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Camera Obscura

5/6th shoot - With Bonfoton lens

Keen to try out the new bit of kit (the Bonfoton lens) I was also keen to use a room downstairs. It feels that a lot of this type of photography is bedroom based, but I wanted to apply this throughout my house, so this would be an interesting test for both the lens and a ‘downstairs’ room. The first test was both a success and a failure at the same time. The (new) tin foil technique worked very well, and for a first attempt it went up super fast. The foil will easily overlay with a spray of water, and if a mistake is made, the foil can simply be peeled back and adjusted. This technique was not 100% perfect, but this was more to do with my application rather than the effectiveness of the material (tin foil). Once the foil had been applied it was simple to cut (using a sharp craft knife) around the (supplied) template, to create the aperture for the lens. I then simply taped the lens over the hole with electrical tape.

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The technique of using aluminium (tin) foil for blacking out the room was both effective and quick. It is also cheaply available and (as it turns out) re-usabe.

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The Bonfoton lens was fixed in place with electrical tape. The lens comes with magnets so that it might be fitted to a blackout blind, but I intended to use this at a number of locations and so improvised with the tape.

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The electrical tape and the foil worked very well together and the tape was easily removed without damaging the foil.

The lens was a great improvement, with the projected (outside image) now looking very sharp BUT the fail aspect of this shoot now came down to my own tardiness. I need a good sunny day for these shoots to really work (which I had) but I procrastinated for so long that by the time I had the room ready, I had effectively lost any light, and my projected image had become a dark mess. This was frustrating as I am trying to get a combination of good light (a sunny day) and my sitters being at home, and I only had myself to blame. When I took the tin foil down I laid it as flat as possible to let it dry for potential reuse. 

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This test image from the 5th shoot shows the improvement in sharpness that the Bonfoton lens has given the projection, but despite (my own) best efforts in Abobe Lightroom the colour (due to the lack of outside light) was poor. 

When the next opportunity to shoot arose I grabbed it and had the room set up very quickly. The tin foil that I had saved easily went back in to place and the projected image was considerably better.

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A combination of good outside light and the Bonfoton lens coming together to produce the projection seen on the wall here. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5D mii - Canon 24mm  (L 1.4) - ISO 100 - f2 - 6 sec.

I wanted to make the most of this opportunity to shoot, so I took a broad range of shots using both my own Sigma Art 50mm lens, and a Canon (L series) 24mm lens that I had borrowed from the university kit room for the duration of the easter holidays. I wanted shots of my partner and if possible I wanted a shot of her with our dog ‘Archie’. I would use the 24mm lens to take the portrait shots and then I would swap to my 50mm for some detail work. As I am (currently) working un-teathered this also involves some coming and going to review the images on my laptop. The good light however allowed me a good few hours shooting here BUT later in the day (to re-enforce the fail from the previous shoot) the sky clouded over and any good light disappeared.

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My partner and our dog ‘Archie” sitting for a portrait. I used the 24mm for this shot and the distortion (particularly) with the dog bowl is quite off putting for me. The black board on the wall has been replaced by a clock which had hung there previously. Photo taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5D mkii - Canon 24mm lens - f2 - 4 sec.

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Detail shot taken of the (side) projection cast on the kitchen cupboards. Photo taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkii - Sigma Art 50mm lens - ISO 100 - f2 - 5 sec.

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HDR image created in Adobe Lightroom using three (bracketed) shots. Photo taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5D mkii - Sigma Art 50mm.

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Detail shot taken of the projection cast upon the kitchen door.  Photo taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkii - Sigma Art 50mm lens - ISO 100 - f2 - 5 sec.

I was happy with the images I had caught and the performance of the Bonfoton lens. Getting the dog to sit still for 5 seconds was 50/50 so I had a few to work with. I was very happy with some of the detail shots, particularly the kitchen cupboards. I was also quite pleased with the Marja Pirilä inspired doors. Leaving a door slightly ajar gives a sense something beyond and I like the aesthetic that it gives to the image. To progress the project I would work the images up in Adobe Lightroom and show them to my tutors for feedback.

