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Double exposure usually means you forgot to change your roll of film and accidentally took a second photograph on top of a previous shot. Sometimes this can be a beautiful oversight, and other times it can ruin a perfect image.

Fan Ho - Shattered Alley

Despite this accidental path to art or ruin, double exposure photography is a style pursued by digital and film photographers including Fan Ho and Justyna Zduńczyk. Both photographers captured Hong Kong with rather different perspectives; Ho's photographs were taken in the 1950s and 60s, and Zduńczyk's in 2013. Localiiz catches up with these split-focus photographers to discuss their love of double exposures.

Fan Ho - Forget Me Not

In June, we featured the vintage works of master photographer Fan Ho and we couldn't resist sharing his newest pieces - never developed photographs of Hong Kong, paired to form a brand new perspective. "While I was reviewing and archiving my negatives, I noticed that when I combined two or more together, I got a really interesting effect. I call this technique 'making something old new again'," Ho explains.

Ho's unique process takes time and patience according to the artist. "I have to imagine the scenery first in my mind. After that, I sought out my archive. It's a lot of trial and error."

Fan Ho - Of Big and Small

Ho opts for traditional methods, using a darkroom to develop his double exposures and then using Photoshop for treatment. His effort paid off with a multitude of new works, featuring gorgeous overlays of people, streets, and nature. This new collection is gaining Ho attention online, such as The Huffington Post, The Guardian, and The Washington Post. As the humblest of artists, Ho responds warmly to his spike in viewership. "I am glad that at 83, I am able to inspire people."

Justyna Zduńczyk - Double Hong Kong No. 16

Fast forward to the present day and Zduńczyk's series, ' Double Hong Kong' '. Originally from Poland, the photographer was enamoured with the city's hustle and bustle on a recent visit. "Life in Poland is quite different than in Hong Kong. The major Polish cities are not so well adapted for the residents, and the highest residential blocks have 10 floors. Since visiting, Hong Kong has always been on my mind."

Justyna Zduńczyk Double Hong Kong No. 23

For as long as she can remember, double exposure photography fascinated Zduńczyk, and Hong Kong proved to be the perfect subject for her to test the technique. "I think that double exposure intensifies feelings. It shows how rushed and intense a city can be," Zduńczyk explains.

Unlike Ho, Zduńczyk moved away from traditional methods to more modern techniques. "Previously, I was using my analog camera, but I couldn't see the results immediately. I had to wait for my film to be developed. Now, I use the double exposure function in my camera, which allows me to combine two pictures together. I shoot one picture after another. After the first frame I look for a good shot for my second frame, and I can immediately see the result on the screen of my camera, and then I use Adobe Lightroom to work further on my files."

Justyna Zduńczyk Double Hong Kong No. 18

Despite the photographers' differing methods, the goal is similar - to pair complementary images for their desired outcome. "Hong Kong is a mix of people and buildings which are very connected and I try to show it in pictures," Zduńczyk explains.

It is this interaction between the organic and the static that parallels past and present in Ho and Zduńczyk's work so perfectly. Ho's work focuses on old Hong Kong's simplicity and its people interacting amongst layers of minimalistic surroundings, while Zduńczyk's shots of present day Hong Kong offer a visually dense interaction of subject matter.

Justyna Zduńczyk Double Hong Kong No. 10

So what happens when we show them each other's work?

"When I first saw Fan Ho's photographs I thought that it was a masterpiece of double exposure. He transported me to an amazing, nostalgic land. Hong Kong has radically changed since then. With a great sensitivity he combined two realities, his pictures are aesthetic and light-filled," Zduńczyk tells Localiiz.

Fan Ho - Twins Alley

Ho is also a fan of Zduńczyk's work, and says that viewing her photographs is inspiring future pieces. His work is currently exhibited in the Pottinger Hotel in Hong Kong, and he will be in Hong Kong for his book launch and exhibition of 'A Hong Kong Memoir' during the second half of November. In turn, Zduńczyk hopes to continue her Double Hong Kong series next year. Perhaps in the future, the two will find their work exhibited side by side?
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Past Meets Present: Two Takes on Double Exposure Photography in Hong Kong -

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Double exposure usually means you forgot to change your roll of film and accidentally took a second photograph on top of a previous shot. Sometimes this can be a beautiful oversight, and other times it can ruin a perfect image.

