Tobin's Beautiful Photography by Tobin Brodeur

August 28: Photoshop Negative

tbrodeur26 — 2025-08-28 02:20:29 UTC

This is the final draft of my negative composite, after multiple variations and some time playing. I've opted for only 4 subjects, arranged in poses for specific reasons I talk about on my self assessment. This class was spent following photoshop tutorials to translate our physical print composites into digital format, desaturating and organizing into this final negative format. The negative itself serves as a sort of light barrier, so the lighting will be inverted when the final cyanotype os printed. Going into this, I had experience with desaturation in photoshop, but absolutely none with the cutting and arranging of different layers. Photoshop made it easy with the outline tool, however, and now with that experience i'm much more well versed with the app. Still a beginner, but cutting is a useful tool.

September 19: 3 Point lighting

tbrodeur26 — 2025-09-19 03:54:06 UTC

Last class, the lighting we work with was less strict and more random. Warm lighting seems to be less consistant in. brightness and color, making it harder to achieve a vision you have in your mind without a lot of patience and tweaking. Cooler lighting seems more strict, easier to use and consistant, but narrow in the emotions it can display. With warm lighting, the types of images you can make are very diverse, whereas with cool lighting of today's lesson the mood is constant. I prefer cooler lighting from a directing standpoint. It's fast to adjust and easy to use, and produces a sharp image. Even if sterile, it's still crisp and unmistakable. After these two classes, I have a much better understanding of why photographers use each type of light, and how to use both myself.

September 3: Cyanotype Testing

tbrodeur26 — 2025-09-25 14:21:23 UTC

Today was our first day using negatives and pre-treated cyanotype fabrics. Using a slightly confusing array of light blockers and positioning my fabric just right, I exposed the fabric through my negative to different levels of light over time in order to find a sweet spot for perfect exposure. I worked in 15 second intervals, and found that the 100-115 mark worked right for the fabric. Predicting how it would look like after full oxidation was hard, however, so some guesswork and luck was involved. I used some hydrogen peroxide on a separate fabric not pictured here, but found it brought too much saturation to the piece, so didn't end up wanting to use it.

September 5: Treated Paper Trials

tbrodeur26 — 2025-09-25 14:30:41 UTC

I was unable to find the photo I took of my first draft paper model, so I'm putting this placeholder for now. This class, we used a premixed combination of the two chemicals and brushed it over some paper. Doing this lent us a more nuanced way to print without the over-saturation and splotches that the pretreated fabrics suffered from. The paper was also more light sensitive, i'm assuming since the chemicals were still fresh, so it was necessary to perform a second trial run at intervals to find the new sweet spot. With the paper trials. hydrogen peroxide worked wonders, and came out less oversaturated than when I had used it for my pre-treated fabric sheet. Overall, I prefer the paper tenfold. You can layer the chemicals in any thickness you want, which gives you more control over how it turns out. They're also fun to wash off. I'd like to try using the same chemicals on something like lass or plastic, though it would be harder than just brushing it on.

September 9: Large Composite Time

tbrodeur26 — 2025-09-25 14:37:46 UTC

I'm unable to find of a photo of the finished project, but today was the day where we combined everything we learned previously and "made it like Hurley". Like him (disregarding some photoshopping he most likely didn't do), we took 6 physical separations of our negatives and combined them together to make one composite. While it was easy to use the sweet spot I had found last class to expose these, it was incredibly annoying to set them up properly without overlap and noise. In the end, however, I enjoyed the jagged feeling that the final image yielded, and so it was a happy accident. Some parts ended up being more exposed than others, since some areas had 3 layers of plastic and some had one; though in the end I think it all worked well to create the illusion of a more antique type of print. And it looked ok after full oxidization a day later. It gave me a pretty clear view into how hard it was to make the images we take for granted now back int he day. All the props to Hurley.

September 11: Collage Playground

tbrodeur26 — 2025-09-25 14:42:22 UTC

I loved this class. Working with one negative is something, but getting to change and mix and match a collage was awesome. I loved how mine and Vanna's turned out when combined, and my negative was beautiful. I wanted to incorporate some negative space with the skull and the gap between hip and ribcage, and some different shading with the stippling of the skeleton and the finer smoothness of the lips and Vanna's collage below. While the image doesn't really say anything coherent, the vibe is consistant, and I don't think this could've been accomplished with anything other than cyanotype. By now I had gotten a good sense of what level of exposure my prints needed, and this one only took two tries to get spot on, so I think this had helped me even further with my accuracy in that facet.

November 4: Street Photography

tbrodeur26 — 2025-11-04 04:33:17 UTC

Loose definitions and rules make street photography a breathable large and diverse genre while still keeping the core elements of what makes it so appealing. Nuances like the presence of life and candid shots are essential for all street photographers, but there are countless ways to use bend and twist those rules and make something unique even today, after all the genre's history. In terms of evolution, it's made easy. As long as technology doesn't interfere with the process of capturing one real instance, evolution is easy and continual. As for some shooting locations in the city, I think markets would be helpful for remaining unnoticed, and downtown would also help because of the high population density, making candid photos easier.

