It's quite astonishing to think that before Photoshop, images as amazing and surreal as anything today's technology can offer were being created many years ago using old darkroom techniques. Jerry Uelsmann's images were created by exposing various negatives onto a single print. It's amazing how real the images look. It's almost like Uelsmann is out there documenting dreams.
The image of the 'treehouse' may be familiar to fans of the 1995 TV series, 'The Outer Limits.' It's such a simple concept yet one that produces a powerful image. It almost has a nightmarish quality to it. I love the way the roots of the tree lead up to the house, drawing your gaze to the centre of the frame. The house itself has that haunted house look about it. The use of black and white gives this picture more of an atmospheric feel.
The final picture is one of my favourites. Not because it shows nipples but because it's such an amazing composition. Uelsmann has taken an often photographed scene and created a work of art from it. The way the flowing river morphs into the female form is just fantastic. To me, this image is all about life. Water is this planet's lifeblood and women are humanity's means of reproduction. Without either of them we would be a dying race on a dead planet. That's just my interpretation anyway.
Looking through Uelsmann's work you cant help but be inspired. With photoshop and other software packages, you can create works as mind blowing as these in just a few hours. This is definitely a direction I would like to lean towards with my manipulation assignment.
“Ultimately, my hope is to amaze myself. The anticipation of discovering new possibilities becomes my greatest joy." - Jerry Uelsmann
I am doing about Darkroom techniques in class at the moment and find this really interesting. I am thinking about trying it in the darkroom. Is there any tips to doing it or it is just double exposure?
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