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A double exposure is a creative technique where you combine two (or more) photos in a single image. It is quite an old technique, before digital it meant capturing two exposures on a single frame of film. But with today's modern cameras and software, creating a good double exposure image is much easier.

The way a double exposure image works is that the exposure is additive. The brightness of the second image is added to the brightness of the first image. An area that is bright in either image will appear bright in the final image, while an area that is dark in both images will appear dark in the final image.

So, for a good double exposure you must have images with dark areas in them that will overlap (otherwise you'd just end up with a bright, blown out image).

The key is the way that these dark parts of images overlap. If they are are closely overlapping, you'll likely end up with quite a boring image. But if you have an image with both bright and dark areas overlapping a dark area on the other image, then there is a greater chance of achieving a much more interesting image.

Brad by Brad Hammonds on Flickr (licensed CC-BY)
For creating a double exposure photo, many modern digital cameras allow you to do this in-camera. While the exact implementation varies between camera manufacturers, most allow you to take a single photo, then for the next photo the first photo is superimposed on the screen. This makes creating an effective composition much easier as you can see what the final result will be.

Day 79/365 - 03/20/2014: Digital Double Exposure by Brandon Nguyen on Flickr (licensed CC-BY)
Many cameras also offer a range of options for the double exposure. You can change how many frames to use (so you can create a triple or quadruple exposure). Or change how the two images are blended together, and use a blending method different to the traditional 'additive' one.

If your camera can take double exposures, it is well worth playing around with it and exploring the different options.

However, not all cameras can capture double exposures. And even for those that can, they can't match the control you have when creating a double exposure in software. Any image editing software that supports layers and blend modes can be used to create a double exposure. (The usual suspects - GIMP, Photoshop Elements, Photoshop CC, and Paintshop Pro are all suitable software packages for creating double exposure photos).

For the purposes of this article I'll be using Photoshop Elements, as that seems to be the most popular. However, the process is pretty similar whatever image editing software you're using.

Open both your images you want to create the double exposure from in Photoshop. Now go to Window > Images > Tile on the menu. This will now show you both images side by side.

In the layers palette click and drag the layer from the active image to the other image while holding down the shift key on the keyboard.

You should now have both images as layers in a single document, so you can close the other image that you just copied the layer from.

With the top layer selected in the layer palette, change the blend mode to 'screen'.

And you're done!

While 'screen' blend mode accurately blends the photos together in the same way that a real double exposure would, the other blend modes are also worth experimenting with. Since screen blend mode adds the exposures of the two images together, it is best used for bright, high key style images.

Overlay blend mode will make areas where both images are bright brighter, while areas where both are dark will become darker.

Multiply blend mode is kind of the opposite of the screen blend mode. Any areas of either image that are dark will appear dark, while only areas of both both images that are bright will appear bright. It can be useful if you have reasonably bright images but don't want to go for a high key look. For a low-key look, multiply blend mode can also be a good choice.

Often double exposure images will look best in black and white. The combinations of different colors overlaid on top each other can look a bit strange (depending on the chosen blend mode). The fact that double exposures tend to emphasize shape as the main compositional element I think also reduces the need for color.

Another benefit of using image editing software to create a double exposure is that you can re-position the images and use layer masks to adjust where the double exposure occurs.

For example, for this image I wanted to place the traffic cone within the silhouette of the horse's head. But by moving the image of the traffic cone, the double exposure doesn't cover the whole image, and the image doesn't look very good.

But by using a layer mask, it is relatively easy to apply the double exposure only to the horse's head. Because the area around the head is bright, a clean mask is not needed - the double exposure won't show up in areas that are already bright.

You don't need to stick to having images the same way round, or even the correct way round. For example, to put this chicken inside the horse's head I've flipped the chicken photo vertically and moved it. Then used a soft layer mask again to apply the double exposure just to the horse's head.

Double exposures (or triple, quadruple, etc. exposures) can produce great images. You just need to put in a little thought when capturing the images to try and select shots with both dark and bright areas that will work well together. It's certainly worth giving this technique a try, whether you do it in-camera, using software, or both.