November 19: Reflection on Raster Cuts

tbrodeur26 — 2025-11-27 00:57:03 UTC

After the initial 3 prints after 2 failed trials and a failed raster cut (which looked quite interesting on it's own), we got to experiment with our plate today. Some experiments turned out quite well, some I would never show to Dev. What I doubled down on and what I think had the most potential today was color. Rubbing off dust from chalk simulated the same type of substrate as charcoal, just with color. I paired that with another cutout I had done to put between his face and the press, so only the background would be colored. Pressing it resulted in a color cake surface which wouldn't stay on very well, so in my second trial onwards I would spray a slight amount of water on each print to hold it. On my later trials I tried using markers to outline, but the color contrast was too much and it didn't end up looking great. The biggest takeaway here would be to keep it simple. Simple colors work better than a combination of sharp and harsh, unless done very precisely which I didn't do. It was a fun class, and I ended up with some good prints.

Nov 13/17: Rastercut / Print n' Press

tbrodeur26 — 2025-11-27 02:07:19 UTC

[This post will be a combination of 2 lessons as I was absent for the former and did most of the cutting work between the two classes.] There are a significant amount of alternate substrates we could've used that would have their own unique effects or uses. Plywood would burn crisper and withstand the press without compressing, making lines sharper and the overall prints darker because of the excess carbon. Fabrics (that wouldn't catch on fire), plastics, rubber mats, even cardboard could work. Theres just as much flexibility in substitutes for the charcoal too. Crayons, liquids, pastes, pastels, paint, anything viscous or powdered could work. Theres also the idea of using Rastercut items as stencils. My first trial failed because the laser burned completely through the wood in places, leaving gaps. If that could be done in a more controlled manner and pattern, spray paint or ink stencils could be made with it. In the meantime, the settings that do work for me are speed 80 and power 40, with a double cut.

November 11: Photocopy Scan

tbrodeur26 — 2025-11-27 02:19:23 UTC

Taking a photo of our choosing, we desaturated and curated it to look as if it had been ran through a photocopier, with lines and blur in various parts. When it comes to applying this technique to street photography, though, I think the answer is a little less black and white than the photos are. Editing a single image still captures a still and single moment in time, so theres no argument there. But to alter a subject in a way that hides appearance and distorts the whole scene feels wrong to me. I suppose the genre can't be stuck too much in the past, and experimentation like this is important for it's progression. Maybe the umbrella of street photography will branch and twist in different directions, and there will be less madness about methods. As for the topic of rule breaking, it's always been an integral part of art. If one is to label themselves as a street photographer, though, there are lines you need to color inside of. Candidness, humanism, single moments, these are all part of what makes street photography itself. If you're going to break the rules, thats fine, but it's important in my opinion to acknowledge and embrace that you are creating something new, not doing street photography. No clue if that makes sense, but you get the idea hopefully. Anyway, this undoubtedly beautiful and strong looking and mostly human test subject is not an example of street photography, so his alteration was acceptable here.

November 27: Street Photography Example

tbrodeur26 — 2025-11-27 02:48:03 UTC

Blue and red after a night out. Only edited that was done was a rotation so the horizon was level. If I could edit it more, i'd cut the people so they occupied a third as opposed to a a half and make the middle more purple.

Nov 6: Lighting Lab

tbrodeur26 — 2025-11-27 05:24:41 UTC

I was absent for this class, and so don't have any evidence of the pictures take nor spend any time in lighting lab with pictures.. In the city, however, there are some great locations over behind my house and by Landmark 81. By Thao Dien theres a wide bridge with a wet market beside it, which seems like a prime street photography location. For more calm images any of the complexes near Landmark 81 would also be great for a more artificial view of Vietnam. Anywhere with crowds would make it easier to stay unnoticed and yield more interesting human subjects (Malls, walking streets, concerts or conventions). Behind my house is a a series of winding roads with all sorts of shops and characters, so any curbside shots or portraits could be done there.

December 1:

tbrodeur26 — 2025-12-10 01:43:36 UTC

Engraving was my favorite part. Sharp objects in my possession was for once a good idea, because I was able to make something pretty cool with them. Each step went smoothly, from engraving to wiping. Granted I was watching you do them for me, but I understood and if given the opportunity to do it myself I wouldn't find it too difficult. I started the process by outlining the frame. Deep and thick lines for the body, thinner more delicate lines for the face. Once that was done, I outlined the shadows and started shading. Cross hatching was my primary method, And I just followed the principle of darker is deeper. At the end of the process, I wanted to give it some volume and uniform shade, so I went over the whole piece with a small roller to engrave it all so it could be colored lightly. Inking happened, and I had no idea whether it was going to work out. Wiping was like Christmas, however, and I could see the engraving come together really nicely just the way I had wanted it to. Trust the process I suppose. Printing was similar to earlier lessons with our raster cut and charcoal, so it wasn't daunting. Less water, pop it down, roll it out, and an acceptably pretty image popped out, albeit reversed, onto my paper.

