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I have enjoyed using expired photographic paper to create photograms. By placing flowers, leaves, or anything else I find interesting on the paper, and leaving it under the sun for a period of time, an image is formed. After scanning the image and playing with the curves and levels, interesting things can be found. This is another of my efforts in this realm.
Shown here is another expired paper photogram. I explained the process for creating these in my entry “Photogram 19.”
Just thought I would share another expired paper photogram.
“We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents.“
It’s hard to knock the late Bob Ross – he got complete joy from what he was doing, and it showed in his work and personality. When things did not go as planned, he found a way to make the misstep work for him. I’d like to think that I do the same.
In the last post I offered a photogram that had been created by placing items on a piece of photographic paper and allowing it to be exposed by sunlight. I liked what had been created and scanned the result, as I knew that the colors would fade over time. It was the favorite of the group I had made and I decided that it would be the first to print large.
I felt that this would be an image that would print nicely on canvass so I loaded the printer with paper and set the printer driver for matt paper. This would throw the maximum amount of ink on the canvass. However, I had a happy little accident. I had previously been working with digital negatives and had told the driver to use only the black cartridge. Oops. Not only did the printer print without color, but also there was not enough ink in the cartridge to print it completely, so it ran out during the printing process. I actually liked this.
Okay, let’s change the driver to tell the printer to use the color cartridge and try again. This time, another happy little accident. I should have replaced the black ink cartridge because it is used along with the color cartridge to make the proper colors, but I forgot. This time, the printer created a print with no black ink mixed in. I loved the results and printed a second copy, and realizing that I would not be able to replicate this, I made a print on glossy paper so that I could scan that at a later time (oddly enough, the right side of the print shows a very different color than the canvass version). It was after that print that the printer decided to force me to replace the black cartridge before it would continue working.
So the failure of technology resulted in something rather interesting, and I am happy for this happy little accident.
I try not to waste anything, even things that have long outlived their purpose can sometimes continue to be used for a purpose not originally intended. This was my idea behind my photogram series.
A photogram is made by placing objects onto photographic paper and then exposing it to light. This is normally done in the darkroom, using the light of an enlarger. However, I decided to go in a slightly different direction.
It has happened more than once that I have cut a piece of paper in the darkroom to use as a test strip, and putting the unused portion aside, forgotten about it. The result is that after I turn the darkroom lights on, the unintended exposure of the piece of paper I had forgotten about will change color, usually blue, over an extended period of time. Different papers offer different results. This means that photograms can be made by simply placing items on the paper, taking the paper outside, and allowing it to be exposed for a time between about five minutes and four hours (at least, that is the range I have played with).
The aspect of not wanting to waste anything comes with the fact that old, fogged-beyond-recovery paper can be used for this purpose. Those who have traditionally used the darkroom and converted to digital almost certainly have paper they no longer use. My recommendation is to either send the paper to me <g>, or use it making photograms.
The unfortunate aspect of this is that the prints cannot be displayed, since eventually the light will completely fog the paper. Placing the paper in fixer to stop it from being light-sensitive will alter the color, oftentimes drastically reducing the saturation to nothing.
The solution is to scan the image, and that is what I have done. The only changes I do to the photograms are to utilize levels and curves to enhance the colored aspect. My favorite (to date) of these is Photogram #19.
I will follow this post up with one later in the week when explains the difficulties I had with this image, and how sometimes mistakes can be turned into happy little accidents (thanks, Bob Ross).