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A double exposure is a creative technique where you combine two (or more) photos in a single image. It is quite an old technique, before digital it meant capturing two exposures on a single frame of film. But with today's modern cameras and software, creating a good double exposure image is much easier.

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San Francisco Bay Area and Destination Wedding Photography

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One of my favorite things to do is shoot double exposures on film. Here are some of the basics on how they are done.

There are two main techniques for shooting double exposures with a 35mm film camera. The first, and the one I use most often, is to take one photo and then take a second photo directly after it without advancing the film between shots. To do this, I find using a camera with a multiple exposure function built in to be the easiest. The Nikon FE2, Nikon FM3A, and the Pentax LX are the cameras I typically use. They each have a lever or button that you engage between frames to allow this. This is a fun thing to try if you have multiple scenes in front of you that you want to combine (i.e. a person and background or two images of the same person, etc) and ultimately gives you a bit more control and the opportunity to pre-visualize things a bit.

The other technique is to shoot an entire roll of film, rewind it, reload it, and shoot it again. This results in images that are a bit more random but can be just as fun. Just make sure to leave the film leader out when you rewind the film so you can easily reload it, which is easy to do with a camera that has a manual rewind. Just wind slowly and listen and feel for the "click" when the film releases from the spool inside. You can then safely open the back of the camera and the film leader should be out.

For the photo below, I shot a roll of street scenes in New York, and then shot the portraits back home in San Francisco. To make sure my frames are aligned when I shoot the second round, I simply make a small mark on the film with a Sharpie when I first load the roll for Round 1 and line up the mark in the same spot when I reload it in the same camera for Round 2.

With that said, you can also reload the film for Round 2 in a completely different camera which I have tried a few times. You run the risk of the frames not aligning perfectly but it can still yield some interesting results when they do not. Example below.

Regardless of which technique you use, the most important thing is to simply under-expose each shot by one stop. Since the film is getting exposed to light twice, you essentially want to underexpose or darken each shot a tad so the final image is not over-exposed. I simply shoot in Aperture Priority mode, set the exposure compensation to -1, and let the in-camera meter do it's thing.

Generally, you will get the best results when shooting the darker of the two subjects first (i.e. a silhouette of a person), followed by the "background" image (i.e. landscape, texture, whatever).

I've included many more examples of mine below and if you're interested, here are a few of my favorite artists also creating some beautiful double exposures on film: , Edie Sunday, and Hodachrome.

In the end, my best tip is to just experiment. Embrace the surprises. The possibilities are endless.

Big thanks to all of those who helped create these with me.
All images here have been developed and scanned by the good folk at Indie Film Lab.

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Double Exposures on 35mm Film - Tutorial

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One of my favorite things to do is shoot double exposures on film. Here are some of the basics on how they are done. There are two main techniques for shooting double exposures with a 35mm film camera.

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Portraits layered over mountain ranges, flowers dotting the contents of a coffee cup, a cityscape rising from the ocean. The possibilities for creative captures are limitless when you dive into the world of double exposures. While they may seem intimidating at first, film double exposures are not as complicated as you may think. Here are some tips about how to capture a great double exposure on film!

Camera

Not all cameras can shoot double exposures. Some older, fully manual cameras allow you to stay on the same frame between shots making it very easy, but other cameras have to be "tricked" into doing so. To keep it simple, we recommend getting a camera that has a dedicated setting for multiple exposures. Unsure if your camera can shoot double exposures? Do a quick Google or YouTube search on your camera's specs and you should be able to find out quickly.

If your camera does not have a multiple exposure setting, you can always (1) shoot a roll of exposures, (2) pull the leader when the roll is finished, (3) reload it into your camera, (4) and shoot over it again creating double exposures. The only trick with this technique is being careful to align your second set of frames while keeping your first set in mind. It's a lot to remember! If you choose this method, you may want to take notes on your first frames and be sure to reload your film the same way you did for your first set.

Film

For the best double exposures, we suggest using black & white or color negative film as they have good exposure latitude which means they handle over-exposure well, making metering much less intimidating. Between the two, we highly recommend black & white since its lack of color simplifies overlapping images and has the best exposure latitude. While you can capture double exposures on E-6 slide film, you will need to play very close attention to your metering since it has less exposure latitude and is much less forgiving when overexposed.

