Darkroom experiments

As a homage to phototypesetting and to work around the limitations of not having a phototypesetting machine, the following typographic compositions have been developed in the darkroom. 

This is a first in using this process with typography, which has produced interesting results. 

The selection below are experimentations with exposure time and various effects possible with the darkroom process. 

This test was done through moving the letter 's' over the page on acrylic held above. The distance of the S from the paper does not allow for much definition of the effect however. The end result is ghostly.

This is an experiment to see if setting the letters upright would produce any effect from its shadow.  

This was an attempt to create shadow or blur around the letters. By laying the italic of the same letter on top first for exposure, the distance from it to the page creates the slight shadow. The italics are then taken off to expose the roman letters underneath. 

The gradient seen here was created by moving a piece of card across the paper as it was being exposed.

This movement effect created here was done by having 0.5 second interval between each shifting of the letters. This staggered movement however does not create a smooth effect.  

This was an exposure test of 1 second intervals.

This was an exposure test of 2 second interval

This was an exposure test of 0.1 intervals.

These compositions were made to mimic space. The small letters represent the stars and the deep black of the photography paper, the void of space. 

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

These compositions play with the size difference between the large and small type. The small type are not purposely arranged but scattered on the page by hand, to give the impression of a more fluid quality. The benefit of using a technique like the darkroom is the smoky effects seen in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 that were unintentional yet add to the overall quality of the print. 

Fig. 3 

Fig. 4

These are close up compositions of the large mountboard type. Fig. 3 and 4 have a glowing quality that looks as if light is emitting from the outlines of the letters. 

These compositions were made from laying the letters on the page and simply folding it in half, making the type form together naturally to create the composition. 

These were attempts to create shadow and movement.