it was extremely fun and interesting learning what happens when you send your film canister away to get printed. I really enjoyed the limitation with the film photography, as we could only take a set amount of photographs, each one felt a lot more special as I really had to put a lot of thought into them.
It was also really enjoyable learning something new as I would typically be more inclined to create drawings or traditional art, and it was a throwback to science class in high school, working with the chemicals and getting practical.