Darkroom manipulation

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Thesketch.jpg
Original (from glass plate negative, U.S. Library of Congress)
The Sketch MET DT11517.jpg
Final version: "With its central focus on the artist’s paper, the brightest detail in the scene [this photograph] draws our attention to Käsebier's own feeling that the act of creation is a source of wonder and of endless possibilities." [1]
Use of darkroom manipulation (The Sketch by Gertrude Käsebier, 1903)

Darkroom manipulation is a traditional method of manipulating photographs without the use of computers. Some of the common techniques for darkroom manipulation are dodging, burning, and masking, which though similar conceptually to digital manipulations, involve physical rather than virtual techniques. Darkroom manipulations are those processes used, for example, to remove unwanted areas and change image background, among others. Varying techniques can be used to accomplish the same tasks.

Contents

History

Man using an object to dodge (create a shadow) to adjust the amount of light hitting the print from the enlarger EnlargingANegativeC1950.jpg
Man using an object to dodge (create a shadow) to adjust the amount of light hitting the print from the enlarger

Photo manipulation started in the darkroom in the 1860s when searching for a heroic image of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. [2] An unidentified artist appended the statesman's head to the body of John C. Calhoun. One of the modern American masters of darkroom manipulation is Jerry Uelsmann. [3] To get his final product, he uses up to twelve enlargers at a time. Jerry Uelsmann seeks to reach a level of surrealist imagery of the unfathomable. He still uses this process today, as do other photographers.

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann is best known for manipulating images in the darkroom long before Photoshop was available. He started off with photography in high school as a hobby and then decided to go to an institution to learn photography. Uelsmann's photographs are different from those of most photographers because he uses multiple negatives to produce one picture. [4] He started with one enlarger but after waiting for some prints to dry one day, he decided to use more enlargers to get more images quickly, then began using seven enlargers at one time. His darkroom style allowed him to create images that had realism and the motion of what would be seen in dreams.

Techniques

Before Photoshop, dodging and burning were used to lighten or darken a part of the photograph to get better details in highlights and shadows. [5] Toning changes the color of the photograph. Black and white photographs can be changed to sepia, red, orange and even blue. [6] Toning can be used to help make the photograph last long. Cropping is used to decide what is left out in the final print.

Dodging

Dodging Darkroom dodging.svg
Dodging

Dodging is a very important part of the manipulation process. Dodging holds back exposure in order to make it light. Dodging can be used by hand or specific tools such as black cardboard or opaque materials so that shadows can lighten the image. [7] Dodging is best when used in a circular motion on the image to get the desired result.

Burning

Burning Darkroom burn.svg
Burning

Burning is when the image receives more exposure so the image can darken. [8] Just like dodging, burning can be done by hand or by using objects that controls the size and shape of the area. To avoid a very obvious change between the burned-in area and the rest of the image, the device must stay in motion. Burning is a longer process because it needs a longer exposure and time to change the image. [9]

Masking

Image Masking is a very faint positive image that comes from the original negative image. [10] Masking in darkroom photography can be used with more than one mask for the image by putting the original image and the mask together to come out with the single print. The advantages of masking is that this process sharpens the image and if done correctly, the contrast of the image could change when the image prints out. The mask is a copy of the original, so the edges should line up correctly and density can be shown in the original negative. Masking can give slight texture so that true blacks and shadows look properly dark. [11]

Manipulation used today

Photo manipulation is used today in place of darkroom manipulation. Today, photo manipulation can be started on a photographer's camera by formatting the image into either a JPEG or RAW format. [12] An example of manipulation with the camera itself is automatic red-eye removal in the image. After the image is on the computer many other photo editing programs such as Photoshop are used for photo manipulation.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image may appear as a seamless physical print. A similar method, although one that does not use film, is realized today through image-editing software. This latter technique is referred to by professionals as "compositing", and in casual usage is often called "photoshopping". A composite of related photographs to extend a view of a single scene or subject would not be labeled as a montage, but instead a stitched image or a digital image mosaic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-exposure HDR capture</span> Technique to capture HDR images and videos

In photography and videography, multi-exposure HDR capture is a technique that creates high dynamic range (HDR) images by taking and combining multiple exposures of the same subject matter at different exposures. Combining multiple images in this way results in an image with a greater dynamic range than what would be possible by taking one single image. The technique can also be used to capture video by taking and combining multiple exposures for each frame of the video. The term "HDR" is used frequently to refer to the process of creating HDR images from multiple exposures. Many smartphones have an automated HDR feature that relies on computational imaging techniques to capture and combine multiple exposures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darkroom</span> Room which can be made fully dark to allow for development of photographs and film

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masking (art)</span>

In art, craft, and engineering, masking is the use of materials to protect areas from change, or to focus change on other areas. This can describe either the techniques and materials used to control the development of a work of art by protecting a desired area from change; or a phenomenon that causes a sensation to be concealed from conscious attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unsharp masking</span> Image sharpening technique

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Jerry Norman Uelsmann was an American photographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enlarger</span> Specialized transparency projector

An enlarger is a specialized transparency projector used to produce photographic prints from film or glass negatives, or from transparencies.

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References

  1. Elaine Hedges and Ingrid Wendt (1980). In Her Own Image: Women Working in the Arts , Feminist Press at CUNY, p. 107.
  2. Baines, Evan (24 January 2009). "AN ABBREVIATED HISTORY OF PHOTO-MANIPULATION". Evan Baines Photography. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  3. Lai, Lawrence. "Digital Darkroom: An Exploration of Altered Realities". ABC News Network. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  4. Maher, Berman, Chris,Larry. "Master Interview; Jerry Uelsmann" . Retrieved 22 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. "Darkroom Photo Manipulation before Photoshop". Color Experts International, Inc. 17 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  6. "darkroom and digital techniques". Arcsin. Nitsa. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  7. Birnbaum,C.,Boas,Bright V.,Engdahl A.,Sribnick,Wignall,Zakia D., Hubert,Keith,Michael,David,Larry,Jeff,Richard (1984). Darkroom Expression . Rochester: KODAK Publication KW-21. p.  19. ISBN   0-87985-300-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Birnbaum,C.,Boas,Bright V.,Engdahl A.,Sribnick,Wignall,Zakia D., Hubert,Keith,Michael,David,Larry,Jeff,Richard (1984). Darkroom Expression . Rochester: KODAK Publication KW-21. p.  20. ISBN   0-87985-300-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Hicks,Schultz, Roger,Frances (2000). Darkroom Basics...and beyond. London: Collins & Brown Limited. p. 72. ISBN   1-84340-048-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Phillips, James. "Unsharp Masking - A beginners primer" . Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  11. Phillips, James. "Unsharp Masking - A beginners primer" . Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  12. Chevalier, Ally (9 June 2009). "What is Darkroom Manipulation, Really?". Bright Hub Inc. Retrieved 14 March 2013.