Experimental photography is the manipulation of techniques or technologies to depict the impossible. It often reuses existing techniques in new ways. Photographers face difficulties as equipment and materials become discontinued. Experimental photography includes four categories: historical, contemporary, traditional, and non-traditional. Mariah Robertson is a contemporary experimental photographer based in Brooklyn known for her manipulated digital images that violate photographic rules. Kayla Varley is a Los Angeles-based photographer who produces intimate black and white self-portraits that tell personal stories. Ronny Engelmann is a German photo artist who creates strange but wonderful manipulated images to depict his fantastical ideas.

1. Experimental Photography

2. Experimental photography is the manipulation of new techniques or technologies used for the
purpose to show the world the impossible. It often re-employs existing techniques in new ways.
Most equipment produced by Kodak are no longer available to use such as black and white paper
and particular inks. Companies have promised to keep certain things for the likes of artists and
photographers but most of the time there is always new technologies been released. This can often
make it difficult for photographers coming across new things to use constantly. It is almost like
stepping on stones. Experimental photography is divided into four different catorgarys. These
catrogarys are: Historical, contempory, traditional, non-traditional.
Historical
Contempory
Traditional
Historical photography is the old way of
doing taking photographs. This is a more
traditional way of doing it. Below I have
included a photograph which was taken
in the 18’70’s. Many photographers back
then were female and were considered
one of the few professions respectable
for middle-class women. They became
skilled and keeping babies steady by fair
means or foul, using animals to pin their
attention. Some resorted to recreational
chemistry giving them a dose of opium to
prevent them from being conscious of
them or the camera.
This is modern photography referring to
abstract or unusual work. A
contemporary photographer is known to
provide modern services and use
modern equipment. The photographer is
current and has no boundaries so every
extrapolation is accepted. The
photograph below shows a girl jumping
and/or balancing off a chair. This is
something that is not realistic and would
not be seen or captured in everyday life.
The way the photograph looks so
realistic shows that modern technology is
good and getting better.
This method of working uses older
methods such as film photography,
cyanotypes, dark room techniques and
paper collage. It is a media that
produced digital photography, therefore
the two are parrell to each other. Aside
from inheriting the features of digital
photography only improved the ability to
produce the exact desired image. The
quality of the images are better then
digital photographs as they fade easily.
Traditional photographers how ever are
not able to access another copy of the
photograph as easy as digital copies/

3. Non-Traditional
Fine Art
Commercial
This method of photography uses more
modern techniques such as digital
production to achieve its aims. The term
alternative process refers to any nontraditional or non-commercial
photographic printing process. Many
contemporary photographers are
revisiting alternative processes and
applying the digital negative and
practices to these techniques. Most of
the processes were invented over 100
years ago and were used by early
photographers.
Fine art images are created as an
individual piece themselves. The
definition of fine art is considered to have
been created primarily for aesthetic and
intellectual purposes and judged for its
beauty and meaningfulness. The
perception of aesthetic qualities required
a refined judgement referring to
someone having ‘good taste’. This
portrays a differentiated fine art from
popular art and entertainment. This type
of work usually appears in galleries,
exhibitions and magazines.
This kind of work is produced in the
response to a brief from a company and
then used for another purpose. It could
be used for a wide variety of different
reasons including advertising and
promoting. For example, flyers for a night
club, the images used on them will most
likely have been used elsewhere., or
even used on a flyer for a different night
located in the same club or town. This
work can also appear on adverts in a
range of different media and used to
promote bands and events.

