Vignetting, Highlighting areas of Interest, Press Printing, Dodging

Original Print - Aperture 8, Exp. 5 Seconds

Vignetting

To vignette in the darkroom i simply cut out an oval shape in some paper and held it above the photographic paper, holding it still it gave a harsh edge to the oval shape. On my second attempt I moved the vignetting card around slowly and slightly to produce a soft edge which turned out to be my favourite. Using different shapes to create a vignette could be interesting, especially if they related to my work e.g. I could cut out londons horizon or something more simple like a cluster of trees which could make the photo more unusual and creative.

Original Print

For this print I used a dodging tool which I created using a piece of wire with black card taped to the end. I needed to dodge part of my photo to reduce the exposure time as the plant on the wall was coming up to dark, to create the desired effect throughout the exposure I slowly kept the dodge tool moving so the lighter part of the image was not a sudden effect which makes it look more realistic. 

Highlighting areas of interest

I exposed the paper for 3 seconds, put the coins on then exposed it for a further 4 seconds. I am not keen on this experiment, i like how key parts of the image show extra detail because they were exposed for a shorter time so the fact that i reigned in on the brickwork is more interesting but it isn't an experiment i enjoyed.

Press Printing

Using objects that relate to landscapes for press printing, I decided to use a brick as I have photographed a lot of urban landscapes so i decided it would be a good object to experiment with. I enjoyed press printing as you can decided more or less which part of your photo gets developed and it gives it an element of mystery as your left wandering what is missing. I would improve by using different methods of applying the developer.