Photo Challenge #4: Tunnel Vision
Writing by Jer on Tuesday, 26 of August , 2008 at 5:40 pm
Photo Challenge #3: Tunnel Vision
Challenge Ends: Tuesday September 2nd
Brief: Shoot an image using a toilet paper roll as a vignetting device.
Instructions: Tag your image with ‘glocalproject’ and ‘photochallenge’, and add it to this our Glocal Flickr Pool. Need help? E-mail us.
In April, we posted an interview with Irish artist Peter Marley. For the Glocal Project, Peter shot a series of unique images using iris-in and iris-out effects. These images were shot using a surprisingly simple peice of photographic technology – a toilet paper roll. This week, we are asking you to create your own toilet-tube enhanced images.
The technique is simple – hold a toilet paper roll (or a paper towel roll) in front of your lens… and shoot! The resulting image will be not quite whole. As Marley explains:
“I am fascinated by the question and process of, ‘What is being excluded in the frame?’ The goal of this alternate method of taking photos was to playfully twist cinematic methods and as a result challenge the viewer to reassess common scenes and scenarios when they appear with intensified focus.”
The results of toilet-tube photography suggest vignetting, an effect that you may be familiar with from both photographic and film history. Originally, this vignetting effect was not intentional – instead, it was a result of limitations of lens optics, incompatible camera parts, or poor projections. American photographer Emmet Gowin used a 4×5 lens on an 8×10 camera to achieve a dramatic vignetting effect:
Vignetting is also a frequent result in photographs taken by toy cameras such as the Holga and the Diana. Similar to Gowin’s images, this vignetting usually results from the negatives being slightly smaller than the camera lens.
Wonderwall, by Flickr user wlwarner, shot with a Holga
Some of our Glocal Pool photographers are already using tube-vignetting. This photo from Eduardo Nasi uses tangible vignetting to excellent effect:
As always, feel free to post your comments and questions here. We’re looking forward to seeing the results!
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Made Monday, 8 of September , 2008 at 3:54 pm
[...] our last photo challenge, we asked you to experiment with vignetting – using toilet paper tubes! The response to this challenge was excellent. So excellent, in fact, that we have decided to send [...]
