Experimental/Alternative approaches in Photography

(Work in Progress). Here's a list of suggestions of a variety of different ways you could approach your work moving it away from purely digital and straight photography approaches. On your A- Level there is a requirement to explore a range of different and experimental approaches within your work.

Mixed Media - Victor Sloane, Peter Beard,

Subjective v Objective

Pop Art  - Julian Opie, Andy Warhol

Expressionism - Ernst Haas, Alfred Stieglitz (Equivalents),

Impressionism

Abstract

Minimal

Narrative

Voyeuristic - Merry Alpern, 2,

Deadpan - Tereza Vlckova Thomas Ruff, The Bechers,

Typology - Bernd & Hiller Becher, Jeffrey Millstein,

Topography

Pinhole - Barbra Ess, Gina Glover,

Tilt Shift - Slinkachu

Liquid Emulsion - somebloke

Cyanotype - Anna Atkins, Wig Sayell,

Repetition Andy Warhol,

Degrading & Damaging - Ed Burtynsky (Chittagong Polaroids), Sally Mann

35mm & Darkroom techniques -

Abstraction

Joiners - David Hockney

Images & Text - Peter Beard

Found images -

Comic Book - Sin City, Ah Ha (Stand by me video).

Colour - Evzen Sobek a life in Blue

For more check out the list of photographers - CTRL + F and search "experimental" http://www.listofphotographers.blogspot.com/

Mixed Media in Photography (How to Ace your A-Level)

Work in progress.

A very basic list at this point..

• Digital File - In Photoshop, de-saturate it, invert it, Re-size it to 9"x6.5" and print out to the best quality possible on Acetate (CRU). This will give you a massive negative to make a contact print with.
• Digital File - Using Youtube, find a tutorial and follow the instruction and make a line drawing from one of your digital images (Or many). Print out onto photo-copy paper or similar and then re-colour using crayons, pens, gouache, acrylic, water-colour, marker pens, high-lighters or any mark-making media to put colour back into the image. Try rough methods, bold colours, fine lines, washes -basically anything, be experimental! Once finished, scan and re-digitize (Keep the hard copy version as that's the one we'll assess and be most interested in). Once digitized - you could take it to another developmental step and merge this version with the original, playing with the opacity and off-setting slightly?
• Using Photoshop, look for a Julian Opie style tutorial, turn your portraits (Hopefully Deadpan) into Julian Opies?
• Look around for other methods such as techniques that make your images look like Andy Warhols.
• Watch the video here "Take on Me" by Ah Ha, look at the approach of mixing photographic with drawing - this is an easy thing to do in Photoshop - maybe try this?
• More advanced; Once you've seen the potential of hand-tinting photographs when they've been re-produced on fibrous supports (Papers), explore traditional materials... Hand-tint your Black & White prints produced in the darkroom (Use test strips and rejected images first) with water-colours and oil paints.
• Taking this even further - re-visit the use of liquid emulsion and hand-tint images produced in that way. 

For a fantastic example of mixed media techniques check out one of my favourites - Peter Beard...

http://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/17717/1/peter-beard-wild-thing-interview
 

 

Check this link out too, this is another really good example of mixed media using animals with a dark feel to them http://www.arnaublanch.com/index.php?/art/exotika/