Frame 17a is a group exhibition that I put together and is on upstairs at the ACP (Australian Centre for Photography) from April 16 to May 15 2016. Address is 257 Oxford St, Paddington, Sydney. Open Wed-Sun 11-3.
I invited 22 photographers to give me a sheet of sleeved B&W negs that I would present as 20x24 inch proof sheets. To do this I hired a commercial darkroom and used a 10x10 inch enlarger (Durst CLS 1840) and printed onto Foma 311, so it's analogue all the way.
There is also a photography exhibition 'Transfer' running in the downstairs gallery over the same dates, so you can take in both on the same visit.
Here is the text I wrote for the room notes, to explain the concept.
Writing in the 1980 book Contact Theory, Martine Franck described her process of reviewing several similar frames on a contact sheet to select the best one for printing,
“Frame 18a was discarded because of the towel on the left, the figures in the background were confused and I had framed too close to the shadow of the hammock. Frame 16a was a possibility but I would have had to crop the bathing suit on the right which I preferred not to do and the man doing push ups in the background was in a less interesting position. The image that had the greatest intensity and concision was to my mind frame 17a.”
In this quote “frame 17a” represents what most photographers are hoping for – that moment when everything comes together to produce an image that stands out as being better than the others. Generally the other frames are then neglected, perhaps just being seen as steps on the way to the good image. The idea of this exhibition is to look at all of the frames from a roll of film without prioritising any particular one as being the best. By doing this we get to see the working process of a photographer – where they start, what options they explore, how one decision leads to another.
A roll of film is a bit like a short story – there is a beginning and an end but only a limited amount of material in between with which to work. Depending on the film format the number of frames might be 10, 12 or 36. Within these boundaries each photographer makes their decisions. Some devote the entire roll to exploring variations on one idea, while others cover a range of locations and subjects. Some are trying for a great image, while others are 'practising their scales' - doing it for the pleasure of photographing or exploring a technical aspect.
Many film photographers don't like to show their proof sheets, so I appreciate the generosity of the participants in this exhibition. Some are established professional or fine art photographers while others might be described as beginners. Despite their relative experience, each of these proof sheets has something to tell us about the photographic process, via all the frames that aren't 17a.
I invited 22 photographers to give me a sheet of sleeved B&W negs that I would present as 20x24 inch proof sheets. To do this I hired a commercial darkroom and used a 10x10 inch enlarger (Durst CLS 1840) and printed onto Foma 311, so it's analogue all the way.
There is also a photography exhibition 'Transfer' running in the downstairs gallery over the same dates, so you can take in both on the same visit.
Here is the text I wrote for the room notes, to explain the concept.
Writing in the 1980 book Contact Theory, Martine Franck described her process of reviewing several similar frames on a contact sheet to select the best one for printing,
“Frame 18a was discarded because of the towel on the left, the figures in the background were confused and I had framed too close to the shadow of the hammock. Frame 16a was a possibility but I would have had to crop the bathing suit on the right which I preferred not to do and the man doing push ups in the background was in a less interesting position. The image that had the greatest intensity and concision was to my mind frame 17a.”
In this quote “frame 17a” represents what most photographers are hoping for – that moment when everything comes together to produce an image that stands out as being better than the others. Generally the other frames are then neglected, perhaps just being seen as steps on the way to the good image. The idea of this exhibition is to look at all of the frames from a roll of film without prioritising any particular one as being the best. By doing this we get to see the working process of a photographer – where they start, what options they explore, how one decision leads to another.
A roll of film is a bit like a short story – there is a beginning and an end but only a limited amount of material in between with which to work. Depending on the film format the number of frames might be 10, 12 or 36. Within these boundaries each photographer makes their decisions. Some devote the entire roll to exploring variations on one idea, while others cover a range of locations and subjects. Some are trying for a great image, while others are 'practising their scales' - doing it for the pleasure of photographing or exploring a technical aspect.
Many film photographers don't like to show their proof sheets, so I appreciate the generosity of the participants in this exhibition. Some are established professional or fine art photographers while others might be described as beginners. Despite their relative experience, each of these proof sheets has something to tell us about the photographic process, via all the frames that aren't 17a.
