Darkroom Vs Digital Darkroom week one...

 Darkroom Vs Digital practices ...

part one

Its that time again when we compare Darkroom with Digital Darkroom techniques. Over the next few weeks in the running of the Easter Holidays, we will be experimenting with different techniques between Darkroom and Digital Darkroom... 

Comparing Darkroom with Digital allows us to look at the difference in techniques, which one gives us the better process depending upon the image we use. Darkroom Practices over the next month will be showing the combination of mixed negatives being printed at the same time or combination of prints being printed at different times onto the same paper. Other techniques will show the differnce between two white borders and a black border along with a sprocket process. 

Each Technique will be an insight to what we can achieve and use for future purpose while studying at college. The techniques that we have learnt will help us when we face the world outside of studies. 

Mondays: Darkroom Techniques 

Tuesdays: Digital Techniques

Which Technique works best for some than others? Let's find out ... 

First week of the new project (19/01/15) I created two new and very different techniques in the darkroom: one sandwich print with dodging and burning the areas that needed either lightening or darkening. The other techniques was creating a Vignette, this required a small cut out circle in a piece of black card while moving it up and down. 

Sandwich Printing with Dodging and Burning

Vignette on sandwich printing.

I enjoyed both processes in the Darkroom, being hands on with the work allows me to get an insight of the techniqe being created. Learning a new technique, seeing how the negatives turn out on the print and seeing whether the technique works for the images selected as well as seeing how to improve for future purpose. 

The Sandwich print with dodging and burning: I selected two very different negatives with strong detail and contrast. The background image is of Tudor Grange house on college campus and the other is of a student. 

When the print came out I was interested to see how the two negatives would work together but they did work really well, the student is a ghost effect with strong contrasting of Tudor Grange. 

When I redid the print, I burned in the trees by blocking out the rest of the print and moving the card quickly left and right to avoid getting a straight line through the print. I also dodged in the student and part of Tudor Grange to make it lighter to avoid losing detail to the house and the trees and part of the students hat. 

Sandwich print as a Vignette:  When creating the Vignette, I used the sandwich printing technique to see how the process would show differenly from doing a single negative print.

All I did with the technique was move a piece card with a cirlce cut out of the middle up and down quickly to only expose the middle of the two images. By doing this I would get a circular shape in the centre exposing a selected area direct.

The process was really interesting because Vignette reminds me of Victorian early 1800s if not earlier then that so I really like the style.

Out of the first two Darkroom Techniques I produced, I would experiment more with the Vignette.

I would be really grateful for feedback for future purpose.