Metering

For most people, metering correctly is the most intimidating aspect for double exposures. The good news is, with the right film selection you can pretty much meter normally without blowing out your photos. Yes, a double exposure literally means you're exposing the frame to light twice so you can cut each exposure in half to equal them out. With that being said, since black & white and color negative film do so well with overexposure you're still likely to get great results if you shoot each exposure normally.

The best way to master metering for double exposures is simply to go out and try it. In the end, it all depends on the results you want and the framing of your shots. Keep this in mind: anything that is white/bright will destroy information and anything black/dark will maintain information for the next exposure. So the shadows from your first exposure will be filled by your second exposure and the highlights from the first exposure will be pretty much gone. As seen in the 3 part graphic: If your first exposure is a silhouette, the dark silhouette will retain the overlapping information of the second image and the white/bright part of your first exposure will get rid of it.

There you have it. All it takes to start capturing some amazing double exposures on film is the right camera, some forgiving film, careful metering, and a creative eye! Below are some double exposure examples with some insight on how they were created.

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How to Create Double Exposures on Film - The Darkroom Photo Lab

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Portraits layered over mountain ranges, flowers dotting the contents of a coffee cup, a cityscape rising from the ocean. The possibilities for creative captures are limitless when you dive into the world of double exposures. While they may seem intimidating at first, film double exposures are not as complicated as you may think.

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Christoffer Relander is a Finnish photographer especially noted for his in-camera multiple exposures.

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Double exposure photographs are a combination of two images, whether through accident or careful planning. Often, this combination leads to strange or surreal images, unlike anything you'd see in a single exposure. They have a ghostly or dreamlike quality that's hard to copy with other techniques.

Originally, double exposures were limited to film photography, but now digital photographers can create a similar look with photo editors. However, there's still a big difference in atmosphere between film and digital double exposures. Film images tend to look "weird" or whimsical, while digital images tend to look clean and crafted.

Though you can technically create the same image with both methods, you probably won't. That's because each method has a different workflow, influencing your final results.

Digital cameras allow for endless shooting and editing, while film cameras limit your shots and prevent editing. This small difference in workflow significantly changes the images you'll ultimately create.

Below are 20 excellent double exposure photographs, 10 film and 10 digital. This way, you can get a feel for each method and decide what best fits your style.

Double Exposures with Film Cameras

Film photography has an element of luck or surprise, especially with double exposures. You can carefully plan and position your shots, but you can't predict everything, and you can't double-check your shots.

Some photographers love the surprises that come with film. They might take double exposures to increase the surprise, especially if they forget what photos they combined. They hope for "happy accidents" and photos so weird they're wonderful.

Film double exposures do require some technique, though. It's not complicated, but there are definitely better and worse ways of taking film double exposures. Here are a couple quick guides for getting started:
How to Do Double Exposures on Film - Film Based Traveler How to Create Double Exposures on Film - The Dark Room
"Film Soup" is another cool technique to try. Basically, after shooting your film, you boil the film canister for 10 minutes in water or chemicals, then leave it to soak for 24+ hours. After that, you rinse the canister, let it dry for a day, and then develop it. For full instructions, read the recipe from photographer Richard PJ Lambert.

Double Exposures with Digital Cameras

Digital cameras give you complete control over how your double exposures look. You can take as many shots as you want and choose the perfect ones for the image. Then, you can change and rearrange nearly anything during post-processing.

This total control can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can create stunning, imaginative images relatively easily (and cheaply). On the other hand, you might spend hours trying to get your image just right, only to feel like it's still imperfect.

In this respect, digital cameras are less carefree than film cameras. But if you're comfortable with photo editing and don't have a film camera to play around with, it's still a great way to go.

Here's a list of Photoshop tutorials and tips for creating digital double exposures. If you're using a smartphone, the process is even easier. You just download a good photo editing app like Snapseed or Afterlight, and you're good to go!

Nik Analog Efex Pro
Darren Flinders - Double Exposure

iPhone set hipstamatic
Edwin Keijzer - double portrait

Photoshop
Nimit Nigam - Stars Inside Me

Photoshop composite
Gideon Way - A Day out with the Birthday Girl

iPhone images edited with Snapseed.
James Loesch - Double Exposure

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20 Excellent Double Exposure Photos: Film and Digital - The Photo Argus

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Double exposure photographs are a combination of two images, whether through accident or careful planning. Often, this combination leads to strange or surreal images, unlike anything you'd see in a single exposure. They have a ghostly or dreamlike quality that's hard to copy with other techniques.

