Introduction to Film Photography, Wintersession 2015
Absence
A series exploring traditional black-and-white photography in relation to the theme of absence.
Prompt | Timeline: 3 Weeks
Use 35mm film photography as a means of producing a series with a central theme. All photo processing is to be completed in the traditional darkroom setting. All photographs should be taken using 400 ISO Black & White Film.
Process
During my experience with film photography, I found that many of my photographs revolved around the idea of absence. Absence in generating a feeling of missing something, or capturing the state of an environment without any sense of life. The majority of the times I went out to shoot, I generally went by myself. I found that my subjects tended to lack the presence of human life. To build on this idea, I attempted to capture scenes void of human existence or moments that seemed to embody a feeling of absence altogether. As a photographer, I have the privilege of being in the moment of what is photographed and knowing the stories and circumstances behind each. The viewer’s absence from the moment captured in a photograph is what sometimes creates a discrepancy between which photographs the photographer values more versus the viewer. Presence is temporary, whereas absence is a recurring theme throughout our lives.
Below are some photographs from my Absence series, as well as other photographs I took throughout the course.
