Alternative Photography Techniques

Alternative photography techniques can take your photography to new levels.

Not all photographic techniques rely on having the latest gadget. You can make your own camera, buy discontinued photography equipment from used camera markets or adapt your camera to produce photographs through alternative means.

Pinhole Photography

Opening a very small hole in a lightproof box inverts a scene onto film or photographic paper on the inside of the camera.

Pinhole photographs are taken with a lens-less camera. The camera comprises a lightproof box with a round hole about the size of a sewing needle. Film or photographic paper sits against the inside wall opposite the opening. The photographer removes lightproof cover over the hole so light can pass through the pinhole, projecting an inverted image inside the box onto the film or photo paper. Pinhole cameras require a long exposure time (from seconds to days). Generally, the smaller the pinhole, the sharper the image.

Polaroid Emulsion Lifts

Polaroid emulsion lifts are unpredictable yet beautiful.

The image on a 669 Polaroid film print is lifted through a process of hot water soaks. Once the emulsion is free from the paper backings, it is then applied to a new surface such as watercolor paper, glass, stone or board. The artist often intentionally wrinkles the image to make a spectacular yet unpredictable new image.

Infrared

Infrared photography can be fine art or forensic science.

Infrared photography involves capturing light that is invisible to the human eye onto film. A common technique is to use an infrared filter that blocks most of the visible light but allows infrared light to pass through the camera to be captured on film and later printed. As a mode of fine art it is bold, brilliant and sometimes a little bit eerie. It is also a crime-busting technique for forensic science.

References

• Photo: Pinhold Photography History and Guide
• YouTube: The Polaroid Emulsion Life Process
• Photography 24/7: How to do Polaroid Emulsion Lifts
• Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: William henry Fox Talbot (1800 - 1877) and the Invention of Photography
• Instant Shift: 99 Brilliant Examples of Infrared Photography
• Rochester Institute of Technology: By Andrew Davidhazy: Infrared Photography

Resources

• Alternative Photography
• Berkeley Lab: New Clues From Infrared Forensics
• Tutorial9: Getting Started with Infrared Photography
• Photo Critic
• The Center for Alternative Photography
• Alternative Photography