Composition & Framing

Titian's The Rape of Europa


Robert Cappa


Eliot Erwitt


Eliot Erwitt


Larry Towell

Class Discussion: Adams, Meatyard, Winogrand, Modica

Ansel Adams, Mouth Lassan from the Devasted Area, Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park, 1945

Before title

• in focus
• complex
• depth: foreground and background
• shades: definitive colors
• happy
• harsh/tension
• two focal points (tree, mountain)
• looks frozen
• all encompassed in picture
  

After hearing title

• actual place
• more narrative
• sad
• what you focus on determines mood
• lighting
• factual/focused on a place�

Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Untitled (Zen Twig), 1961

Before title

• not in focus
• simple
• flat
• blended color
• shadowy
• drowsy
• one focal point (twig)
• movement/bending/ghosting
• only twig/everything not included
  

After title

• not a specific place
• a thing, not a story
• more tranquil
• idea of something/forces feeling
• eye travels along line (twig)�
  

Gary Winogrand, New York, 1968�

• woman waving down a cab
• two girls
• divided into three worlds with curb in the middle: sidewalk, curb, street
• contrast of light
• hard to find focal point
• relationship of women and children—foreshadowing?
  

Compared/contrasted with Andrea Modica image below

• very defined
• busy
• clear
• more contrast
• lots of shadows
• movement through lines on street and angles
• angular and mechanical
• moving yet no motion�
  

Andrea Modica�

• boy in motion
• white dog in background
• arms are missing
• blurry/ to show motion
• boy is bent over/curved
  

Compared/contrasted with Gary Winogrand image above

• less clear
• drawn further back into the background
• less busy
• muted
• gray
• more organic
  

What Makes a Pinhole Picture Good?

Here is the list you came up with during class:

GOOD (the pictures you selected)

• asymmetry
• flat
• painterly
• dreamy
• hazy
• distortion
• changing scale
• curvy
• ghostly
• abstract
• clarity
• composition that draws you (the viewer) in

BAD

• too much going on
• no main focus
  

VIDEO: Pinhole Camera Construction

From Negative to Positive

So, now that you know how to make paper negatives, how do you turn them into positives?

1. At the enlarger, open the aperture (lens opening) so that you have a lot of light coming out of the enlarger.

2. Dial your filter to #3 or place a #2-3 filter in the enlarger (flip the door—remember to turn the enlarger off before doing this).

3. Place your negative face down on a fresh piece of photo paper—remember to place the pieces of paper emulsion to emulsion (shiny side to shiny side). Sandwich with glass.

4. Set your timer to 5 seconds.

5. Cover all but a strip of the paper with an opaque object (cardboard). Expose for 5 sec.

6. Move the cardboard so that you are exposing another strip of the paper. Expose for 5 sec. again. Keep this up until the entire sheet has been exposed for a range of time (5–30 sec.)

7. Develop the test strip.

8. Choose a time where your picture looks the best (not too light, not too dark).

9. Place a fresh, bigger piece of photo paper down and expose the entire negative for the time you determined to be the best. Process paper.

10. Evaluate the print to see if you need to adjust the filter. If your print looks too gray, increase the filter to increase the contrast; if your print looks too contrasty, decrease your filter to lower the contrast. We will discuss filters in more detail soon.

Good luck!

MADE IN POLAND: CONTEMPORARY PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Brant Gallery, South Building, 3rd Floor
621 Huntington Avenue
September 17—October 12, 2007
Gallery Talk: Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 3 p.m.
Reception: Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 5–7 p.m.

As photography becomes ever more high tech and digital, photographers around the globe are turning to the pinhole camera—a lensless, deceptively simple yet surprisingly versatile alternative to mainstream technology. The seven artists in this exhibition are all from Poland, the site of much exciting contemporary pinhole photography. Their pinhole images range in mood from whimsical, witty, poetic, and mysterious to slyly subversive.

Long-time, Boston-based pinhole photographers Jesseca Ferguson and Walter Crump had the privilege of exhibiting their own pinhole images in Kraków, Poland in 2005. As curators of this current exhibit, they are pleased to bring pinhole images and the artists who made them to Boston.

Office Hours

My office hours for Fall 2007 are:

Wednesdays, 6-6:30 p.m. and by appointment.

Pinhole Picture Inspiration

Here are some pinhole images by photographers I like.

Barbara Ess:


Ruth Thorn-Thomspon:



Christopher Bucklow:

Pinhole Camera Construction

Here are instructions on how to make a pinhole camera—just in case you've misplaced the handout or want to share with your friends.