Links - 

https://bonfoton.com

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Dark Room

Final Prints and Mounting

The question of which middle image to use had been resolved in my own mind, and I would use the black and white self portrait. My reasoning for this was that the “unreal’ (psychological) landscape within which these young people (my own children) were being placed, was in many ways emanating from myself and my own fear and worries. This image of myself, appearing weighed down was clearly (IMO) the image that would best tie the three together.

Having got my bespoke mounting boards into the university I now had to mount the prints on to them, and then hang them for my final hand in. I arrived nice and early, partly to avoid a crush of the bus, but also to make the most of what was due to be a busy day. I intended to mount the prints using Spray Mount, and had allowed myself a quarter of an inch to trim.

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The print on the mounting boards and in the gallery for assessment. 

The process of mounting the images was not an easy one. The Spray Mount had a tendency to ‘grab’ and adjusting the position of the print risked considerable damage. I found the easiest way to work was to spray the board and then offer it to the image (laid flat) this was really working blunt and it resulted in two of the images being slightly off, and leaving a thin strip of white (unprinted) paper showing. I was quite annoyed with myself for doing this after all my preparation, and retrospectively, I could had easily marked the reverse of the print as a guide, therefore avoiding the issue completely. Aware that there was nothing I could do at this stage, I accepted that it was ‘what it was’ and walked the prints to the gallery.

Once in the gallery I explained the mistake I had made positioning the print to my tutor. He seemed pretty easy about it, and suggested that it would be ok for the assessment, but that I should consider doing it again for the Free Range show. Installation was very straight forward. I had built the boards to be easy to hang and knew my measurements. I only needed to hang one of the prints, as the gallery is small, and the work would only be being assessed here (the main (graduate) show would be in July).

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Dissemination

Print mounting - Bespoke Option

Having (unexpectedly) got myself a little ahead of the game in terms of getting prints done, I then failed to address the issue of mounting the prints with the same efficiency. I had already ruled out framing the images, not only would the cost be unrealistic, but I had also wanted to hang the prints using bulldog clips, similar in style to the way that Marja Pirlä’s work when I saw it. This however highlighted a mistake I had made in my file preparation. To hang the images as I wanted, I needed to add a white border to the image, I had failed to take this into account which meant that I had trim marks (for cutting) on the image. The consequence of this was that the image would now need to be a full bleed. Ironically our Print Technician and one of my Tutors has suggested that the images would look good on either Diabond (an Aluminium (layered) composite) or a heavy card.

As the prints were printed 42 inches wide and 30 deep Diabond would be the obvious choice for it’s rigidity, but this choice would also be expensive. Foamex was a cheap option but felt like a bit of a cop out, and rigidity would (again) be a problem. Although Foamex could be ‘hung’ on a wall quite simply with Velcro, it would simply follow any contours of the surface, and there would be no shadow gap to bring the print ‘off’ the wall. Card would not be an option for the same reasons as the Foamex, and neither offered much in the way of sophistication (they look as cheap as they are). With this in mind I began to search bit wider, and visited my local B&Q for some inspiration. 

I hoped that I would be able to find some sort of alternative to Diabond that I could work with myself. I didn’t expect to be able to find the actual material, but something that would remain rigid. The answer came in the form of Hardboard Ply. The sheets were good and straight, and the store would cut it to the size that I wanted. The print were all 42 inches wide but the depth varied a few 1/8th’s between them. I decided that I would get the board cut to 41.5 x 29.5 inches, that way I would have a ¼ inch cut off (all around) when I mounted the prints. I expected to mount the images simply with spray mount, and then cut to the board with a sharp knife. The board cost me £23 for a single sheet (big enough for all three mounts) and it was cut to size for free, but as soon as the board was cut it gained a small warp. I anticipated this and had also bought 6 meters of aluminium L-shaped angle (£24). This angle I would cut and screw to the back of the board, essentially creating another smaller frame. This served a number of purposes, firstly it would help the board to remain rigid, secondly it would give me the shadow gap that I wanted by holding the board off the wall, and thirdly it would give me fixing points with which to mount the work on the wall, I would do this by fixing hooks to the aluminium angle (Hooks - £1). 

