pin hole cameras

pinhole cameras are a simple version of making your own camera out of a light proof object, and creating a small pinhole and inserting photo paper, and can be made of anything from tins, to matchboxes. this is another thing id like to experiment with for my com tech project. 

photograms

Found these pictures of photograms online after looking for things to do with the darkroom, and since this process is supposed to be really simple, its worth a go :)

Antique cameras

I was hoping to use some antique style cameras for my project, but since its pretty much impossible to get hold of any and actually be able to use them, ive decided to try another direction, maybe look at how they work and try making my own..?

a short history on photography

After finding some books in the library on photography and its history, most of them were pretty long, including this one, but heres a basic sample of what i managed to get through.

William Henry Fox is one of the first people to come up with the concept of a photograph. Although he didnt create actual photos, he created a device where he could trace an actual lanscape perfectly onto paper, as shown below, in 1833.

Years later a similar device was constructed, although smaller and simpler to use.
At a similar time many scientists became closer to developing a photograph, but one of the first well detailed photos shown below, was made by Louis Jaques Mande Daguerre in 1837, which at the time was made using an exposure of over an hour.
Towards the beginning most photographs were produced onto certain silver plates after the discovery that sunlight would darken certain silver compounds, until the 1900's when the discovery that they could be preserved with mercury on paper.

communication technology

Communication technology- wet photography

Rationale

Since i tend to specialize in digital photography I feel that I need to broaden my knowledge into other areas and step out of my comfort zone. Therefore, i've decided to experiment with black and white photography for my com tech brief. This has always been an area of interest for me yet i've never had the time to use and progress into it further. So, I've decided I'm going to use this opportunity to not only use the dark rooms, but also look at the history and dig deeper for methods used even before monochrome and also experiment with creating my own techniques. I expect this brief to have a lot of trials and errors but also to be a very interesting learning experience.  

Beginning with researching methods and inspiration, I hope to gather enough knowledge to learn the basic techniques by starting at the beginning by training to use the darkrooms. At the same time I will be looking at traditional photography to gather what subjects I'd like to shoot. Eventually I'd also like to experiment with other methods I can use in the darkroom, such as photograms, and also try out designing my own 'camera' to take images. 

Overall, I'm hoping to gain practical knowledge and a better understanding of the origins of photography.

more in depth reasons....

Besides film photography being a new learning curve for me, there is also more reasons why this is something i've always wanted to do...

'anyone can press a button and take a digital photograph these days.. but to do film takes practice, determination and creativity.. and thats what makes a photographer'

This is something one of my past photography teachers said to me in college, and its always stuck in my mind, and ive always agreed that i couldnt call myself a photographer until i tried out film and darkroom; which is not only one of the more difficult areas of photography, but a big part of its history, and why only stick to digital when there is a whole amazing history and technique behind it..?