Blacklight photography is a series of black and white images that have quite harsh contrasts and tones.
Keld Helmer-Petersen
Born in Danish on the 23rd August 1920 and dying on 6th March 2013. He was most known for his abstract colour photographs in the 1940s and 50s. Interestingly, he became part of the US Camera Annual in the 1940s and gained interest with German Inter-war photography (New Objectivity movement).
Process
Firstly, we start by opening up the image we want to use by going to File > Open and then look for the image you want to use. For purpose of this project i will use this image:
SONY DSC
We then go to Image > Adjustments > Threshold:
As a result, this threshold window should pop up:
As you can see, there is a little arrow at the bottom; drag it along and you will be experimenting with the threshold tool. Adjust it appropriately. For example:
Once you are happy with your result, go to File > Save As and save your image.
Keld Helmer-Petersen, a Danish photographer born in 1920, was recognised for his abstract photography in the 1940’s and the 1950’s. Helmer-Petersen’s passion for modern architecture, industrial areas and structures inspired his experimental photography, as he challenged the possibilities of the photographic image. He was a self-taught photographer who learnt from other photographers, such as Albert Renger-Patzsch. through technical manuals and photobooks. In the early days of his career, he joined amateur photographer clubs, where he would develop his photography skills further. Helmer-Petersen produced his first photobook, ‘Fragments of a city’, in 1960, which contained images of the city of Chicago. Keld Helmer-Petersen began teaching photography at the Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen until retiring in 1990.
Analysis of Keld Helmer-Petersen’s work:
Part of “Fragments of a city” series – Keld Helmer-Petersen (1960)
Light- The lighting in the image is hard to decipher as there is no highlights or shadows in the image. However I believe the image was taken in daylight, perhaps early afternoon in order to achieve the iconic shapes and lines.
Lines- There is a distinct pattern of lines in the image, as they cross over one another and create intricate designs. There is a contrast of both thick and thin lines in this image, which can be seen as a form of juxtaposition.
Repetition- There is a clear repetition of lines in this image, they direct your eyes along the screen, to the focal point of the large, black sillouette.
Shape- The shape of the image revolves around geometric shapes and lines, that are both thick and thin.
Space- It is hard to depict whether the image has a wide or narrow depth of field, as the image is simply a pattern of line and shapes in a silhouette, therefore this aspect of formal elements is irrelevant to the photo.
Texture- It is also hard to work out the texture of the image, but the repeated lines have a smooth surface, therefore I would say the overall texture of the image is rather smooth.
Tone/Value- There is no gradient of tone to the image, as it is simply pure black and white. However these contrast each other with the juxtaposition of light and dark.
Colour- There is no colour to the image, this is to signify the gloomy silhouettes of the geometric lines in the photograph.
Composition- The composition of the image is very organised, however there is no rule of thirds used in the image as the object was not set up by the photographer, the image rather focuses on the entire structure of lines instead of a singular focal point.
My Response to Keld Helmer-Petersen’s work-
Original Images Used-
Photoshop Development:
To achieve the same affect that Keld Helmer-Petersen used on his images, I used the threshold tool on photoshop to imitate the same silhouette-like appearance on the photographs.
I believe my work resembles the work of Helmer-Petersen well as it gives off the same silhouette aesthetic that he achieves with his work. It allows the shape and pattern of the object to be highlighted amongst the background behind it. However my work focuses more on natural aspects of shape, with the use of plants, whereas Helmer-Petersen often uses artificial structures for his work.
Keld Helmer-Petersen was one of the most influential Danish photographers in the 20th Century. He was an international pioneer for colour photography, however he also published several books of high contrast black and white images. Helmer-Petersen had a strong interest in industrial buildings and modern architecture, much of his work is centered around man-made structures. This is similar to the work of Albert Reneger-Patzsch, who inspired Helmer-Petersen greatly. His work also focuses on minimalism, using harsh tones of black and white and no mid tones.
Keld Helmer-Petersen | Black Light
What I really enjoy about Helmer-Petersen’s work is the dramatic contrast in his images. I believe it creates a sense of mystery as the high juxtaposition between black and white presents the industrial structures as silhouettes, alluding to the idea that the man-made world is dark and enigmatic. Additionally, I really like the bold straight lines in his work which repeat in each image. I think they display stillness and solitude in his work, which mixed with the shallow depth of field, create clear focal points for the observer.
My Unedited Images
I have chosen these 5 images to edit in the style of Keld Helmer-Petersen because I believe their blank backgrounds and architectural subjects reflect Helmer-Petersen’s minimalist Black Light images. Furthermore, I think these photos hold similar bold straight lines to his work and will work well when edited with high contrast. Although Helmer-Petersen’s images are focused on industrial buildings, I want to also experiment with a nature image to compare the difference between having a dark background to a light. I believe the image will still reflect his work as it will hold minimalistic qualities in its blank background and high contrast between the highlights and shadows.