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Double Exposure Effect Photoshop Tutorial

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Here's a neat photo project for you to try: find a friend who loves photography just as much as you do, and share a roll of film. After one person finishes using up a roll, rewind it and send it to the other person. That's what photographers Lexi and Natalie did with their project Exposed Far Away.

To see more of their photographs, check out their project's website here.

Exposed Far Away (via Photojojo)

Tip: For best results, each shooter should underexpose their images by about half of what you would ordinarily do (i.e. one stop down).

Tip 2: You might actually get better results from over exposing. Natalie tells us,

I've found that OVERexposing is better than underexposing when dealing with double exposures, because there is thicker emulsion when you double expose, therefore it helps to overexpose to make them thinner

Image credits: Photographs by Lexi and Natalie and used with permission

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Make Beautiful Photos by Sharing a Roll of Film and Exposing it Twice

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Here's a neat photo project for you to try: find a friend who loves photography just as much as you do, and share a roll of film. After one person finishes using up a roll, rewind it and send it to the other person.

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The Digital Photo Pro profile of Jerry Uelsmann from 2012 is one of the most popular articles we've ever run. When we spoke to Uelsmann in 2012, he shed light on his approach to photo manipulation. A lot has changed since we last talked to Uelsmann years ago-he won a Lucie award for lifetime achievement and released a retrospective book of his photography. As the digital world continues to march ahead, Uelsmann continues to toil in the darkroom. You'll find our new interview first, and then the original 2012 article after this update.
-Editor

Jerry Uelsmann is a creative genius, but it takes technical prowess to translate what his mind's eye sees to a tangible medium. His composite images are all the more impressive with the realization that the surreal visions were created in an analog world. The Detroit-born, Gainesville-based photographer has influenced countless other visual artists through his teaching, exhibitions and books. His second look back, Uelsmann Untitled: A Retrospective, published by the University Press of Florida, reconfirms his extraordinary previsualization abilities combined with his mastery of traditional darkroom techniques.

DPP: Since the last time DPP sat down with you, you've created a new body of work, released a retrospective and received a lifetime achievement award in fine-art photography at the prestigious Lucie Awards in New York.

Jerry Uelsmann: I work on a regular basis and constantly explore the options that are available to me in the darkroom. I've learned over the years that you can't just make good or great images. It's like saying, "We just have a few minutes to talk right now, let's be profound." It doesn't work that way. I find by working on a regular basis it gives me the ideas, the base to think of the next image. I have all these resources from negatives that I've taken over many years, as well as recent shoots such as the one I did in Central Park while I was in New York for the AIPAD show. I've been dealing a lot with those negatives. I try and keep fresh. If I were younger, I would be working digitally, as the technology has so improved in terms of print quality and archival-ness, but I'm totally committed to the darkroom, and I still love the magic of watching a print appear in the developer.

DPP: Are there some darkroom supplies that are tough to find these days?

Uelsmann: It's not too difficult; they're just at a higher price. B&H is the big supplier, and the interesting thing is the myth that's out there that the older papers were better. It's not true. There are wonderful papers today. I'm currently using Ilford Multigrade Warmtone. It's exquisite. I'm using the basic Dektol developer and rapid fix, all the basic chemicals are still available. One of the ironies in terms of the art market is that there's a great emphasis on vintage prints. The interesting thing is with everybody going digital, who wants a vintage digital print? Back in the day, they wouldn't last-let them be hit by sun for a while and they were gone. I like my vintage prints and I think they're good quality, but I don't think they're in any way superior to the print quality I'm getting now.

DPP: How do you do what you do in the darkroom from a technical standpoint?

