Miranda Satterly’17
Dodge and Burn Selected Images from the Silver Gelatin Print Portfolios of Elmira College Students Fall 2015 & Winter 2016
Why take photos? Why not? It is human to keep something to remember. To take in a sight and want to keep it. That, and I admit to being a sucker for reminiscing. Abby Tourison’17
Abby Tourison’17
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Why use film? T
oday I read an online BBC News report that more than 300 million
people use Instagram at least once a day, posting a mindboggling average of 95 million photos and videos daily. I confess that I have occasionally contributed to those Instagram statistics, and I know many of my students, both past and present, also add to that massive number of online photographs. We are attracted to this image capturing app for many reasons: foremost, our phones are often, if not always, with us. The app is free. Our results can be seen immediately and shared instantly with friends, if not with the world. We trash the “bad”ones without regret. No need for Photoshop when the images can be edited with striking visual effect by using filters with such intriguing names as Lux, Hudson, Sierra, and Walden. Instagram is so much a part of life in the 21st Century that Time Magazine reports that millennial parents of 2015 have been known to christen their newborns with those and other Instagram filter names, with Lux (which means ‘light’ in Latin) being the number one name of choice. It all seems so easy, so natural, to capture our pedestrian lives with modern technology. Snapchat, Youtube and Facebook icons appear on the screens of our digital devices and interacting with them has become part of our daily ritual. A consequence is often that the photograph is no longer carefully seen or crafted with care, but instead serves a mainly utilitarian purpose. This transitory/ubiquitous nature of photography of today clashes with Henri Cartier-Bresson’s observation that “what’s made with time, time respects.” His sentiment begs the question:
Of the 95 million images posted today, which photos will time respect, i.e., which photographs will continue to be of interest in ten minutes, ten days, ten years or ten centuries?
Kaitlyn Ritz’18
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I have chosen Instagram as the foil to traditional darkroom photography in order to help us understand and appreciate the silver gelatin photographic images selected for this book. Silver gelatin refers primarily to traditional photographic papers that are coated with light sensitive silver halides suspended in a gelatin emulsion. To create the images displayed in this book, my students first exposed and developed their own 35mm Tri-x film and then made a contact sheet to view all 36 exposures at once. Selecting their favorite images from this array, they learned to skillfully enlarge these photos one frame at a time, processing both test strips and final prints in three separate trays of chemicals under the safelights of the darkroom. My students who ventured into this seemingly ancient practice of film photography experienced the magic of the darkroom. They discovered that unlike Instagram photos that remain online and often forgotten, a gelatin silver print might become a memorable photograph that they could tangibily treasure. Their love of Instagram never diminished, but it has taken on new meaning. They agree that digitally produced photographs cannot hold the same value traditional photos once had because new technologies allow an infinite number of high quality results by both amateur and professional alike. Who wouldn’t want to live in this tech-saturated, fast-paced world, where communicating with photos is nearly as easy as breathing? It has become an inalienable right akin to literacy and the right to a free public education, as predicted in the 1930s by Bauhaus photographer Laslo Moholy-Nagy: the illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as the pen This does not mean my students don’t see the value of learning the skills necessary for mastering traditional photography. On the contrary, they often feel, as one student put it, “I actually LEARNED something in this class!” On the following pages as we can view their work while simultaneously reading their commentary about film photography. Their carefully crafted photos often act as a point of meditation, reflection and precious memory that is so often lost in our chaotic scene of 95 million Instragram posts per day (not even counting Facebook, Flicker, Google+, and so many other social media spaces). When we turn the pages, we not only turn back in time, but also stop time... at least for more than an Instagram instant. Jan Kather June 21, 2016 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36584511 http://time.com/4130646/baby-names-instagram-2015/ http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=590&name=MoholyNagy,Laszlo#ixzz4CtE4alw2
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The Photographers 1 Miranda Satterly’17 2 Abby Tourison’17 3 Kaitlyn Ritz’18 5 Atu Machika’18 6 Brittany Lyon’16 8 Andrea Esposito’16 8 Michael McCormick’16 9 Kayleigh Livermore’16 9 Ellie Knapp’16 10 Valerie Zamor’19 11 Karissa Andersen’18 12 Beth Ogden’16 13 Arianna Goble’18 13 Clayton Cerne’16 14 Ashley Reichard’17 15 Kaurin Gibson’18 15 Christine Powers’17 16 Kyle Beekman’18 16 Stephanie Tock’16 16 Brigitte Zamor’16 17 Amelia Butler’17 17 Kodai Tanaka’19 18 Destiny Allen’17
18 Isabela Gonzalez’18 19 Kaitlyn Ritz’18 19 Miranda Satterly’17 19 Gabrielle Higgins’18 19 Amelia Butler’17 20 Isabela Gonzalez’18 20 Wyatt Katsos’17 20 Phoebe Piku’16 20 Christine Powers’17 21 Blaithe Donovan’17 21 Sara Pieniazek’17 21 Scott Ferron’16 22 Aidan Gray’19 22 Meagan Fullen’17 22 Sandro Aeschlimann’18 22 Melissa Morrow’18 23 Sonia Gwaneza’16 23 Heather Arena’16 23 Ellie Knapp’16 23 Kyle Beekman’18 24 Arianna Goble’18 24 Madison Chalfant 24 Melissa Morrow’18
Atu Machika’18
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Over the past six years I have used a digital Nikon Coolpix S9100 to capture my experiences. Simple camera models such as this make it possible for beginning photographers to capture quality photos. Taking a photography course Term I has been a journey down a new path. I fell in love with a new way of creating photos. The ironic thing is: this is in no way a new art form. I have great respect for the founders of fine art photography who demonstrated the skill and talent required to master 35mm film and darkroom techniques. Brittany Lyon’16
