In the Darkroom...

I’ve been creating photograms lately. I’ll attempt to explain as best I can what photograms are for those who don’t know & may be interested. If a long-winded description about the process doesn’t appeal to you just scroll down to look at the pretty pictures ☺ Photograms are a form of photography in that they use sensitised photographic paper, a light source (lamp or sunlight) & conventional photographic developing chemicals. The difference between Photograms & Photographs is that no camera or film is used to create photograms. It’s camera-less photography! Images can be captured by placing objects (botanical specimens being most widely used) directly onto the sensitised photo paper, exposing them to light & then developing in the conventional manner. More abstract images can be produced without the need for objects, simply by experimenting with light sources/exposure times and painting with the developing chemicals directly onto the sensitised paper. This is followed with the remaining steps of the print-developing process. It’s a little like painting with invisible ink as the final image isn’t revealed until the paper is developed, therefore the final result always has some element of surprise. Photograms can be fun to make because they’re part mad scientist, part child-like messing about, and part attempting to find ways to get more precise control of the process of layering photogram images & chemical painting. The first documented photograms were by Henry Fox Talbot dating back to the 1830s and are hailed as the invention and foundation of photography. Many artists and photographers have experimented with photograms over the years. Possibly the most famously made were by Dada/Surrealist artist Man Ray during the 1920s. Rayographs being the clever term coined by Man Ray for his photograms.

I’m planning on offering some of my photograms as ACEOs & listing them in my shop as soon as they're mounted & photographed. Photographing them is proving to be very tricky. Grrr! All of my photograms are black & white with some having nice soft sepia tones. Here are two that I’ve attached to black mountboard (cut to 2.5 x 3.5 inches as per ACEO size) & I’ve trimmed the photograms slightly smaller so as to give them a slim black border once attached to the mountboard. The first photogram shown is one of my botanical ones & the second is one of my experimental abstract style ones.




I started experimenting with photograms a few years ago & really enjoy making them. However, what I don’t enjoy are the horrid headaches that I usually end up with caused by the fumes from the developing chemicals. Very annoying. Sigh...