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Working on the mounting boards in my back garden.

I measured and cut the angle to my required length, and marked the board for fixing. I drilled through both the board and the angle, countersunk the holes and screwed through to the angle from the front using self tapping screws. Once this had been done of all four sides I covered the (countersunk) screws with wood filler, and rubbed it smooth. Having rubbed the boards all over with some sand paper I now applied a coat of black paint (front and back) all around the edges of the mounts (paint £5).

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The finished boards ready for the bus ride in to university.

The whole process went pretty smoothly overall. The mounts did not give me the dead flat surface the I would have got with Diabond, but they did look good, and they are hand-made. In retrospect I would have used more of the aluminium angle. I think that if I made my frame on the back a little bigger it would have given me a better finish, but when held up to the wall (without prints) the mounts look good, and the shadow gap is exactly what I wanted.The next step will be to get the boards into Uni (fun on the Bus) and to mount the images for the Gallery.

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Camera Obscura

Final shoot

The prints came back looking OK. I was happy with the print of Zach, but there was a sharpness missing from the image of Imogen. The middle image I was still unsure about, but in the meantime, I would re-shoot and re-print Imogen’s image. To be fair, all of the advice that I got about the lack of sharpness in the image was favourable. Feedback was that the softness of the image was nice, but I really couldn’t live with it, especially in contrast to the sharpness of Zach’s portrait.

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When this image was blown up to print size (42x30″) the softness was too much for me to live with, and so I decided to re-shoot. Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

The re-shoot was a pretty standard set up now. The room was quick to blackout with tin foil, but it had been decorated since the original shoot so it was be nigh impossible to capture the same composition. We went through the same routine, of shoot a few, and break, shoot a few….etc The white chest of drawers was working particularly well with the projection, and I enjoyed the added depth that it gave to the image. We worked together until I was satisfied that I had the capture I wanted.

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Image chosen from the final shoot for print. Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens

I was happy that I had captured the image that I wanted to use to replace the soft focussed portrait of Imogen. I had also been considering the choice for the middle image, and feed back from my tutor regarding the black and white seat portrait. I decided that I would print that along with my latest capture, allowing me to make my decision based on seeing the printed images side by side. I made an appointment with the Print Technician to arrange for the files to be printed.

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Camera Obscura - Dark Room

Artists Statement

DARK ROOM

Dark Room is a series of photographic images that records a Father’s children and the world in which they live. Using a Camera Obscura technique the room becomes dark and the outside world emerges within the space. The work explores a Father’s fears for his own children and his own perceived vulnerability of youth.

Pressures of social media, youth culture and parental/social expectation place the child within an un-real landscape. Visually inspired by the work of Marja Pirilä’s INTERIOR/EXTERIOR and her use of a camera obscura technique, the Dark Room here is set between the physical and the psychological as the inverted landscape is both familiar and disconnected.

Confronted by the disconnected landscape within which his child is posed, the photographer has been forced to question the disconnect between his own anxieties and reality.

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Camera Obscura

Feedback

Having worked up a number of images from my latest shoot, I took the opportunity to print them off the next time I was in University. I printed the images to A3 and laid them out on the table, as one of my tutors walked in. We reviewed the images that I had printed. At this stage I was developing a strong feeling for the images that I liked, but these were not necessarily the images that my tutor liked, and we were also at odds over the narrative that we saw in the set, I was beginning to feel that I needed to (respectfully) take ownership of my own project. There was a danger that I was heading toward a series of images and narrative that had been entirely someone else choices. It was important to me that the work on the wall was my own. Feed back from numerous Guest Lecturers over the years had told us all to find our own style, and to be true to our own work. Another of my lecturers was showing considerably more enthusiasm for the narrative that I was building. At this stage of the project, when decisions regards picture choice and print were upon us I decided to make a few choices for myself. 

