Photograms/RayographsPhotograms/Rayographs can also be made without the use of a camera. The way this type of image is made is very similar to the process of making a Cyanotype except to make a photogram you must do it in a dark room due to the high sensitivity of the paper.
It is made by placing objects onto the surface of a light sensitive photographic paper. Once the objects are arranged as the creator wants the photographic material is exposed to light, usual by an enlarger or other artificial light source. Whilst exposing the photographic paper to light you move the objects around to make the image blurred or transparent. After that the image is first placed into a developer for at least a minute, next into stop for a few moments, then is left in a fix bath for roughly 10 minutes and finally is washed of in clean water and hung up to dry. |
The images above are by the photographer Man Ray.
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The photo to the left is my favourite photogram. This image is made by a photographer called Wendy Small. She specialises in making complex and interesting photograms/Rayograms. She specialises in using collections of unusual objects to form complex patterns. I like this image particularly because it is symmetrical. I like the collection of objects and it reminds me of a clock. |
This is the first of the two photograms which I made. I am not a great fan of either images but this one is my least favourite. I find this image dull and boring, the objects I used turned out much more transparent that I anticipated which was not a good thing. The thing i do like is the patchiness of the wire. I think i could use better objects which are more opaque and interesting to improve my work.
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This is my second photogram and my favourite out of the two. The main focus point in this image is my hand, I like the way it turned out because it has a ghost-like feel to it which I think looks rather interesting. I also like the simplicity of this photogram. To improve this piece of work i could have made more than one hand print.
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