First Semester Overview, Second Semester Plans

     First semester is over, which means I'm in my last few months of high school ever.  I learned so much so far this year, most notably how to process black and white film.  I developed nine rolls of 35mm and one roll of 120, which will be posted soon.  I now consider myself proficient with the developing process, only occasionally making mistakes (dumping 20 oz of fixer into the sink instead of back into the jug....).  I also learned how to print with an enlarger, but I still am having issues lining up the paper correctly and finding the perfect exposure consistently.  Those issues should be resolved quickly in the next few weeks, though.

     With the basics down, I hope to continue shooting and developing both formats of film.  I would like to successfully complete the Liquid Emulsion project on wood that's been sitting on the counter for a few months.  I would like to at least begin to incorporate my own photography into my mixed media pieces.  Most importantly, I will shoot and complete my senior year AP Portfolio, especially the concentration section.

     Related to photography but outside of class, my goals also include deciding on my plan for college.  I was accepted to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit with a $44,000 scholarship.  My portfolio review for Kendall College of Art and Design is on February 15th, and KCAD is my first choice by far.  However, the amount of money offered by CCS may prove to be the deciding factor unless KCAD gives me an equal or better scholarship.  We'll have to see...

Liquid Light Emulsion Frustration

Something that I have not yet photographed to show on this blog (because I'm not so proud of them) is my work with liquid emulsion.  I've tried it on paper, an eggshell, and a lightbulb with very minimal success, and on a record and wood cuts with no result.  I took a few week break from this to not stress out, but look to continue it tomorrow.

More Classic BW Processing

Second Self Developed Roll

These are images from my second roll of self developed film.  However, I did cheat and get these scanned at Walgreens instead of scanning them myself.  This was the roll that was in the tank when it cracked open, but luckily they weren't ruined (even though the entire lab now smells like fixer). 

First Self Developed Roll

These are my favorite images from the first roll of film I shot, developed, scanned, and edited by myself.  It took me almost an hour to open and spool the film- I don't recommend an industrial can opener to open up a roll, ha.  Overall I'm extremely pleased with how these came out.

Cracked Tank, and Other Current Projects

Cracked Tank, a photo by Hailey Lamb on Flickr.

Since my last post, I've learned how to develop my own film and developed two rolls. I will share some of those images in their own post.

I've also continued to work on anthotypes and photosynthesis prints, but the lack of sunlight has made it very slow work. Considering there is already snow on the ground, it looks like I'll be investing in a UV lamp soon.

In the coming weeks I hope to work on mixed media projects, mostly having to do with creative matting, stacked prints, and distressing.

I also just found out from my photography teacher that I need to start doing drawing exercises to suplement my portfolio and to prepare me for college. Since I know absolutely nothing about drawing, this is a little daunting. I hope that it will positively influence my artist skills, though.

Photosynthesis Printing

T. Grace, a photo by Hailey Lamb on Flickr.

These are the first two photosynthesis prints to finish forming. It took about one full day of sun. I have 10 more of this image printing on individual leaves and one larger collage of the same image as well.

In person, the image is much more prominent.