This week I started putting together my project proposal and going back to my feedback from my tutor that my project needed something, I really started to think about the current equipment I am using. I did a bit of research on 5×4 cameras and the various types and what I would need to get started. I took the plunge and purchased one off eBay, Camo is the brand and it came with 135mm lens and 2 film holders. I also purchased 10 sheets of Kodak Ektar, now that was expensive £54! I had a look around at work and managed to find some old 9×9 air reconnaissance roll film Agfa 400. This film however has some technical specifications that are a bit different from normal film, not sure yet but something about missing a yellow layer?
I will also need to make some sort of template I can use in the dark room so I can cut down the roll film to fit my 5×4 camera. As I am unfamiliar with this type of camera I need to experiment and play with the movements and focus, so the old film will be good to practice with, even if I can’t use it to shoot my project. One last final thing I will need figure out is how to process it through the Colenta machines as it is set up for roll film, some sort of simple leader that will pull the film through the machine safely, should do the job.
Although most of my week was taken up by watching youtube videos on 5×4 cameras, I still managed to have a quick look at Sarah Pickerings work that was featured in a guest lecture. I particularly enjoyed Pickerings projects Public order, Fire scene and Explosion, these centred around training environments for public services and the military. It’s interesting how public services and the military visualise and portray these scenarios in order to prepare personnel for the real. Pickering explains how they often use these sets/scenarios that look like something out of soap opera that have this stereotypical narrative from lower-class society. I personally think this is because it’s the easiest and quickest way to deliver a training objective. It doesn’t require a lot of planning or thought to conjure a stereotype that is familiar and but stills imitates some hazards/obstructions that the public services could face when dealing with public order or fires.
http://www.sarahpickering.co.uk
Critical Research Journal 