5. Mariah Robertson
Mariah Robertson lives and works in Brooklyn, New York
She is a comtempary experimental photographer and artist. She has published and had many of her photographs in galleries. The most
current view is at Martvelli Gallery in New York City in the exhibition Polomor: Experimental Photography. The exhibition includes
photographic work by another five different artists. She is an alchemist. Her wild approach to experimental photography and making art
has seen images spill from the frame restrictions and reach across the walls and floors. Most of her work is done digitally using the
classic conventions of photographic practice, she works in the space of the darkroom working with photograms, irregular chemical
reactions, solarisations and collage to paint the surfaces of her new SPBH Book Club VOL IV.
As you can see I have placed a few of her photographic work above. One of
the main things you can see she has made good usage of it colour. They are
bright and the contrast between them are significantly defined. She never
uses negatives anymore as she tries to level several techniques onto one
image to portray something ‘impossible’. She uses photography as a way to
show the guts of the process to making the photographic images. The
technical manipulations used are considered as a science experiment with a
given set of rules and factors. By violating these rules and reinterpreting
them, the outcome is what you see. ‘’These processes being limitations, to
use certain techniques and equipment that you could classify as old,
antiquated, sub-professional, and importantly from the an age of extinction:
films, chemistries, and equipment are being discontinued. Even Kodak
stopped making black-and-white paper. Other companies like Fuji and Ilford
have pledged to never stop making certain products, but it’s a dire situation.
It’s like standing on the polar ice cap watching it melt around you…’’
2012
NADA, New York, NY
MoMA, New York, NY (Performance)
Kogod Courtyard, Washington DC, (Performance)
Let's Change, Grand Arts, Kansas City, MO
2011
Central Utah Art Centre, Ephraim, UT
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK (forthcoming)
HOT TROPICAL RAIN JAM, Museum 52, New York
MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY (Performance)
2010
Solo Presentation, ARTFORUM, Berlin
Performance, curated by Klaus Biesenbach, Miami, FL
2009
Take Better Pictures, Museum 52, New York
I am Passions, Marvelli Gallery, New York
Guild & Greyshkul (Performance)
2007
Nudes, Still Lives and Landscapes, Guild & Greyshkul, New York, NY
2006
Please lie down and take a nap with me in my grave, Guild & Greyshkul,
New York, NY

7. Kayla Varley
Kayla is from Bakersfield CA. She is currently living in Los Angeles.
Her skills of a photographer have developed from the age of 12 years old. Her inspiration was her father who helped her take her
first ever shots. The main capture of the images she produces are black and white self portraits which tell a story but at the same
time extremely personal and wholly relatable. She understands both sides of the camera, taking the photographs as well as
modelling. With a natural eye for beauty and composition, she shoots portraits in such a non-obstructive manner that
automatically puts the viewer at ease. Her work is also inspired by the everyday, the beautiful details and the most that people are
not looking for. She attended Art Centre college of design in Pasadena, CA and sells commissioned artwork.
The images I have included are a few of the selective ones out of her photography. These photographs are self portraits of herself. The angles
used are unusual and it immediately grabs your attention. The black and white contrast makes the overall effect seem sensual and intimate and
the lighting works perfectly against the hair and skin. Her work has been presentenced in magazines such as Nylon Magazine, Flaunt Magazine,
Volcom Women's, Monster Children, Electric Visual, FOAM, Seen Heard Known, Wonderland Sun, Volcom Swim, Live Fast Mag, Bisous
Magazine, and C-Heads.
“Women are beautiful to me all of the time. My idea of beauty is a warm energy and a loving heart.”
Her images are good filled with soul, impact, emotion, and good composition. I believe Kayla as a photographer always put a little bit of herself
into an image. Without the emotional connection in her images is that and you forget it once you’ve stopped looking at it. The images that stick in
my brain are the ones where I can actually feel the photographer inside the work.

9. Heitor Magno
Ronny Engelmann is 24 years old and is a photo artist living in Kassel, Germany. He is currently
studying sociology and science/history or art and besides photography he is also a BMX pro-rider and
loves playing guitar. His passion for fantasy and the unique has lead him to produce the strange but
wonderful imagery (shown right).
‘’Unfortunatly I cannot draw..’’
He decided he needed to get his ideas out of his head into something reality. Taking photographs was
very new but he learnt quickly. After exploring the possibilities of letting out the fantasy his love for
photography has never stopped growing. Ronny portrays an art form different from most others and
attracts viewers at the blink of an eye. Most of Ronny's photographs are made in the nature as it has
some kind of magical/mythical inside which he enjoys. His photography is conceptual and
manipulative. He uses programs such as Photoshop and expresses the language of hands through his
work.
As you can see from the images above all of his photographs are extremely unusual and unrealistic. They are
manipulative and metaphorically speaking are extremely good interprets of what could be real. The third photograph
along with the hand showing the fingers to be tiny hands is really creative. It looks like the program Photoshop has
been used to edit and add the extra hands into the photograph. The black background against the hand creates
mystery and intellect. Black is a very dark and mythical colour that is clearly emphasising the centre piece. It almost
makes you look twice. Before looking carefully into the photograph I did not notice that the fingers counted from one
to five. Overall the images Ronny Magno creates are weird but wonderful. This is a very good example of
experimental photography. Bringing the impossible possible.