Our latest Lightworks evening on June 8th was another enjoyable opportunity for darkroom members to gather to show and discuss their work. Once again we were greatly impressed by the quality and diversity of their photography and printing.
Use this link if you would like to book for the next Lightworks on October 4th
Kicking off the event was Andrew Baranowski, who showed some of the cyanotype prints he has been making using inkjet negatives created from digital image files. Following a recent workshop on representation he attended at the The Photographers’ Gallery, Andrew has become interested in exploring the possibilities of photographing people in public places while respecting their privacy and anonymity. Another series used images of the back of people’s heads to question the issue of gender identity and representation in photographic images. Both sets of prints sparked a lively debate on the relationship between photographer and those they are photographing.
Next up came Martin Corcoran who announced that he has decided to eschew roll film in order to concentrate on working with sheet film for the time being. Having recently acquired a Wista 5 x 4 field camera Martin is keen to refine his technical practice in order to achieve the optimal negative for his chosen paper, which should eliminate the need for complicated dodging and burning regimes when printing. He explained how he has been working with a densitometer in order to achieve the ideal zonal distribution of tones on the film he shoots.
In addition to showing us his densitometer and explaining how it works, Martin brought a selection of test prints of portraits he has been shooting while investigating the zone system. The group agreed that some of these were very striking and that Martin should continue making large format portraits, while he refines the process.
By contrast the work of Tolu Agbelusi showed that technical perfection is not required to produce very arresting photographs. She has been using old Kodak Brownie cameras to candidly photograph friends and family and embracing their light leaks and optical quirks of basic lenses to create atmospheric lo-fi prints. Tolu is also a poet and hopes to combine her writing and images in an exhibition and book. The group suggested imaginative ways in which this might be achieved, including imprinting words directly onto her photographs.
Darkroom founder Dennis Yandoli has been exploring the possibilities of solarisation to enhance photographs he has taken of some of his ancient olive trees in Italy. In this process, pioneered by Lee Miller when working with Man Ray, a developed print is briefly exposed to light and returned to the developer to produce a ghostly, silvery image. It’s a bit hit and miss, and hard to reproduce the same result, so the prints have the added attraction of being unique.
Rounding off the evening was Nick Hayles, the newest darkroom member in the group. He enjoys the challenges of street photography and finds the compactness of his Olympus Trip perfect when he is in the middle of the action. Getting to grips with the new experience of making his own prints in our darkroom, Nick has been working his way through some negatives shot at the annual Jack in the Green festival in Hastings. The enthusiastic reception to these prints has encouraged him to consider photographing similar traditional festivals.
All those present agreed that these Lightworks evenings are a great way to get feedback validating the work they are doing, as well as being a sociable opportunity to meet other darkroom members and see what they are getting up to. We welcome non-members, particularly if you are considering joining or doing some of our workshops.
Use this link if you would like to book for the next Lightworks on October 4th