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Photography was never a large part of my life, aside from documenting major life events, like graduation and prom. After taking an introductory photography course, I see that photography is for so much more than that. I now realize the true beauty in photography, the beauty that captures a perfect moment in time. Now I see the world through the lens of a camera. In the fast paced world we live in, we too often forget to take a moment and notice the beauty in our world. Photography allows me to take the time to appreciate my surroundings. I try to see the subjects of my photographs in different ways, not always taking photographs with traditional framing. I feel that with some subjects, photographs can be more interesting if they are not taken ‘perfectly.’ Andrea Esposito’16
Film photography added a whole level of detail that I had never worked on before. Photography today removes the appreciation for the hours of work it takes to get a good result for one image. It requires a level of planning, and sometimes hours of work in the darkroom. Michael McCormick’16 8
As an art student on the verge of graduating and starting my life outside of school, I consider myself so lucky to have finally had my first experience with traditional photography. I have gained such an incredible appreciation for the technique and the discipline that are required when attempting to properly capture a moment in time. My portfolio is based on capturing the moments that define just a few of the various stages of life. I decided to focus on people doing things that I thought really captured the essence of their respective ages. Kayleigh Livermore’16
My work pits the ordinary against the unexpected. I believe the simple things that are seen everyday hold beauty, and I hope to convey that in my work. Ellie Knapp’16 9
Drawing from photo by Valerie Zamor’19
I have grown to appreciate black and white photography and the process of developing pictures in the darkroom. Black and white photography is timeless and captures an image of blacks, greys, and whites that may seem boring to some, but gives the imagination an array of colorful insight when deciphering what is being captured. Valerie Zamor’19
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Initially, when I entered Photography I, I only had knowledge of digital photography. Film photography was an entirely new process for me. With this new way of viewing photographs, I had the opportunity to really develop and explore my interest in the impact of light and shadow on the images I captured. I often found myself photographing the trees around the Elmira College campus. I couldn’t exactly define the allure, other than the fact that it was fascinating to me that these large pillars of life surrounded us in such rich abundance and provided so much beauty and natural resources, yet they were largely taken for granted and ignored. In addition to that, I loved the diversity of shadows that could be created with the bodies and foliage of these trees. Karissa Andersen’18
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My film photos were captured using my grandfather’s Canon T80 35mm camera and processed in a darkroom. Beth Ogden’16
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I rather enjoyed working in the darkroom because it gave me complete control over my work and how it came out. Arianna Goble’18
In today’s world the art of photography is overlooked by the public due to the ease of capturing moments with our phones. Technology allows us to take fantastic photographs, but it takes away from the skill that used to be required in the field. Clayton Cerne’16 13
I have never paid much attention to the specifics of photography: the many angles to take a picture at, the apertures or the different lenses. I learned throughout this class that each captured moment is sentimental to the person behind the lens taking the picture. For each photo I have chosen the time of day, angle and specific element that I believe is most important to me.I am not a photographer who advocates for manipulation of the photos I have chosen. I like to keep my photos as real and original as the moment I take them. Ashley Reichard’17
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I have always been interested and intrigued by photography. Taking the Introduction to Photography class made me aware of many aspects of the art that I was once oblivious to. I now have a greater appreciation for film photography because of the amount of effort and time that must be put into every photograph. From ensuring the picture is taken using the most accurate shutter speed and aperture, to correctly processing and developing the rolls of film and even printing a photograph using the most flattering filter, film photography in itself is truly an art. Kaurin Gibson’18
Christine Powers’17
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Kyle Beekman’18
Kyle Beekman’18
Stephanie Tock’16
Brigitte Zamor’16
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Amelia Butler’17
Kodai Tanaka’19
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Destiny Allen’17
Isabela Gonzalez ‘18
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Miranda Satterly’17
Kaitlyn Ritz’18
Miranda Satterly’17
Gabrielle Higgins’18 Miranda Satterly’17
Miranda Satterly’17
Amelia Butler’17
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Isabela Gonzalez ‘18
Wyatt Katsos’17
Phoebe Piku’16
Christine Powers’17
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Sarah Pieniazek’17
Sarah Pieniazek’17
Blaithe Donovan’17
Scott Ferron’16
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Aidan Gray’19
Meagan Fullen’17 Sandro Aeschlimann’18
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Melissa Morrow’18
Sonia Gwaneza’16
Heather Arena’18
Ellie Knapp’16
Kyle Beekman’18
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Arianna Goble’18
Madison Chalfant
Madison Chalfant
Melissa Morrow’18
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