December 9: Unit 3 Reflection

tbrodeur26 — 2025-12-10 01:45:56 UTC

My understanding of value and texture extended from simply 2D thinking to 3D. I can look at darker values and translate that into something like deeper cuts or darker burns. Thinking of how an image can be printed on different physical mediums makes taking pictures a more mindful process. Raster-cuts, for example can catch on fire or over-cut if the settings or tones are wrong, so more mid-tones and less pitch black parts of a photo work better with it. Aside from noting technical difficulties, choosing pictures that will look aesthetically pleasing with different physical prints in mind is also an evolution of thinking. Now that we know about editing an image appropriately after all these tutorials, my thinking about color and texture has changed into a problem solving proccess, where I know what to adjust and why those aspects need changing. Of all the methods that we experimented and learned from, the most effective and pleasing for me was the dry point engraving. I had control of depth and shading at my fingertips, and it was much more intricate and delicate than pencil and paper, as well as reusable and more versatile. The raster cut was harder to perfect and had it's imperfections in the form of being both sluggish and imprecise at times. The was less customizable and less detailed; it had 2 depths which you couldn't control with your hands. The other two methods were fun to experiment with, but the dry point gave me the best of both worlds. I had a statue bust as my subject. That requires shadows, soft and hard lines, and facial details. These things wouldn't translate well to carbon prints or copper etching. I can see myself doing the dry point technique in the future for multiple things really. Creative ideas that need replication like t-shirt printing or sticker making wouldn't work well with copper prints a raster cut. PLus, I could experiment with different types of shading when it comes to dry point. Stippling, cross hatching and hatching would all yield different results.

January 9: Block Print Reflection

tbrodeur26 — 2026-01-11 08:23:26 UTC

Over the past two classes, we've been exploring our own styles and techniques in block printing on rubber plates. We were all assigned our niches, and sent off to experiment. I received insects, and wanted to draw one with multiple textures over it's body. I eventually stumbled upon a dragonfly sketch and decided to use that, sketching it out with carbon paper and carving. I decided that I'd want it as a stamp, and so cut the outlines out too. This would give me valuable versatility and help me in framing experiments later. So far, i've made 3 prints, using spray paint to frame and create backgrounds and trying different placements with the dragonfly stamp. I'm currently working on including another color, and I'm planning to cut a solid shape out and use that as a background color before using my print on it, maybe including a detailed background like a lily pad on water to fit the dragonfly theme.

March 10

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:01:37 UTC

March 12

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:02:06 UTC

Intimidating.

March 19: (Beginning of final stencil)

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:02:58 UTC

Can't hurt me when he's on the floor.

March 25: Final Touches and reflection

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:05:44 UTC

I had study hall and managed to finish this day. Regrettably, I can't find an image I took of the final result. His beautiful and evil face is somewhere in the art room, though.

You can view my reflection here.

April 21:

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:10:52 UTC

Preparation segment: I chose a photo I had taken of the downtown skyline and cropped it to a workable size. Unfortunately, that day I was working without a computer, but with some help from your voodoo magic hands and computer, I was able to create the 2 layers I wanted to screenprint. Wasn't much to say about the actual photoshopping here; we had learned all of the actual processes, and this was an amalgamation of all those skills. I think my image worked in my favor, it was perfect for screen printing because of the textures and shadows on the side of the building I chose.

Somewhere between these 2 dates

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:11:57 UTC

looking good anton

April 23: The meat of the project

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:15:34 UTC

This was the class where we actually started putting things on the screen. It was glorious. We used the UV press to make a sort of cyanotype background, exposing the black parts of the picture and leaving the shadows. We then scrubbed our screens for way too long, and the image emerged like magic. I might've scrubbed too hard, as I tore a small hole at the bottom of the screen. I never claimed to be smart. With some tape and some more elbow grease, the screen came away successfully bearing the two frames for printing. As a bonus, my fingers tasted like pennies for the rest of the day. We also took todays class to make backgrounds for our future prints. I chose blue, and this time they did not get stolen by Huichan.

April 27: Test print

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:17:53 UTC

Oops. The mistake here was not waiting for the screen to dry between color changes. I also left it on top of the paper for too long and pulled it away too aggressively. Learning opportunity. I took the time to make some more background prints, this time experimenting with spray paint and multiple colors. The tape came off as well, so I fixed it by stapling two pieces of tape together and placing them on both sides. I had no trouble with it in the classes to come.

April 29: Final Results

tbrodeur26 — 2026-05-13 08:22:00 UTC

I was extremely happy with these results. In between framing images for the art party, I finished my final screen prints. I needed to speed this process up, so I used a hair dryer in between prints to dry the screen faster. I had my newly created backgrounds and mixed some of my own colors to create a swirling effect, seen on two of the prints above. I decided to also play around with the framing of the buildings. Again, very happy with these. I think I took it to the next level with the positioning and play, and I am very proud of this as my final project. My fingers still taste like pennies.