Photography Professor Travels to NYC to Experiment With Photography Concepts

Photography Assistant Professor Eleanor Oakes attended a Photogenics Drawings Workshop at the Penumbra Foundation in New York City. The Penumbra Foundation is a non-profit organization that brings together the Art and Science of Photography through education, research, outreach, public and residency programs. 

While there, Oakes experimented with making a form of salt prints — one of the earliest photographic techniques. The technique dates back to 1833 when William Henry Fox Talbot — the father of modern photography — was on his honeymoon. The process involves applying salt to an image and then coating it with silver nitrate. This creates a light-sensitive solution, so the photograph darkens where it’s exposed to light.  

During the workshop, Oakes expanded on her knowledge of experimental photo techniques which she could bring back to her students at CCS, and created a new piece of work titled, “Experimental Photogenic Drawing, 2021.”