Comission: Final Shoot/Printing

After one failed attampt at a shoot (all of my images coming out very soft), I waited for a nice sunny day and went out to reshoot. As my aim from the start was for my images to be taken for a newspaper, i decided to shoot on 35mm. Photographers for news papers would usually use slr cameras or smaller compacts because they are easier to travel around with and easier to shoot on. As this project had to be shot on film, i felt 35mm would be the ideal substitute.

The first location i shot was a recycling point at the civic center in Strood. I chose this location as it featured the castle and cathedral in the background, which are both monuments that symbolise medway. Whilst taking the image, i wanted to feature the recycling signs, as well as the castle, so i positioned myself so that the sign actually framed the castle in the background.

When it came to printing, i created a test strip for this image at f/16, and worked out the ideal exposure time was 20s at grade 2.

I then started to add in some grade 5 to darken the shadows and add more contrast. I ended up with this print. The exposure times for this were 20s at Grade 2, and 10s at Grade 5.

This print was far to dark along the bottom half of the image, so i dodged around that area. I dodged during the Grade 2 exposure for around 10 seconds, and then again through the grade 5 exposure for about 3-5 seconds.








This was my final exposure (the scanner i used to scan these images made some adjustments whilst scanning, so the image doesnt look the same on paper)

For my second and third final image, i visited a Household Waste tip in Cuxton, just off the M2.They were kind enough to let me walk around and take photos of them working and of the machinary there.

I chose to take a picture of one of the recycling bins at the tip, with people bringing their recycling in the background. I felt it was impotant to emphasize that this was still in medway, so i tried to include the medway council logo in the image.

I started off making a test strip at 5, 10, 15, and 20 seconds. From this, i worked out the exposure time i need was 20seconds.

 

 I made a full print at this exposure to see what work needed to be done on it, but i was happy with that print so i kept it as my final.

For my third final image, i wanted to photograph one of the workers. I asked the site manager if he'd mind posing for a photograph, which he was fine with, so i positioned him next to an information board and next to a bin full of brooms.

Again, i made another test strip at 5 second intivals, although this time something went wrong, and my test strip came out nearly white all the way through.

I assume i must have nocked the aperture up at some point by accident, so i turned it down to f/8 and made another test strip.

20*

20 seconds didnt seem enough, so i tried a strip at 25 seconds, which came out perfectly exposed. Next, i added 10 seconds of grade 5, and made a full print to see if i needed to make any further adjustments.

This was far too dark in the bottom right hand corner, so i dodged this area for around 15 seconds to brighten it up a bit, and came up with this as my final print.