Pinhole!

My pinhole image. Just in case you can't tell, the object under the wheel of the bicycle is my hat. I stayed outside for approximately 5 minutes and 30 second in the first snow storm this year to get this shot.

Digital vs. Film (Have the add photos still)

Film Photo

Digital Photo

(I used the photos of Emilie's, Annie's, and Ali's group because our group's photos messed up and so did our camera, we were unable to finish the series of photographs to complete this assignment)

Many people ask themselves, what's better film or digital photography? Well here are a few points to consider:
-1)Colour
-2)General Contrast
-3)Latitude (Tonal Range)
-4)Sharpness
-5)Resolution
-6)Atmosphere

In class we did our own experiment to see the differences here are my conclusions for each category. Keep in mind when it comes to photography most of the time it is all ones own perspective that will determine what is better or not.

1) Colour:
When we look at a digital image vs a film image we can easily tell which colours are more pleasing to the majority of the viewers' eyes: Digital. Where film has a washed out, dull look about the colours, digital is extremely vibrant and saturated. Humans are very drawn to bright colours, it is more aesthetically pleasing. Also digital colours are more representative to the colours the photographer is actually seeing as they take the photo, even if the colours are just a bit pumped up.

2)General Contrast:
Just like vibrant colours humans are more attracted to things that are highly contrasted. Once again this represents more of what a digital photo can offer a viewer than a film photo.

3)Latitude:
The tonal range of the digital camera is amazing. you get everything from the highlights and the shadows in a smooth transition that offers a lot of detail, which you simply don't get from film.

4)Sharpness:
This is an absurd question. Of course digital is more sharp. You get all the details in a digital photograph (maybe some details you didn't even want) while film is very grainy and generally "softer" than a digital image. Sometimes of course there can be noise captured by a digital image but because it is digital it is easy to get rid of such noise, there are even programs that all you do is click and BAM it's gone!

5)Resolution:
The resolution for digital is once again better, you get every single detail and the photograph size (file size) is bigger. You can work with the image more without destroying it.

6)Atmosphere:
This is the most important part of any image other than it's aesthetic beauty. Both sorts of images have there own feeling and this something that has to do with taste really rather than facts like the other 5 issues dealt with in this blog post. Digital is sharp, upbeat, and very much close to what someone might say is perfection. This appeals to a lot of people and they would probably say digital has the better atmosphere but that is definitely not the only truth. Film has a wonderful old time feel. It is due to all these so called "problems" (such as graininess and dull colours) that give a film photograph this feeling. It makes a photo almost seem timeless, moody and makes one reminisce about their own lives while looking at a film image. So for atmosphere neither is exactly better than the other.

My conclusion is that for quality of an image digital is definitely the way to go, there really is no comparison. As for style and feeling either film or digital is good, for personal taste I would go with film though. The mood is just so genuine and only through editing a digital photograph can you achieve that where film you get that right away. I just really appreciate the time and effort it takes to get such a stunning photograph from a film camera. It takes a lot of thought and experience to get a great shot and it certainly shows.

-Katherine Dydyk

View Camera

My first photo using a View Camera.

The main and most important difference about using a view camera in comparison to the pinhole camera is that you can actually control things (shutter speed and aperture). You can see what your image will look like. It is easier to compose a photograph, and it is much quicker. If you want to photograph inside with a view camera you do not have to wait 30 minutes (approx) to actually get an image like you would if you were using a pinhole camera!

-Katherine Dydyk

Autochrome

Heinrich Kühn, Miss Mary and Edeltrude at the Hill Crest

This image was photographed by the method called Autochrome. Autochrome was the very first process which could produce a colour image though very grainy. This image is mostly of sky and of two people on a hill. They appear to be children. We do not see their faces because they are probably caught up doing something or are simply distracted by the big beautiful clouds in front of them. The image has very soft focus and seems to have been photographed during summer time or perhaps spring.

The intention of the photographer was to photograph something very whimsical. Although the image itself doesn't have anything unusual happening with in the frame the blurry figures and sky is just so dreamy, like child's play. It was photographed to bring back warm memories and to get an emotional reaction of nostalgia.

I think this image is just so cheerful it is hard not to smile while looking at it. When I searched for images this caught my attention right away. It looks almost like a painting and the colours are just so soft, warm and inviting. I thought I should choose something more photographic but I just coming back to this one. It really just grabs my attention. I'm just so curious as to what it is they are doing and I want to be there to enjoy the summer's day along with them.

