I have been feeling like I have been on “spin cycle” of late, going to work mornings, then taking a break in the afternoon, and going to my photo class at night, then getting right back up to do it again. Fortunately, that is ending next week with the conclusion of the summer work season at my school job on Monday.
Still, should be quite busy with my photo class. I have learned so much this past few weeks and there is still so much more to learn. I have learned that even if you load your film correctly into your camera, that the negs can still be messed up if you mess up in the development cycle by using incorrect times on the fixer or doing something wrong in the process. I found this out the hard way with some night shots I took in Covina which I will probably have to re-shoot tonight.
I also learned (more or less) that making good prints requires a lot of trial and error using your enlarger (see illustration above) and exposing the RC paper to the right amount of light. I learned that making test trips is a good way to go if you want to save on paper and time. Now I have moved on to using polycontrast filters to try and get some good exposure on my prints.
Next week is going to move quite fast, what with portrait assignments and catching up on the nigh time and final assignment. It sucks that I have to work on Monday night so I will have to miss one day of class, which means I will have to catch up the rest of the week. At least I don’t have to worry about waking up at the crack of dawn to make it to work early for the next couple of weeks which is nice. We also have a day trip coming up on Friday to take photos in Santa Barbara which I am really looking forward to.
Behind My Byline 