Uelsmann: I have seven enlargers. Usually, the image begins with two or three of them. By looking at contact sheets, I find a point of departure. It's like when you're writing something, you have to put down that first sentence to see where it's going to go, and sometimes it doesn't go very far and sometimes it leads to other thoughts and ideas. I'm constantly addressing the images coming up in the developer. I'm initially testing for correct exposure and burning and dodging options. Usually, in that process, I'm thinking about other variations or elements that can be added. Fairly frequently, I'll leave all the negatives in the enlargers, then the next day, when I look at the print, I'll think of another option, either a better way of printing the image or an additional element that could be added. There are times when I'm exploring variations of a particular image for three or four days. It's not like you have a meter you could hold up to the print, and it says, "Oh, it registered up in the art area. This is art!" At the time I'm working on these, my conscious mind is addressing all the technical aspects, and on another level, there's an image in front of me that's evoking an emotional response. My conscious part has to remember I do this dodging at this enlarger, that dodging at that one, and the different times. I enjoy that part of the process. It's like resolving some complex problem and working it out technically. But then there's a point at which you do have to address it visually. Often, you're dealing with a sort of cognitive dissidence in that if you've invested all day or several days working on something, you're thinking, "This has to be good. I've spent so much time on it." But as time passes, you do get a greater perspective on which images seem to be resolved better than others.

DPP: Are you consciously trying to convey certain messages with your images?

Uelsmann: People ask me, "What does this image mean?" I really like the fact that the viewer completes the image, that they find some personal basis that they can either pass over or they can relate to it. I don't have a hidden agenda that they have to have a specific response to. On the other hand, I have a lot of images that deal with relationships. Some deal with aging. I'm 81 years old now. Whatever the images are, I just try to work authentically. Rarely does the image come completely together when I'm looking at contact sheets. In some cases, I'm in a sense making the same image over the last 60 years. It's not like I'm going to grow a new head, but as I grow older, I have a broader base of life experiences that feed into the potential content of the images.

In my new book, there's a sequence that involves boats. That goes back to a lecture I was giving at Boston University. Minor White had died a few years earlier. I showed an image that had a lone boat in it. I had mentioned Minor's name on the previous slide. A man came up to me afterwards and said, "I was at Minor's bedside when he died and his last spoken words were, 'There's a small boat waiting for me.'" Once the guy said that, I thought, "Oh, my God." I came back to Gainesville and made the image that's been widely reproduced of the boat with a cloudsphere. For me, the boat has become a metaphor for a spiritual journey.

DPP: Did you study with Minor White?

Uelsmann: I studied with him when I was an undergraduate at the Rochester Institute of Technology back in the 1950s. One of Minor's influential concepts was that images had relationships to each other. So, if you
bear that in mind as you look through my new retrospective book, you can see where there's often a simpatico feeling between images that are laid out opposite each other. One can see, especially in the boat section, how one image flows from one to the other.

DPP: Was there anyone doing this multiple enlarger type of work before you?

Uelsmann: Combination printing techniques go back to the 19th century, but they weren't using multiple enlargers. There were folks in the 1960s and '70s that were experimenting with multiple exposures in the camera, but I really don't know of anyone that was using multiple enlargers in the darkroom. There was a show a few years ago at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York titled "Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop" that traced the evolution of manipulation in photography. They produced a wonderful book/catalog for the exhibit.

DPP: What type of enlargers are you using?

Uelsmann: Saunders LPL 4550XL enlargers. They have variable contrast heads. They give me the control I need because I frequently do contrast dodging. In other words, I can print a scene that's basically medium/high contrast, but then I can turn my enlarger down to a zero-grade paper to burn in the sky for a more subtle effect.

DPP: So you start with your paper in an easel under one enlarger, then, after the exposure, take it to the next enlarger, then down the line.

Uelsmann: That's right. For example, in my image of the house with the tree roots, the tree roots would be in one enlarger, the building in another, then I'm blending them together. I align everything by doing a crude drawing on an 11×14 sheet of paper, basically, on the back of an old print. All my prints initially are done on 11×14 paper and, then, if I really like them, I'll readjust and make larger prints. In the case of the tree building, I wanted to know where the edge of the tree was and if I could make it line up with the edge of the building. Then I'm dodging the one side so it gradually blends into the other. On my website in the press section, there are links to videos of me working in the darkroom.

DPP: What camera equipment are you working with to create the negatives you're working with?

Uelsmann: For years I used the Bronica, the poor man's Hasselblad. They had very good lenses on them. As the cameras got heavier, I switched over and basically shot with the Mamiya 7. It's a rangefinder, so it's a little bit lighter. The Mamiya 7 has a super-wide-angle lens. I also have a Plaubel Makina. I want the largest-size negative using roll film. I use T-MAX 400.

