This week's visiting lecturer was Rachel Louise Brown, most notably known for her role as Photo Director of “Harper’s Bazaar” and “Town & Country UK” (2014-2021). Rachel’s practice is fairly traditional and intimate, her work is mostly shot on film and is prominently portraiture based. During the workshop, she elaborated on her love for the process of developing film. We were offered an insight into the history of film, specifically paper negatives, through a short documentary provided by Rachel.
Following this brief look into the establishment of film photography, we were offered the opportunity to create our own paper negatives using the facilities provided within the studio and darkroom. Our setup consisted of a 5 x 4 Medium Format camera, two white poly boards and four studio lights. The shot required an abundance of light to compensate for the 2 second long exposure time we used for the shot. I found this experience engaging as I do not shoot on film often, therefore it was interesting to understand and take part in this extensive but exciting process.
For a first attempt the images turned out surprisingly well and this has given me the confidence to perhaps explore paper negatives and film photography further in the future.
Comments