Week 04: Blog Assignment #4 /Joe Hallock
The manipulation of the perception of an image depends on each person and their life experiences. However, there are certain patterns that we all follow, and we, as photographers, can use them to convey a message or evoke a feeling in the viewer. Nevertheless, not everything that is seen is what it seems. With this project, I would like to call for reflection, focusing specifically on this last point.
I created this photographic series as the final project upon completing the short photography course in my country. Despite the passing years, I feel that this project has not lost the value I gave it, and I still hold it dear.
Having grown up with digital cameras, learning photography with analog cameras was an entirely new world for me. Not only the different mechanism but the entire dynamic and manipulation required in the analog photography process and photo development were a challenge. It was also a challenge to exclusively photograph in black and white as there was no reliance on communicating through color.
The process of undertaking this project was incredibly challenging due to the chosen theme and style. Personally, I have always been drawn to simple things that convey a lot. That’s why I chose silhouettes. However, when I started, I didn’t have enough knowledge to successfully execute the images, so there were quite a few trial-and-error scenarios. I used four rolls of 36 photos, and the first two were purely experimental. I wanted to see how the photos looked in different environments and situations, and if I could achieve the desired result, the backlit silhouette, in any of those situations. After experimenting enough and learning from the mistakes made, I began to achieve the results I wanted along with the emotion I sought to convey in each image.
The second part of the process was developing the rolls to obtain the negatives. Then, I created a contact sheet to choose the photos that best represented my project. Afterward, I had to make different test strips to determine the intensity of light and the time needed for each image so that they would be coherent as a group. For the final development, I chose cotton fiber paper to give it a matte effect and preserve the image for a long time. After developing each image, I conducted a meticulous check with a magnifier to ensure the photos were free of any dirt and that the color was as desired. To exhibit the set of photographs in the gallery, I placed each image in a frame to enhance the appreciation of each photograph.
