After my last post I was curious to briefly research the history of photography, ponder on what photography means to me, & determine what a photograph actually is.
Originally a photograph was a black & white image captured on light sensitive paper, which took several minutes to expose! Then faster exposure technology / negatives & colour recording were developed, & today we have instant digital pixel images! Seems a photograph doesn’t exist until we view it on a screen, or see it printed on paper or a surface.
Visual imagery originally spread slowly through printed books & newspapers, but with the ability to print photographs, the photographic image became proliferated, mainly because of printed magazines. Today photographs are instantly available to show & share on the internet! Interestingly, a printed image is made up entirely of coloured dots, while a screen image is made up of square pixels. Food for thought in my creative process!!
Personally I am a snapshot photographer, recording observations, things I want for my visual reference library. I’m fascinated by nature’s colours, textures, & unusual combinations of things in spaces & places. I use a camera to explore the world around me in more detail, & I’m biased in the way I look for things to photograph, deliberately using the cameras limited frame to select / zoom in close, & record some small detail or arrangement that attracts my eye. Often I use these photographs as a pattern resource, selecting some detail to amplify in some way. I’m endlessly amazed at the unexpected things I discover along the way!
It was interesting to do a little research into what others have done with photographs too – the Surrealists, Bauhaus, Pop Art, David Hockney’s joiners (to name a few!). It made me aware of how I’m creative with photographs, & led me to ponder – what’s my ‘thing’ to do with a photograph / digital image?
Traditionally I cut & paste, or fold, printed imagery from magazines. I love their readymade, instantly accessible colours & textures as the material for my collaging, & it seems I do fiddle with photographs in much the same way, using it as printed material for collaging – mixing details, cutting them up, rearranging & layering them, which then translates well into the digital layering process. That’s a definite ‘thing’ for me – to cut & paste photographs, to print them & work with them in my hands as collage material, before I work on them digitally.
Then there’s the opportunity within the digital file itself for creative tinkering…..messing with the colour saturations, contrast, brightness, etc etc, all BEFORE I print it for collage material! OMG …this is going to be fun :o)
Vicky xxx
