Express Digital Darkroom 9.1 Cra
Ronna Bordelon
I chose these images because they remind me of a whimsical moment from two very different movies. Some of my favorite cinematography has been from Wes Anderson films, Bones and All, Emma., and Poor Things. These inspirations helped me come to the decisions I made for my finals. Their unique uses of symmetry, colors, eerie feeling scenes and unapologetic weirdness fed my creative mind. I am constantly inspired by artists around me and the people who produce the media I consume. These pictures encourage the viewer to create their own story and connection to a world of their own.
I have taken at least 10 Youth in Focus classes and one summer at the Cornish Darkroom program. Outside of this, my photography knowledge comes from years of experience and personal image preferences.
I do lots of different kinds of photography, but the darkroom is my passion. I love to create unique-looking images with different darkroom techniques, such as photo inside photo and cutting out words and shapes. I was brought to this art form through a love of art and film, particularly an interest in home videos recorded by my father that documented the bright moments of my childhood.
A lot of my art is inspired by the world I see around me. Beautiful moments that would otherwise be overlooked. I am not really a photoshoot enthusiast, but I would like to explore that side of photography at some point.
My name is Paloma L., I live in Seattle, Washington and I am 16 years old. My final image is entitled 'lucky charms' and it portrays my sisters, Ruby and Angel, in our local Safeway. They are both holding a box of lucky charms which is our go-to breakfast every time we hang out. Ruby and Angel are both leaving for college this year and my final image helps to commemorate our time together. I only really got to know Angel this year but our friendship has meant so much to me and I am so excited for her and her UW era. I am so thankful to my sister and my mom for introducing me to Youth In Focus and for guiding me in my artistic, academic, and social life. Words cannot express the love, respect, and admiration I have for my sister and I know she will find success and excitement at Pratt institute in New York. In the future, I plan on taking many more YIF classes, I plan to continue being involved in their professional development paid internship program, and I plan on experimenting with many different mediums involving photography.
This artwork was inspired by my culture and my family. It is also inspired by my sister who encourages me to be my most authentic and artistic self every day. A lot of my photography features her at the center. She is a big part of my life so it is only natural for that to reflect in my artwork.
That powerful feeling that you get when you put on a beautiful outfit and some dazzling makeup is what I was trying to capture. That moment when you feel like everything around you fades and you are in the spotlight. That is the feeling you are witnessing. The message I am trying to communicate is that art comes from life, inspiration comes from life, and I am proud of my family and my culture.
Digital "darkroom" is the hardware, software and techniques used in digital photography that replace the darkroom equivalents, such as enlarging, cropping, dodging and burning, as well as processes that do not have a film equivalent.
All photographs benefit from being developed. With film this could be done at the print lab, or an inexpensive home darkroom. With digital, many cameras are set up to do basic photo enhancement (contrast, color saturation) immediately after a picture is exposed, and to deliver a finished product. Higher end cameras, however, tend to give a flatter, more neutral image that has more data but less "pop," and needs to be developed in the digital darkroom.
Setting up a film darkroom was primarily an issue of gathering the right chemicals and lighting; a digital darkroom consists of a powerful computer, a high-quality monitor setup (dual monitors are often used) and software. A printer is optional; many photographers still send their images to a professional lab for better results and, in some cases, a better price.
While each implementation is unique, most share several traits: an image editing workstation as the cornerstone, often a database-driven digital asset management system like Media Pro 1 to manage the collection as a whole, a RAW conversion tool like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Capture One, and in many cases the software that came with the camera is used as an automated tool to "upload" photos to the computer. The machine itself is almost always outfitted with as much RAM as possible and a large storage subsystem - big hard drives. RAID and external USB and FireWire drives are popular for storage. Most photographers consider a DVD-burner essential for making long term backups, and keep at least one set off-site.
The term was coined by Gerard Holzmann of Bell Labs for a book entitled Beyond Photography: The Digital Darkroom, in which he describes his pico image manipulation language (not to be confused with the pico programming language).[1]
Image Acquisition: entails downloading images from a camera or removable storage device or importing from a scanner. Windows XP and Windows Vista both include an inbuilt wizard for importing images, including scanning images. Many professionals however may choose an importation tool built into image management software such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture, ACDSee, Capture One, or darktable.
Image Library Management: involves managing images in a photographer's library and may extend to backing up images. Software such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture and Media Pro 1 are examples of major image management software.
RAW Software: software, either stand alone or as part of image library management software that is designed to import and process RAW images. Most digital cameras capable of outputting RAW images will include a program or plug-in for this purpose such as Canon RAW Image Converter. Commercial Programs such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture and Capture One, as well as open source projects such as darktable and RawTherapee, include extensive support for RAW importation and processing.
Image Editing: There are countless image editing suites, programs and tools available. Adobe Photoshop is among the most highly used in professional circles as are programs from Apple Inc., Microsoft, Macromedia (now Adobe), ACD, Phase One and various open source projects. Consumers may use professional software or choose less expensive options such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Capture One Express or free open source options such as The GIMP.
Camera Control Software: software that can remotely control a camera from a computer connected via USB (tethered shooting). Normally included as utilities with camera, these allow photographers to control the camera from a nearby computer. Cameras such as the Canon 40D include such software and a live view mode so that a user may use a computer to control numerous functions of the camera while seeing a virtual viewfinder onscreen.
Capture Pilot[2] is a photography app with camera control. The photographer is able to use a virtual camera display on an iPhone or iPad to remotely fire the camera and control capture parameters such as ISO sensitivity, exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation. Capture Pilot requires Capture One to function.
Computer: A computer in a digital darkroom typically have a generous amount of RAM, often 4GB or more, coupled with discrete graphics and a powerful multicore processor. For much of the 1980s and 90s, Macintosh based systems were dominant in the digital imaging market as Adobe's powerful new Photoshop software had only then been developed for the Mac. However, Windows-based systems such as Dell's high-end Precision range have become increasingly popular in recent times; better value for money than Apple's high-end Mac Pro and a more familiar Operating System are both factors that affect the choice of many prospective buyers of photo-editing systems.
Cameras/Scanners: Digital cameras and image scanners are increasing in quality, including the amount of colour they can capture and output. Many newer digital cameras can support wider colour spaces such as Adobe RGB and have higher resolution analog-to-digital converters; 14 bits rather than the common 12 bits.
Printers: In addition to computers and displays, digital darkrooms may include printing equipment, ranging from smaller size printers for proofing to large format productions printers. Scanner and studio photographic equipment may also be included.
First of all, I want to pile on and say that Steve is doing a great job here and we should offer our support for such informative, no bull site. Photography is fun and weʼre here to enjoy it and get inspired without worrying about chromatic aberrations and lens sharpness. Again, thank you Steve for putting so much time and effort into this. (From Steve: Thanks so much!!)
I have written this article for those who want to take some time away from digital photography or simply want to get back to basics for a bit and have never considered or experienced shooting black & white film.
You will probably not be able to reproduce the works of Ansel Adams (no one can) but certainly use those as your inspiration and take comfort in knowing that such beautiful masterpieces were taken with now ancient equipment, film, and most of all, an thorough understanding of nature, light and composition (yes, along with lots of technical stuff as well). There is a deep sense of pride that comes into play when one catches that moment, nails the exposure and develops a good negative which can bring life to a special picture. The process, the anticipation, the fact that YOU are in control (not your camera or digital software) will bring forth a sense of accomplishment that, in todayʼs digital world, we now rarely get to savor.
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