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Camera Obscura

9th shoot - Re-shoot Zachary

This was my first opportunity to re-shoot Zachary (my son) The previous shoot had included some of his friends, but I felt that I needed to capture his alone to avoid creating a second ( different) narrative. I have often been told that I am trying to present two different project in one, so I would try to avoid that here. My previous shoot with Zachary had been without the Bonfoton lens, so I was expecting better results here. I did not want to try to recreate the first shoot with him. I liked the images but this was a new day, the room had changed, and in my opinion it was be a mistake to try and recreate a moment that has already gone. That is to say that, while I would be able to re-create the frame and surroundings, the image would (for me) feel too contrived. Zachwould have an expectation of what was to come, and the organic nature of the shoot would possible be lost. For this shoot, I would start again, and work the whole room.

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The back wall in Zach’s room has the sharpest focus from the Bonfoton lens but was also the blandest projection. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

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Because Zach’s room is fairly small the projection on the side walls is very good, and puts me in mind of an impressionist landscape. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

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My personal favourite from the shoot combined a good mix of light and projection. It also is the image that I have the strongest emotional bond with, and communicates something to me about the world that my son is growing up in. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

I felt that the last two shoots (taken on the same day) had moved the project along somehow. I had always maintained that I would continue to shoot with the Camera Obscura technique, and see what narrative the images fed back. The initial plan was to photograph people at transitional stages of their life, such as my course mates. All would be moving on soon both with where they live and work BUT this was not what I was getting from the images I had been taking. I was discovering a different narrative within my own household that was forcing me to ask questions of my self, and my own perceptions of the world that I place my son in, and the expectations on both of my children in the world that they are growing up in. I was not entirely sure where this was going, but it was something that I needed to pursue.

To move this forward I would work up some of these files, and print them off at university to A3. This would allow me to spread the images out, and view them all together.

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Camera Obscura

8th Shoot - Bedroom Three

This shoot would revisit the shots that I had done here previously, but following on from my feedback I would shoot more intuitively. I had been concerned that I was not getting enough into the images with my 50mm and had borrowed a 24mm lens from the university kit room to get a wider shot. One of the things which I suppose form part of my ‘style’s that I shoot 50mm. I love my 50mm lens and I an very comfortable with my kit. This is not to say that I am unable to embrace and adjust to alternative equipment and techniques BUT when I was told to shoot more intuitively, my first instinct was to use my 50mm. With this in mind, I now had a sitter (my daughter) and the light was good, so we began to shoot.

I was not keen to over dress the ‘set’ but I did move a fews thing about including a mirror. I was keen to capture my daughter with her dog and they have a very strong bond. I also wanted to use the (full length) mirror, or at least experiment with it.

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Image taken with a full length mirror, the Camera Obscura effect can be seen in the reflection of the smaller mirror and on the wall. I had moved the L O V E ornament to the top shelf as I wanted it in the frame. Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

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The dogs did very well to sit for a relatively long shutter exposure. Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

The dark room, long shutter times and altering the poses can take a bit of a toll on the sitters I have found, so I tent to take a number of shots, have a little break for the sitter (when I will review the images) and then we will go again. I reviewed the images and felt that I had put to much focus onto the mirror, and not enough focus onto my daughter. The mirror (I felt) was just an effect and the effect was to put a distance between myself and her. This was not what I wanted to capture in the images, I wanted more intimacy. In my opinion, what had worked with my son and his friends was the feeling of being in the room with them. I n these images with the mirror felt detached.