This image is great. It makes the viewer curious and gives them a sense of wonder. Everyone wishes they could go back to their childhood and re-experience it, this image definitely brings us back to that place of pure comfort and delight. Everything is mystical and possible in the eyes of a child and the white fluffy clouds that seems almost too good to be true re-enforce that thought of our past childhood. The image might have been better if it was just a tiny bit clearer though. I love the fact that it is blurry and that shows how as children we fall between reality and make-believe but it still is photography and it would have been nice to see somethings a little more in focus to show that this isn't a painting. Overall the image is just a joy to look at but because it is TOO blurry I only give it a 7/10.
-Katherine Dydyk

Wet Plate Critique

This is an image produced by using the Wet Plate process. The name says it all, the exposing and developing is done while the thin iron or glass plate is still wet with Collodion. The image itself is a sepia colour and depicts trees and a lake. A lot of importance is placed on the reflection of the lake because this is what makes the image so unusual.

The intention of the photographer is quite clear, he/she wanted to show how strange the way the main tree is bent and the amazing reflection made by the water making it perfectly symmetrical, something rarely found on its own. They wanted to capture this scene just so they had proof that it isn't impossible to find symmetry in nature, which is so chaotic and free of form.

When I first saw this image I couldn't believe it. The image really is symmetrical and that is so bizarre. It looks as if the photographer took one image and then later transformed it into this masterpiece, but they didn't. That symmetry is what makes this photo so wonderful.

Overall I really think this photograph is stunning. It is a photographer's job to record things the viewer wouldn't normally see or never even thought of and this photo does exactly that. As I've stated this is a very rare thing found in nature and if it wasn't for this photograph no one would have been able to see this beauty or even conceived it. This photograph is very stunning and a pleasure to view, not only because of the symmetry but also because of the lovely tones it presents. I could even see myself framing this and putting it on my wall. I give this photo an 8/10.

-Katherine Dydyk

Group f/64

Imogen Cunningham

Ansel Adams


The F64 Group consisted of seven San Francisco photographers: Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, John Paul Edwards, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, Willard Van Dyke, and Edward Weston. They all had the same photographic style, their images were all sharply focused and precisely framed. They formed this group to for two reasons. Number one: they wanted to go up against the more popular Pictorialism style which had dominated much of the early 1900, and number two: they wanted to introduce a new Modernist aesthetic of properly exposed images of the natural form and found objects. . The two photographers who put this group together were Ansel Adams and Willard Van Dyke.


The late 1920s and early 1930s were time of substantial social and economic unrest in the United States, they were going through the Great Depression. The people searched for relief from their everyday hardships. For different reasons the West was seen as the future for economic recovery and people sought out news and images because it was "a land of hope" and gave them something to look forward to. They were increasingly attracted to images of photographers like Ansel Adams, whose strikingly detailed photographs of the American West were seen as "pictorial testimony…of inspiration and redemptive power.

Pinhole

The Old Barn by Scott Speck

"The Old Barn" by Scott Speck is a black and white image of the outside of an old, run down barn and the debris surrounding it. The debris leads the eye deeper into the photograph. Alot of the image is blurred which gives it a nice sense of movement.
I feel like Speck's intention was to show how even the most run down and forgotten places can be beautiful and mesmerizing. Speck also wanted to demonstrate how even beautiful things can be haunting and dangerous.
My initial reaction to the photo is mixed. It is scary and ominous but at the same time the boards that litter the lawn makes me want to go further in.
Overall the photo is amazing. It does what every great photo should: it makes you want to enter inside and discover a whole new world. There is definitely a story behind the photo and it makes you think. This photo is actually something I would consider hanging on my wall.

9/10!

-Katherine Dydyk

This cyanotype image is composed of a few stars, some safety pins, a necklace and a long piece of string. The edges aren't entirely filled with the cyanotype chemicals which makes the image more creative and interesting.In my opinion, Katherine's intention for this beautiful composition was to express the way she sees the world. She's also letting her personality shine in through her image. This photograph is very creatively composed and holds nicely shaped objects. She might have created a bigger effect by bringing the objects closer together, but as is, Katherine's image is very interesting and I give it a score of 8/10

Celia Lavinskas

Anna Atkins

"Dictyota Dichotoma" is an image of algae done by Anna Atkins. She did this by using a printing process called cyanotype which gives the image a bluish hue. It is merely a silhouette.
I'm sure there were many reasons why Anna decided to make this photograph. The main one was to document the world around her and the other reason to show how even the simplest of things, like algae, can be beautiful.
When I look at the image it makes me smile. To see how far we've come is very interesting. The image itself is very wonderful. The blue is a great colour and I love how the algae itself goes from very stark white to a transparent blue. The algae almost looks like snowflakes.
I think the photo is very well done, it is crisp and, although just a silhouette, seems detailed because we get all these different layers of the algae's leaves. I would give this photo an 8/10!