Final Edited Images
I edited my final images on Photoshop using the threshold tool to overly enhance the contrast and to change the photos to black and white. I really like how abstract my images have come out, I think the bold black lines draw the observer’s attention to the uniform structures which create an animation-like effect in the images. Moreover, I believe these edited photos reflect Helmer-Petersen’s work immensely as they replicate the silhouettes and juxtaposition seen in his images. In addition, I think the experimentation with the nature image, using a dark background and having a white focal point, provides a different approach to Helmer-Petersen’s work while still reflecting his harsh contrast and sharp black & white tones. Lastly, I really like the shallow depth of field in these images, it exaggerates the negative space surrounding the geometric structures in the foreground and the static atmosphere of the photographs.
A Danish photographer who was considered a pioneer in abstract photography in the 40s and 50s.
Keld experimented with the contrast in graphic black and white expression.
He was influenced greatly by constructivist artists and industrial machines/architecture.
Below we can see some of his compositions from his “Black Light” album where he experimented with extreme contrast to create abstract black on white compositions.
Process:
I chose 4 images that I thought would create a graphical black on white composition when edited. I opted for interesting industrial and man made elements with simplistic backgrounds.
I then added greater contrast to the image. Following this I used the threshold tool in photoshop to exaggerate the tonal range and create an abstract composition.
Keld Helmer – Petersen was a Danish photographer who received worldwide recognition for his coloured photographs. He also published several books full of black and white images where all the mid – tones had been removed.
Photographs captured by Keld Helmer – Peterson
MY RESPONSE
I firstly selected four images from my previous photoshoot inspired by Albert Renger – Patzsch’s ‘The World is Beautiful‘. I then opened Photoshop and experimented with the threshold tool in order to remove all the mid – tones and leave only black and white in the images. In my first photograph, I also experimented with the cropping tool so I could make the image smaller, and so I could get rid of parts of the image that I didn’t like. In the third picture, the threshold tool emphasised the shadows which were present in the bottom left of the image, and created a whole new area of black colour. The same happened in the second photograph, with the shadows casted by the dials on the oven being accented.
Exploring high contrast images with Keld Helmer-Petersen
Helmer-Petersen was a Danish photographer who was inspired by Albert Renger-Patzsch, the experiments at The Bauhaus in Germany and by Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind at the Art Institute of Chicago. He achieved fame for his colour photographs but he also published several books of black and white images that explore dramatic contrasts of tone. In some, we are only presented with images that are black and white. All mid tones have been removed. He created and found these images, using both cameras and flat bed scanners to achieve the effects he was looking for. These books are beautifully designed and encourage us to consider the space around the image and the accompanying text as integral to the meaning of the work.
Choose 4 x images of your own to work with
Edit the images using the THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT in Adobe Photoshop
Choose how far you “push” the image
Option : Add a “stroke” to the final image
Present your final images in a grid of 4 x square / rectangle format
Remember to Flatten Image and check file size
Blog files should be reduced to 1000 pixels on the long edge
Original Image
Threshold Adjustment in Photoshop
Adjusting the threshold level slider
Cropping the image
Rotate the image if necessary
Finished image
Create a blog post that includes your experiments, including original images, edits and final outcomes
Include key information about Keld Helmer-Petersen
Add annotations to describe and explain your process
Critically evaluate your outcomes
Print your final design A4 to Photography Printer
Task 2 (extension)
this task is designed to encourage you to explore Adobe Photoshop further and select areas of an image to reveal / conceal
You will begin to use LAYERS and LAYER MASKS
You will also use the 2 x OPACITY sliders
Original
Adapted image
METHOD
Open an image in Adobe Photoshop
Add a new layer from the LAYER PANEL > SOLID COLOUR
Reduce the opacity in the LAYER PANEL to reveal your image
Click on the LAYER MASK (white box) in your LAYER PANEL
Choose the brush tool from the TOOLBOX
Adjust the size of the brush using the {} keys
Check / adjust the opacity level of your brush (top bar)
Click on various areas of the image to create circular “holes”
Using the opacity slider in the LAYER PANEL, bring the level up to 100%
You have a completed image. Flatten the layers, save and upload.
Explore ways you can extend this basic idea
Create a blog post entitled “Conceal / Reveal”
Describe and explain your process and include visual evidence
Critically evaluate your process
Remember to use the model :
TECHNICAL -VISUAL-CONCEPTUAL-CONTEXTUAL
here are some helpful examples for you to work from…
Follow the 10 Step Process for each unit to ensure you tackle all Assessment Objectives thoroughly :