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A second round of shooting dismissed the mirror, and the dogs to focus on the sitter, and create a lille more intimacy. Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

Having dismissed the mirror we shot again. This time I also asked my daughter to remove her glasses. This was both to counter a nasty reflection that I seemed unable to avoid, but also (again) to create a little more intimacy. I was far happier with the resulting images, and really felt that I had shot intuitively, or at last my interpretation of that. My next step would be to re-shoot my son, and his room. The images of him and his friends had made me re-consider the story that I was trying to tell with these images beyond the Camera Obscura technique. There was a vulnerability that was coming across in these images that I wanted to explore and question more.

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Camera Obscura

Feedback

With the Easter break due, I had bundled up the images I had just taken and sent them via WeTransfer to all four tutors that were involved in this module. My reasoning here was that I had three weeks to concentrate on getting some interesting images, and a little feedback from different sources could be valuable. I was still unsure of my overall narrative, but was open to all thoughts.

2 tutors looked at the files - 1 replied.

Feed back was pretty good. The images were good, but a little stylistic. The tutor was convinced of the Meta-narrative (why was he looking at the images?) but this was something that I was unsure of myself at this stage and so was aware that this needed development. A tip for research was to look at the (Victorian) photography of Margaret Cameron, and other Victorian photographers to consider whether my images could be a play on images from 150 years ago. Another option - 

           “You can eschew this completely and ‘talk about’ the technology that runs our world but shoot in an obviously pinhole way.”

 I like this last idea. I recently saw a set of Formula 1 (motorsport) images that had been shot on a large format (8x10) film camera, and the contrast between content and medium was spectacular. His final nugget of gold was to tell me to shoot intuitively. This is quite broad advice I suppose but I took it to mean ‘relax’, ‘stop trying so hard’, shoot with your feelings, and be confident in your work’. Thats quite a lot to read into two words, but that (in this instance) is what I take to be shooting intuitively.

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All images here are the files that were sent for feedback. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens OR Canon L series 24mm lens.

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Camera Obscura

Print Decisions

Having received a courseware mail advising us to talk to our new Print Technician with regard to paper and print choices. Whilst reviewing the prints I had already done another of my tutors and I were having a discussion about the number of images to show, and which images would fit into a set. We both agreed that either 3 or 6 prints would be a good number. There were 3 or 4 images that seemed obvious choices to us both, but to find 6 was more of a struggle. On the flip side, using three of the images meant choosing one to leave out. We decided on the three images below, and would get some test strips printed to better judge the images blown up to full size.

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Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma 50mm

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Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma 50mm

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Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma 50mm

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This black and white image and the image above were the two images that were in debate. Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma 50mm

I made arrangements to meet with the print technician, but in the mean time I had had second thoughts about the middle image. I felt that the image below tied the two portraits together nicely, and reflected my developing narrative well.

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Image taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma 50mm


I had long felt that I wanted to print these images on an Art Paper, and having done a little research I really wanted to look at Hahnemühle Photo-Rag, so I was very pleased when I was told that is was available to me on campus. We discussed paper choices, but not only did our Print Technician think the images would look good on the Photorag, but in fact recommended it. He was free to do some test prints, and I had print ready files so we went to the print room. One of my tutors was in the print room, so I was able to get live feedback as we went through the process of testing. I knew he was reticent about my choice for the middle image BUT this was a decision (to take some control of my project) and I would live with the consequences (if any). The images looked great on the test strips, and the paper, I had the files on my hard-drive, and the Print Technician wanted to know what I wanted to do next, so I resized the files and handed them over to be printed up to full size the next day.

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Camera Obscura

Video Capture

A small piece of video showing the projected image on the kitchen cupboards from the 6th shoot. The footage was filmed at ISO 6400 - f1.4. The image (as can be seen) is pretty grainy but converted to black and white, and flipped horizontally this little film is quite captivating.

Footage taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5D mkii - Sigma Art 50mm lens - ISO 6400 - f1.4.

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