I have brought my bag of tricks, sketchbooks, fabric samples and slide show to introduce myself and my work to this enthusiastic, bright group. My plan was to present examples of finished work and also the beginnings of a new body of work, in which these students might be contributing. The session would aid the students in creating their own unique and exciting imagery using digital cameras.
To do this, I set up lights and filters in the darkened IT room. Lamps were placed under desks to create a mini studio and translucent fabric attached to door frames and lit one side, acting a s a large light canvas. I pinned into the fabric (our light canvas) a range of objects and materials, which became illuminated and diffused by the use of lamps and filters. The resulting affect can be captured with photography. An atmospheric and never ending exercise I wanted the students experiment with.
The first steps were to create subject matter with which to photograph. As an ice breaker, I handed out sandwich bags to each of the 12 students in the group. Clear, disposable sandwich bags, easy to manipulate and sculpt with. I use the word sculpt to encourage a sense of value and reverence to the material. The students took to this really well, first manipulating the plastic with fingers, tying knots, stretching and poking. Some blew air into the bag, some trapped plastic and fabric scraps inside, used string to tie in different ways and suspend their new object, lots of action words, investigating the material by touch in the way one might explore by sight in the form of drawing.
These new objects were pinned and hung around the temporary dark room using the classroom furniture, movable lamps and a range of translucent fabrics and papers. Students were very calm and considerate of each other's space, sharing cameras, helping each other out to hold things in place. There was a very particular scientific air about the room. Low voices and an urgency to see something work.
I really enjoy creating imagery this way and have developed habits, styles and definite understanding about fusing light and object together. Its always interesting to observe somebody new interpreting the exercise differently. With limited resources ( an important creative restriction) an infinite range of imagery can be created. For example, photographing an object placed behind fabric and back lit will create a very different effect from an object placed in front of fabric and front lit. The results are surely objective to what's most successful. I had to consciously hold back from stepping into a students experiment, suggesting alternatives. I did try to encourage as much experimentation as possible, so students would observe for themselves what methods they deemed successful.
As an extension to the exercise, students delved into the resources and began selecting their own materials and constructed new objects to continue photographing.
I have been fortunate enough to work with Mrs Epps on a number of occasions on sessions like this. Its great to see how the Winslow digital photography kit has grown. We used about 6 or 7 digital cameras, easy to use and with a large storage capacity on the memory cards. The students had used these cameras before and were confident. The sort of imagery being captured really gained from getting close to the subject matter, zooming in and cropping the picture by eye. This was quite demanding of the students and again a tricky one not to over influence a student's own judgment.
To end the session, all imagery was uploaded onto a computer and using the smart board, the group reviewed their imagery as a slide show on Windows. This encouraged a sharing of ideas from the activity and a chance to view their own work in a completley different scale from the camera's display. We discussed what was successful and what other options there might be to try for next time. I think the group left feeling slightly surprised and I hope encouraged by what they were able to accomplish.
Experimental Photography Kit:
- a range of translucent fabrics, cottons, netting, packaging material, bubble wrap, tracing paper, acetate sheets, greaseproof paper, net curtains! Any material which light can shine through and be used as a layer to photograph (once suspended)
-apparatus to hang fabric from, eg door frames, desks, chairs, easels, door handles (use a washing line to cross the room)
- pins, saftey pins, masking tape, string, blu tak
- a selection of lamps and torches, overhead projectors (offer a great light source and acetates placed on top can vary imagery further.)
- extension leads
-computer access to upload images from cameras. Good size storage space allocated on school computer.
-optional, for students to have their own memory sticks to save and access their own work.
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