Photograms/ Rayographs
History of photograms
Some of the first photographic images made were photograms. William Henry Fox Talbot called these photogenic drawings, which he made by placing leaves and pieces of material onto sensitized paper, then left them outdoors on a sunny day to expose. This produced a dark background with a white silhouette of the object used.
A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The usual result is a negative shadow image that shows variations in tone that depends upon the transparency of the objects used. Areas of the paper that have received no light appear white; those exposed through transparent or semi-transparent objects appear grey.
The technique is sometimes called cameraless photographs. It was used by Man ray in his exploration of rayographs. |
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steps for a Photogram.
You put the paper underneath the enlarger, but before you turn on the light you have to postion you objects on the paper to the way you want. When you turn the light on you count to ten and the turn it off. Afterwards there are 3 trays in which you put you photogram in the first tray is the developer, The second one is the stopper and the third one is the fix. After you put all of these in the trays you wipe off the water and hang them off to dry.
here are my examples of photograms
here are my examples of photograms
example 1 : this example is my first try and is good for a first try because i have got a different range of objects, but i could of done better by adding more objects in the centre of the paper and showing more of the objects.
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Example 2: this example is my best one.This was my second try and the reason it is my best one is because i've got more objects and i've put some in the centre of the paper and some of the objects are darker than others.
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Man Ray's rayographs Photograms were used in the 20th century by a number of photographers, particularly Man Ray, who called them "rayographs". His style capitalised on the stark and unexpected effects of negative imaging, unusual juxtapositions of identifiable objects (such as spoons and pearl necklaces), variations in the exposure time given to different objects within a single image, and moving objects as the sensitive materials were being exposed.
ProcedureIn a darkroom, or a darkened room, objects are arranged on top a piece of photographic material, usually photographic paper. When the operator is satisfied with the arrangement, the photographic material is exposed with light, usually by switching on an enlarger or other artificial light source. The material is then processed, washed and dried.