DPP: You taught photography for many years. Would you encourage students of photography these days to get into the darkroom?

Uelsmann: There are people who use the computer to write their essays and there are people who still use a yellow pad and a pencil. They both can write excellent essays, stories or whatever. The process is the means by which you complete the image, but you don't want it to be the end. There was a point at which the emphasis was on the Zone System that was all so technical. So you had this precise full tonal scale image, but what was the subject matter? It's a cat or a sunset. So what? I'm committed to the darkroom, but I believe that if I had been 20 years younger when Photoshop came out with its visual options, I might be sitting in front of a computer rather than standing in front of an enlarger.

To see more of Jerry Uelsmann's work, visit his website at uelsmann.net.

Jerry Uelsmann: The Alchemist

Jerry Uelsmann's surreal imagery has inspired a generation of digital artists, despite the fact that he's done almost all of it in a wet darkroom
By Glenn Rand, Photography By Jerry Uelsmann

By the time the name Photoshop had become synonymous with photo manipulation, the discussion was that with the adoption of this software technology into the mainstream of photography, it would create thousands of Jerry Uelsmanns. The comment that a piece of technology could replace the personal vision of an artist speaks about a major misunderstanding of Uelsmann's work, as well as an oversimplification of the technology.

"Self-Reflection, 2009."

Because Jerry Uelsmann is a master craftsman of what he calls "alchemy"-silver-halide photography and printing-too often his work has been unfairly defined by technique instead of vision. While Uelsmann employs techniques that are potentially simplified by the use of Photoshop, it has been his mastery of the process, along with a unique vision and an evolving aesthetic, that has made the artwork iconic. For more than a half-century, Uelsmann has shown virtuosity in darkroom techniques that have been mimicked by others using enlargers, as well as Photoshop. But the complex compositing techniques he uses to create his images are the means to an end, not the end in and of itself. In other words, Uelsmann's art is about more than just putting pictures together.

Uelsmann credits early photographers such as Oscar Rejlander and Henry Peach Robinson as part of his inspiration for his photomontage images. The processes have enabled him to broaden the notion of the limits of a photographic image. Uelsmann revels in being an artist, not just being a photographer.

Beyond tracing his inspirational lineage to 19th-century photographers, he also credits artists such as René Magritte for inspiration that has led him to his personal expressions. Uelsmann has been further influenced by nonvisual arts and philosophy. This complete approach is robust, and it contains the totality of the world around him.

The style is a mixture of playfulness, experimentation and a disregard for the intellectualization of and within his images.

Regardless of history or sources of inspiration, it's personal approach and vision that distinguish an artist from others working in similar ways and within the genre. Uelsmann always has been quite open with this technique, sharing it with others, but still his work separates itself from those who practice similar methods. The style is a mixture of playfulness, experimentation and a disregard for the intellectualization of and within his images. He takes a non-intellectual attitude toward using his camera to collect aspects of his environment that provide him with a base of materials that can be formed into his images. Uelsmann has said, "My initial approach is very nonintellectual. I just can't emphasize that enough."

"Untitled, 1976." Uelsmann's work is always in black-and-white, and the elements that he uses to construct a photomontage are diverse. Often, he employs natural elements and juxtaposes them with mysterious human forms and dynamic backgrou
nds to create a dreamlike world of mystery and abstract meaning.

In this way, he's creating his images with three distinctive parts. The first part is his collection of seemingly random items to be used in his images. Next is forming the artwork by assembling ideas and items from his library of found and preconceived pictures. The assembly is where his vision and aesthetics, along with mastery of the alchemy, give the distinctive look to his images. These two parts of Uelsmann's process are not that different from many photographers, but the third part differs from the way many conceive their images.

The third stage is the most interesting part of Uelsmann's approach. While his images can be defined by their symbolism and subconscious overtones, these aren't the critical factors. Then what separates Uelsmann from other artists? He leaves the important part of the functioning of the art to his audience. At a question-and-answer session, when asked what an image meant, Uelsmann said that he doesn't try to answer questions of meaning with his images, but rather asks the audience to help him seek answers. The audience completes the image, not Uelsmann. This is why he doesn't title many of his images. He doesn't want the words in the title to interfere with the audience's experience of his images at any level.

