Daguerreotype and Cyanotype Photography

Daguerreotype

Daguerreotype photography was invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839. In order to produce daguerreotype photographs, a photographer would polish a piece of silver-plated copper and make it look like a piece of mirror. A photographer would then treat it with a chemical to make it light sensitive and finally take a photograph, exposing the plate to the light as long as need be. Daguerreotype photographs characteristically have a metallic sheen to them are are black-and-white or in sepia tones. The photographs may also be framed by ornate gold borders.

Contemporary daguerreotype photographer: John Hurlock


Historical daguerreotype photographer: Robert Cornelius

Cyanotype

Sir John Herschel invented the cyanotype process in 1842, but it was Anna Atkins who applied the method to photography. Before, it had just been used as a means to copy notes and diagrams into blueprints.  The solution of a cyanotype photograph was painted onto specific paper and then exposed to the sun. Whatever elements may be lain atop of the paper, typically plants, will appear in an x-ray looking pattern. Cyanotypes are known for their dramatically blue hues.

Contemporary cyanotype photographer: Egill Ibsen


Historical cyanotype photographer: Anna Atkins

Project Six - Multiple Image Techniques

HDR Images

I find the HDR effect on this photograph very interesting. To me, it looks like something out of a sci-fi fairytale. The textures appear much harsher in the image, and you can't quite tell if it's real or not. Though very different than any edit I've ever given an image, I liked how this turned out.

This image was created using a different style of HDR. The first HDR photograph was given a harsh, unrealistic edit. This second image was created using different exposures of the moss. By putting them together, they created a photograph which reflected the accurate colors of the moss. I like the rich greens that the final photograph shows. 

Panorama

This panorama is of the track at Jackson Middle School. Though I captured the track completely, I had trouble while editing. I could not completely make the image flow together. There are some areas where the exposure of the grass changes and where the track doesn't line up. I attempted to fix some of these issues while editing, but I couldn't get it completely. 

Multiple Exposures

For this image, I took multiple images of a tree. I specifically wanted to take pictures of a tree because I wanted to see how the branches would look once layered upon one another. I chose to give this image an edit that I've never done before. I "inverted" the colors in Photoshop to give it this transparent effect. I like the chaos of the branches as well as the spooky mood the colors give off.

In order to create this photograph, I layered multiple images of hands. I had the hands create a shadow-puppet eagle shape because I thought that the wings (fingers) would appear as if they were moving. I had some trouble editing this at first, due to the dark background. However, I ended up only using four images which was better than the original idea I had, which helped with the editing issue. I am happy with the final edit and photographs that I chose to create this image.