Broughty Ferry, to the north of Dundee, Angus, Scotland (1880) Carte de Visite

Paris France, 1865 Ambrotype

Both these images seem very similar actually. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I wasn't aware that these images are from different photography practices. The Ambrotype seems to be a lot clearer than the Carte de Visite. The Carte de Visite seems to be more grainy and yellowish. The Ambrotype also seems to possess more depth than the Carte de Visite. Overall, I think the Ambrotype is a better photograph just because it possesses more definition and depth but I guess it is just up to the observer.

With a large format camera, the lens plane allows for manipulation of focus. I chose this image because I like meddling with the focus of a photo in order to bring to light something that would normally go unseen. It seems like some parts are softer than other parts which is interesting. I also think the use of angles in this photo frames the photo in a way that other shapes would not. The depth of the photo also brings to light the frames of angles in the photo. All in all, I like this photo because of the definition of some parts and the softness of others.

These two images are from the Romantic Era. These may not seem to have to anything in common but I see some similarities as I view each one. I chose these because they both seem to be concerned with the human condition. By taking a photograph of the pyramids in Egypt, one is investigating the human condition of the past and moreover the way in which the afterlife was viewed. In the same light, William Blake's painting appears to be an investigation of the human condition as it relates to death. Death and as a result life seems to be the framework for both these works. Both these works are different views of life in the framework of death but they seem to both be pointing towards life as being finite and investigating that reality either by speculating on religion or by studying the religious practices of history.

An early calotype of Brighton's Royal Pavilion, probably taken by William Henry Fox Talbot (1846).

I chose this image because I enjoy looking at old photographs of significant sites. I like the symmetry in this photo also. The shapes add texture to the photo. Calotypes are interesting because they possess a certain amount of texture that other mediums of photography don't possess. The grainy texture adds to the quality of this photo. Alongside the grainy texture, the lack of focus in this photo is also very interesting. Like with pinhole cameras, there seems to be nothing that is completely in focus but rather everything in the photo is in focus. I like that this photo does not choose one thing to focus on over another but rather absorbs the whole landscape and being one image.

Boulevard du Temple, Paris - Daguerreotype taken by Louis Daguerre

Daguerreotypes are interesting to me because they resemble a sort of raw sketch of the world. It seems like they come from a draw when in fact they are an actual photo. There is a rawness about them that is not present in today's photography except through digital imaging processes. The contrast between light and dark in this photo is obvious which makes the shapes of the city jump out. It is just interesting because of the rawness it possesses without being a sketch.

I couldn't find the largest pinhole photograph but I did find the largest pinhole camera. It is described: "A huge piece of muslin cloth was made light sensitive by coating it with 80 litres of gelatin silver halide. It was hung from the ceiling at a distance of about 80 feet (24 m) from a pinhole, just under ¼ inch in diameter, situated 15 feet above ground level in the wall. The distance between the pinhole and the cloth was determined to be 80 feet for best coverage, and the exposure time was calculated at 35 minutes. The opaque negative image print was developed in an Olympic-swimming-pool-size tray with 600 gallons of traditional developer and 1200 gallons of fixer, and was washed using fire hoses attached to two fire hydrants. The resulting finished print was nearly 108 ft wide and 85 ft high and was exhibited for the first time at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, on September 6, 2007."

This is interesting because pinholes don't really have a center of focus; they sort of absorb the world in which is presented to them. This is why I like pinhole photography so much because it just absorbs independent of the photographers intentions. One can place the camera in a certain direction but one is not completely certain of what will and won't be absorbed. That is the sheer magic of pinhole photography; it absorbes independent of anything else.

Photogram

This photogram is interesting because it utilizes the forms of the hand as the foreground for the rest of the objects. A photogram is defined as a process, "The result is a negative shadow image varying in tone, depending on 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". In other words, objects that are transparent appear grey while object that aren't appear white. In this photo in particular I like the contrast of the non-transparent hand to the transparent images that are gray in the background. One is first drawn towards the hands as a sort of framework for the photo in which the grey images are enveloped. One is then guided through a sort of tunnel made by the hands into the realization of the more transparent images. This process is a very interesting way in which one can view the world.