Saturday, November 14, 2009

Abstract elements in Photos

I like how EmptySpaces has found a way to let the sprocket holes in 35mm film show in the pictures, actually inside the pictures. It introduces an abstract element, which I feel helps the viewer view the photo directly, instead of looking "through" the photo and only looking at the subject.

Some large format photographers used to do something similar, in that they included the edge of the film holder with the photo. The film holder has a couple of notches and such, and it made the photo seem more "physical".

Black and White photography itself is sort of an abstract element.

With the computer, it is of course easy to introduce all kinds of abstract elements. But most of them feel very artificial to me. Does anybody have tips for some which might not seem so dang contrived?

6 comments:

Michael said...

The real film holes have a halo around them, sort of. They are also not quite the same every hole. Randomness? Analogish?

Shoot some perfectly exposed 50% gray, scan it, and use multiply or overlay to add the sprocket look to digital.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Thank you very much.

I am also hoping to get tips for techniques which are not faked analogue techniques, but new.

Alex said...

I thought prints showing sprocket holes was a way of saying "see, I don't have to crop my compositions"

I think you should have an animated border, about 5 pixels wide, where each row of pixels counter rotates at varying speeds.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

""I thought prints showing sprocket holes was a way of saying "see, I don't have to crop my compositions""

Yes, that too. Seen that way it's a little snobbish, I think.


"I think you should have an animated border, about 5 pixels wide, where each row of pixels counter rotates at varying speeds."

LOL! Yeah, I'm sure that'll be popular. Especially in neon colors.

Alex said...

Actually, here's a fun one. On the back of recent issue Green Cards (I-551) they have the picture of every president of the United States of America. Mine is a couple of years old, so misses Obama, my previous one didn't have Bush the Younger on it either.

The presidents are in one long strip, each portrait is about 3mm sq. You could take part of your collection and make a micro portrait border for your images. Just an idea.

emptyspaces said...

Michael, I wonder if the randomness of film sprocket holes is a result of the geared mechanism that propels them forward in a 35mm camera...they grab, pull, and stretch the holes on their journey through the camera. Just a guess.

Of course, through the Holga camera the film is just being pulled by tension, not by the sprockets. So you end up with pristine film holes.

I'm actually a bit surprised there's no Photoshop filter or action floating around that can do a reasonable approximation of the film holes, maybe even able to mimic various film stocks.