A good example of Uelsmann's approach can be seen in one of his most popular images, "Untitled, 1976." The titling doesn't give the audience any point of view to skew their appreciation and interpretation of the image. The image is of a room with a desk and map stand in the center, with the sky, the sun and clouds replacing the ceiling, and a small figure of a man walking on a book open on the desk. The ambiguous image structure allows the audience to interpret the image based on their backgrounds, knowledge and emotions. Having no title forces the viewer to attend more to the various portions of the image and to engage more highly within their own minds to define meaning of the various parts. One gallery has called the image "Philosopher's Desk." By using this title, the gallery has put a spin on the meaning of the image that Uelsmann may never have intended.

"Journey Into Night, 2006."

Uelsmann isn't certain about the meanings of his art, only the parts included in his images. Throughout the process, this uncertainty pushes him to find the proper combinations to make his art. Though he may end with an image that totally satisfies him, he arrives there through a process of discovery, not by creating images that are finished in his head at the beginning. He utilizes formal concepts as he arranges elements within his images. Because of his mastery of blending images seamlessly into new juxtapositions and photography's acceptance as real by the audience, this adds to the reality that's so important for the surreal images he creates. While his images may seem implausible, the reality created by his craft in the darkroom allows the viewer to see them as potentially real, if unlikely. In his iconic image of a house growing from tree roots, it's clear that Uelsmann's mastery of the way the two images come together allows the audience to interact with the concept of an abandoned and deteriorating house growing from the roots.

In the few cases where Uelsmann has named his images, the title aligns with the image content to lead the viewer to an understanding of the composition. In "Homage to John Muir, 2004," Uelsmann has chosen a background and center of interest that support his view of the importance of Muir to the natural environment. But even in this image, with its prescribed meaning, there's a level of ambiguity. The image consists of a high Sierra lake and a book floating above a semi-submerged rock with an eye. While the wording of the title, the background and the book are recognizable symbols, the floating book and the eye are more ambiguous, leaving some room for the audience to interpret more about the finished piece.

"Dream Theater, 2004."

Uelsmann pushes the boundaries of his full body of work to create new and constantly evolving images. He's uncompromising in his approach. While he can tolerate uncertainty in the process of creating final images, he can't surrender the art itself. This aesthetic approach leads Uelsmann to broad experimentation with various potential elements. He doesn't settle on a final composition until it satisfies his first audience: himself. Since the mid-20th century until today, Uelsmann has created iconic images within this continuously evolving style. While we can see relationships to his earlier work, there are still new departures in his subjects, techniques and the emotional content.

Uelsmann is unapologetic about his approach. He challenges viewers psychologically and emotionally. He also challenges the critics because his images aren't easy to write about. The images don't rely on art theory; they reside in the surrealism that they create, and then each invites the viewers to interpret and enjoy their own interpretations. This flies in the face of postmodernism, which has dominated much of the photographic milieu for many years. Since Uelsmann's images vary in meaning and emotion from viewer to viewer, they can't be confined to a simplified genre nor can they be fully intellectualized through commentary.

He doesn't settle on a final composition until it satisfies his first audience: himself.

Uelsmann steadfastly remains committed to silver-halide imagery despite the fact that the uninitiated may assume that it's all digital. Resist the urge to label his process as anachronistic. Like so many great artists, Uelsmann is a master craftsman who has a profound connection to his medium. As noted at the outset of this article, you can't define the artist by his technique, and perhaps the greatest compliment to Uelsmann's vision and his importance to concepts using digital technology is that as an alchemist working with silver-based images, his work has been included in the exhibition Digital Darkroom at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles (December 17, 2011-May 30, 2012).

You can see more of Jerry Uelsmann's work at www.uelsmann.net.

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An Interview With Jerry Uelsmann - Digital Photo Pro

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The Digital Photo Pro profile of Jerry Uelsmann from 2012 is one of the most popular articles we've ever run. When we spoke to Uelsmann in 2012, he shed light on his approach to photo manipulation. A lot has changed since we last talked to Uelsmann years ago-he won a Lucie award for lifetime achievement and released a retrospective book of his photography.