Keld Helmer Petersen's
Black light photography is the process of turning up the contrast of a monochrome photo in order to achieve a graphic, sometimes 2D look. Nowadays this can be done digitally using photoshop to eliminate the midtones and flatten the image sometimes beyond recognition; another method would be using a flat bed scanner. Before these two methods were available however, it was more popular to create these effects in a darkroom using photograms which document the silhouette of the items being used.
I
My response :
Using existing photos of mine -
Inspired by Keld Helmer Peterson, I selected various existing photos that I felt would produce a stark contrast when made into monochrome with the contrast increased; the pale blue of the sky was altered to a flat white whilst the dark colours of the buildings and sculptures became a levelled black. The most successful photos - such as the first one displayed below - appear almost 2D, resembling the works of Peterson. My favourite photo is that of the stairs as the tones have almost disappeared completely to have a similar effect as that of Peterson's. To further explore the possibilities of working in this style, I would like to try this process again using new photos that I have taken.
Using new photos -
For my next shoot, I took photos in London locations such as Canary Wharf and Stratford, looking at buildings. I did this as I knew after turning up the contrast and highlights, the artificial office lights would stand out against the darkness of the concrete, and reflect off the glass of the windows. I am happy with how these photos look however I feel they drift from the original intention as they possess a depth that is not present in the blacklight photos taken by Peterson. In my opinion the most successful photos are the ones of the buildings in the night as they are more flattened than the others. My favourites however are the two of the buildings in the day because, although they vary the most from the brief, the bold frames of the windows produce a very striking look that adds beauty to the images. In order to progress further with this I will need to use photoshop instead of photos in order to achieve the highest contrast possible by eliminating the mid tones for a 2D look.