Deadline Assignment

When it comes to an assignment like this, I always find it hard for me to approach people on the fly and ask to photograph them (probably because I wouldn't be very obliging myself).  But with this assignment, I utilized my resources and used networking to gain access to a subject that I felt comfortable with and that was eager to work with me.

Sarah George, of Pittsburgh, PA, is the Director of Commuter Affairs at Point Park University.  As such, her job is to plan and promote campus events and programs for commuter students.

Sarah George works diligently as she coordinates schedules for a meeting of the 2012 Point Park University Pioneer Experience staff.  The Pioneer Experience is a summer orientation program for new students.

Sarah George signs documents pertaining to expenses for the Pioneer Experience.  Each year, this summer orientation program is given a budget to plan events for new students during the program.

© Tyler Jackson Photography 2012

Experimental Black and White Photography Project

For this project, I decided to focus on alternative ways to process that would manipulate my film in a unique way.  I shot several rolls of Kodak 125PX film and tried three processing techniques.  For the first roll, I developed with a 1:1 of D76 and orange juice, and washed the film with mango juice.  The result of this was virtually perfectly developed film, which was great, but not what I was looking for.  The second roll was developed with a 1:1 of D76 and salted milk, and washed with salted milk.  The result, again, was well developed film.  My last roll of film was developed in a mix of D76, rubbing alcohol, and Clorox bleach.  The resulting chemical reaction created a noticeable amount of heat, so I reduced my developing time because I was worried that I would risk over-developing it if I went longer.  When I poured out this developing solution, I noticed a fair amount of brown runoff and thought that I had eradicated the emulsion from my film.  Proceeded to rinse, fix, and wash the film as usual; and when I finally got a look at it, I saw that the film was thick and opaque.  It was then that I decided to try dunking the film in the Clorox to see how that would affect the film.  I left the film in the bleach for a few seconds, until I noticed the bleach was starting to change colors.  I took the film out and saw that the emulsion had begun to bleed and separate from the film, and would rub off if I touched the film.  I rinsed it off and got a look at what the film looked like and decided that I liked the fogging effect that had been caused by the bleeding and my smudging of the emulsion (this is best shown by the larger abstract image, which is two frames side by side). This effect reminded me of a daguerreotype, so I proceeded with an idea of trying to replicate the aesthetic of looking at an old photograph with my film.  I kept the film in a container full of gravel for a week, so as to further age and appropriately damage the film (which resulted in the blemishes and scratches you’re seeing). 

I’m surprisingly pleased with the overall aesthetic of my images and am eager to continue producing new images of different subjects while using this method of processing.

© Tyler Jackson Photography 2012