Tag: Chance

BOW: A3 contact sheet, film strip/blade

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 8 Comments

Wanted to photograph this strip of film I have although not sure how, but borrowed a macro lens and a small lightbox. Never worked with a lightbox before and am sure there must be a range of different qualities and light types which one can acquire. This one is like the continuous lights I used years ago when first starting out. It was suggested that I switch to fluorescent in WB but it was way too blue so I tried every setting and in the end, Auto was best although every frame is different even though I shot in the dark to avoid mixing sources.

The most interesting image for me was when I used my own 50mm, and included the various signs of age and wear and tear. The reason I like this one is it looks like a cinema screen. I suspect it would be better if I manipulated the lines so it’s more accurately square on (I tried my best in-camera – maybe I’ll ignore the other pics which don’t excite me at all and give this another try tomorrow evening.) I will include some of the others but I can’t see myself taking them any further. I also shot a blade on the lightbox but I will try other ways of shooting it, I think. There’s a great passage in the Barad book where she uses the shadow of a blade to explain how diffraction works and does weird things. So it’s not only a good signifier of slicing, potential pain, a reference to Un Chien Andalou – it’s also a prop for Barad.

Talking of ‘the Cut’, Emma suggested Berger’s Understanding a Photograph and I’ve found some super references for the essay and context for this work. As for this BOW, I’m still not feeling it though (will write more about that another time).

(c)SJField2020-2001

Putting the contact sheet here – I may relook at a couple but mostly they don’t interest me. Some have had a bit of fiddling in LR/some have been left as shot with all the WB issues laid bare.

 

BOW A3: Scans as a possibility

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 8 Comments

Following on from the previous post, After Photography (Ritchin, 2009) explores non-camera ‘photography’. I have been playing with scans over the last year or so.

Today I scanned the following and in a couple of cases used the ‘wrong’ settings: (Click on image to see view)

BOW: A3 images – the agential cut

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 1 Comment

I spent some time today working with the idea of the agential cut and photography. Tomorrow I will look at Processing/film/making the image move.

Just to remind people –

  • ‘An agential cut, therefore, can be viewed as making and giving meaning to human-data assemblages.’ (Lupton, 2019: 30)
  • “…any attempt to impose meaning and order is an intervention (a cut) that produces specific effects, and is inevitably part of the matter it seeks to observe or document. They [Kember and Zylinska (2012)] represent photography as a specific cut in meaning, a way of delimiting from all the choices availabe what can be recorded and displayed, and therefore, how meaning can be generated. It is the medium by which things are brought into being by humans and non-humans (e.g) cameras [phone, scanners, etc.] working together. Photography makes agential cuts that produce life forms rather than simply documenting them. ‘It is a way of giving form to matter’ (Kember and Zylinksa 2012: 84)’ (Lupton, 2019: 29)
  • ‘Images or representations are not snapshots or depictions of what awaits is but rather condensations or traces of multiple practices of engagement’ (Barad, 2007: 53)
  • Potential images to accompany writings

 

Today’s Contact Sheet (ones that stand out immediatelyadjusted in LT but none in PS):

BOW A3: Tom’s first film

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 3 Comments

Tom’s first film (1971), which I bought from eBay is a bit of a shallow pool which I’ve been thinking about and looking at for some days now… How am I going to make work with the actual imagery? – I can, however, think of several possible ways to play with the object. Once the kids are back at school I will have space and time to take some photographs of the actual film which I wanted to do but goodness knows what to do with the footage…

The film has, alongside other activities, helped to further consolidate directions. And I wonder if the film will part be of the journey rather than anything final.

So far I have made two experiments, here’s one of them. If shown in a live setting, it would be preferable to have the processing running live rather than a screen recording like this. This video is generated by code in Processing  – by randomly relaying screenshots from the film (i.e ‘agential cuts’ into Tom’s amorphous and unformed recording).  The film reminded a friend of a Goerges Braque image in tone and structure, which was encouraging as I stared at it wondering whether it was anything or not (see below). Braque’s is called Violin and Candlestick (1910) and I guess I might call this Processing experiment Camera and Food Processor. I need to ask Simon C. who did the Processing course at the TPG with me how to stop the random placements from all heading in the same direction. I wish I could do the course again to augment some of what we learnt as I am currently picking through old files from the tutors very slowly as I try to figure out how to do things. I might also get the code to record the iterations and then handpick still combinations that are most striking. When its running live, I particularly like the frames where the food processor appears many times at once – with black holes all over the screen.

 

Violin_and_Candlestick
Georges Braque Violin and Candlestick (1910)

 

 

BOW: A development – Chance

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 1 Comment

I have had the film returned, digitised. I have not looked at it yet and held off writing more or making any decisions until I saw it. The company who did it were super helpful – and ended up sending two versions, one at the original cine-speed of 18fps and one at the more up to date speed (I will double-check to see if they’ve used of 24fps or something slightly slower as 24fps is still impressionistic even though we are so used to seeing that speed.)

Screenshot of the dropbox that has been sent below. It looks so tantalising! ‘A Commentary’  – how exciting… or perhaps it will just be disappointing and I shall need to go back to the drawing board. Let’s see.

Screen Shot 2019-12-24 at 10.31.43

 

BOW A3: Chance elements

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 6 Comments

Phew – the super 8 film I ordered from eBay arrived today. I was beginning to get a bit twitchy. Must get this digitised before I can begin to experiment and play with both physical and digital versions, creating assemblages of matter and discursive practice, undoing the past and unsettling identity. I have no idea what is on it  – just that eBay claimed it was made in 1971, the year I was born. I may be able to use the images, I may not. I may only be able to use the object. I don’t know….

IMG_0877

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BOW A3: Early formats/ideas/sketches

~ Sarah-Jane Field ~ 2 Comments

I have been working with some images I took in the Summer in Italy. And I keep returning to them. I feel like for now, they are the best and most accessible material suggestive of the themes I am exploring.

Although I hurriedly (relatively) created a short sequence of them and added them to my newish website I kept going back to them as they are really expressing something of what I am exploring – a seismic and profound overall of how we relate to the reality of which we are a part* – and I wanted to explore them further. I made these alongside the images I submitted for A2.

I am still thinking about creating, as suggested, a poetry book of images and text, and perhaps making a film to go alongside it.

I can envisage showing these various elements as objects in a scaled-up ‘reenactment’ of the way film is structured: i.e. frame after frame after frame. I am playing with the dismantling of a simulation – one that has been building for centuries.

I am a very long way from something yet – and also considering how I can bring found and original images together but here are two early testing-out examples of ideas I am playing with.

In DI&C A2 the work came about due to chance as I did not plan each and every animation carefully – I think I even wrote that I sort of metaphorically threw both films up in the air and then took a look at what occurred – I think that is how I need to work with any material I find  – perhaps watching how these images work alongside an old Macdonalds training video I found – looking for odd combinations.

Or else is this set of images and title one of a collection of ‘poems’ to be included and compiled together? I don’t know yet.

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Working draft The Undoing 2 – 

The Undoing – draft cont.

*Note the double meaning   – ‘of which we are a part’. This phrase excellently captures how we are both part and a part  – separate and enmeshed at the same time. Some people see one and others the other – there is a war being waged between the two world-views.