Pinhole Camera No. 2

Trafalgar Square London, July 2011.

Last summer Fred, Amber and I made some pinhole cameras together. The above photos are what I managed to get from my reel of film. I'm certainly going to keep this going because it's so fun and satisfying to do! Will attempt to refine the matchbox method or try out a different technique - there are plenty of possibilities out there.

Images appeared in Postcard No. 6 of Summer Project.

See all of the photographs here. 

Folkestone disused railway, August 2011.

Reflection in window, August 2011.

University halls, July 2011.

Victorian Portraits

This is one of a series of mono-print studies I did based off some of Hill and Adamson's - photographers based in Scotland around the 1840s - calotypes of working folk. I really wanted to see how far I could push the process of mono-printing by trying to see how much detail I could obtain with the technique. It was a bit of an arm breaking experience... but was thankful that I made each one no more than A6 in size!

Here are the other mono-prints that I put into postcard no. 1 for my tutor...

Over the last few years I've been a big fan of early black and white photography. The posture and expressions of the people photographed look so alien to the way we pose for photographs today - let's just say you don't see many toothy grins! Quite a few people seem to be posing like they would for a painting. I suppose this is due to the fact that photography was such a new concept at the time AND was a far more laborious process than it is to now.

Postcard No. 6

Postcard No. 6, summer 2011

And finally, here is the sixth and last 'postcard' of the series! I made two single-signature (yes, it seems I can't get enough of this super easy binding technique) books for this one, that could go into a handmade envelope. In this postcard I wanted to show my interest in photography.

China town with Amber and Fred

The first book contains the most successful photographs from my second attempt at making a matchbox pinhole camera. Click here if you want to see them all.

In the second book I included some pen and ink studies of a few cameras we have at home, the oldest being an 'Autographic Brownie' dating back to 1908! Again, if you want to see that and more, click here.

Postcard No. 5

Postcard No. 5, summer 2011

After watching Powow Highway with my sister one night, it got me thinking about Native American culture and identity, and how the two have adapted to exist now in the modern world. Sadly, my history tutor at A-level didn't teach us about the migration of Europeans to the Americas and the many centuries of conflict and adjustment that ensued as a result... instead we focused on the Dutch Republic (although that was interesting too). When I was reading up about this aspect of American history I came across some really stunning old American Indian photographs, and felt compelled to draw them!

The mono-prints are presented in a single signature bound book, which can slot into a paper sleeve.

To view all four, click on the link below!

Summer Project

Postcard No. 4

Postcard no. 4, summer 2011

When I went to California to visit my sister, I brought along another travel journal to fill up over there. This book had the same binding as the scrapbook I took to Greece (postcard no. 2) but chose to try it out in landscape instead. Whilst over there I got into the habit of collecting papers, packaging and imagery whenever possible in order to collage with them. It was really great discovering the potential of all these different scraps of paper that normally would have been thrown away without a second thought!

See more of the scrapbook here

Summer Project

Postcard No. 3

Some feeeaky beetles in pen and ink

This was made more out of fun than anything else (well, it was partially inspired by some 'creepy crawlies' I encountered in Greece but they weren't near enough as gruesome as the ones I ended up drawing). Mainly it was an opportunity to test out a few new nips I had bought for my dip pen. I think they turned out reasonably well... certainly enjoyed drawing them anyway! 

Postcard No. 3, summer 2011

The drawings were done in a small square booklet, which slots into a neat origami pocket envelope. 

Postcard No. 2

Last summer I had so much going on - with there being a wedding, popping up to Sheffield, visiting relatives in Germany, going to Greece and California - that you're probably left thinking I had fallen at my feet with this postcard project! Well, all I can say is, it was bloody hard trying to find the time to crack on with making those six postcards with all that whizzing around. Not that I'm complaining... that summer break was probably one of the best I've ever had and I won't be wanting to forget it in a hurry. But now looking back, I'm left in a bit of a haze as to what order everything happened and that goes for the postcards too. I think this was the second one...

Postcard No. 2, summer 2011

Here I decided to make a travel journal in the form of a hardcover (case binding) single-signature sketchbook for my trip to Greece. It is kind of like a scrapbook as it doesn't really consist of any final/finished images. I mainly just wanted to experiment with combining various techniques, such as image transfer, collage and mono-print, using found and drawn imagery from that holiday. Not every page was a success but then, what would be the use of experimentating?

To judge the rest for yourself, feel free to check out all the pages here!

Summer Project

Postcard No. 1

Early last summer I had been taking photographs in Sheffield's once industrially active Neepsend district, and creating mono-print studies of Hill and Adamson's photographs of working class citizens of the 19th century.* The products of these pursuits seemed to turn out well and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to present them in a book showing my interest in England's industrial roots in the 1800s, as well as the people who inhabited that world. 

Postcard No. 1, summer 2011

For those of you interested in book-binding, I made a wraparound hardcover portfolio (case binding) with an inner folder insert. The paper folder attached inside served to hold together a selection of the photographs from my walk in Neepsend and a small single-signature bound booklet of my mono-prints.

*To save a lot of waffle I'll delve into these two aspects of the first 'postcard' a bit more in separate posts later. Don't want to be at the risk of boring you lot! 

But if you really can't wait that long, have a sneaky peak here...

Summer Project

Postcard Project

'Postcards', summer 2011

Last summer we were given a 'Postcard' project where we had to send 6 things to our tutor - lucky thing - loosely depicting what we had been up to over the holiday. You might think "Hang on, those don't look like postcards?" but really we could basically send anything... and I mean anything! I mainly opted for book-binding and making my own sketchbooks as it is a craft I really wanted to explore further.

This post has been long overdue but I thought I'd gradually post every one up on here over the duration of this week. So watch this space!