Bleach Experimentation

Whilst waiting for my disposable camera series I decided to experiment with digital photos and attempting to make them look as if they were taken on disposable cameras. The Photographer Matt Irwin often created photographs to look as if they were taken on a disposable camera. I started by fully submerging photographs in diluted bleach, which removed dark colours and brings forward red tones. The imperfect images looked as if they were taken on old film cameras which I liked. Although I did not have much control over how the end result turned out. To counteract this I decided to be more precise when placing the bleach onto the image. This meant I could decide myself what was removed and what was kept. I painted on straight bleach which fully removed pigmentation creating an interesting image as the bleach removed some context. I decided to further refine this skill by experimenting with pouring bleach down the image and using clear nail vanish to protect the bits I wanted to keep. These images are some of my favourite experiments. There is something nice about removing the predictability in which we get with digital photographs. Removing parts of images changed the narrative of the photo which allows a viewer to pause and look at the image a little longer. I would like to develop these experiments further by introducing text and layout themes. Below are some of my experiments, the full series are in my sketchbook.