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Fedre’s Y4
Learning Journal

 1. Main page
2. Process overview
3. Walks
4. 35mm film photographies
5. Runway experiments
6. Midjourney experiments                        (I)
7. 35mm film experiments
8. W I P
9. Midjourney experiments                       (II)
10. Lightbox process
11. Processing 
12. Final outcome

Lightbox





Light box to exhibit my negatives, how the idea evolved from WIP to final outcome

the process of planning it and building it 



This is the collection of ideas and processes for the built of my lightbox. 




Thinking about  WIP show:

The WIP show is in a month, and we need to start thinking about how to exhibit our pieces. Here I started thinking about how to exhibit my pictures in Midjourney, so I started thinking about the format in which I was going to deliver those results. At this point I started doing some experiments that I explained in more detail here!  

So, one of the experiments I did was to transform those pictures to 35mm film, and I thought about how I was going to show them. The first thing that came to mind was to use slides! My dad had a carrousel slide projector from Kodak (one that looked like the one on the picture below), and I liked the idea of using that to exhibit them. 

The only thing about slides is that it is a process that tends to come after taking pictures, and I liked the idea of having my pictures on a wall and the negatives because it was giving a sense of continuity on the processes and rythms of analog picture that I explored throughout my project. So! I decided that a lightbox was probably the best idea. Lightboxes are gadgets that amateur photographers get or build and they can be found in people’s homes. 

I did a bit of research on how to build one. I found a youtube tutorial that went through the steps and inspired my process on it. 
I created a box using MakerCase. I decided that 3mm MDF was going to be enough for the size of the box (I did a size similar to the one on the video). Below there’s the file ready for laser cutting.
For the top I thought about using an acrylic sheet (transparent) and just attach a frosted glass film on it. Such as this one:

I didn’t like the result, so decided to use tracing paper (I used a few sheets) sandwiched together between two acrylic sheets. That difused the light better and gave a nicer overall look to the lightbox. To secure all of that I used an L shaped angle profile. I drilled a few holes in it to be able to secure it to the box.

I spray-painted the box black:


And added the LEDs. I used strips similar to the ones from the youtube tutorial, below are the ones I used:



The final outcome:
If you want to see it working, head to the WIP page!






Thinking about final outcome ++ degree show:


Lightbox:

As I generated new pictures with Midjourney, I decided to get another film roll. Keeping in mind that the other one has 36 colourn negative pictures in it, and the new roll is going to have the same amount of photos in it, I want to make the lightbox to be able to hold all of them in it. I was also taking into account that the negatives were cut every 4 pictures and that I wanted to have enough space between them so they wouldn’t look cluttered. 

My first thought was to make the measurements following the aspect ratio of 3:2 (which is the common one for 35mm film photos). I made a sketch where I found out that maybe I could even do an extra roll of film, but I was afraid things would feel cluttered, and decided to do only the 2 rolls and leave more space between negatives. I also decided that maybe it made more sense to rouond up the 467 to 500. It would still look very close to a 3:2 aspect ratio and would be easier to measure. 

With this in mind I head over to the woodwork workshop to do my cutting list with Andy and order my materials. Below there’s the sketch Andy made when discussing the dimensions of the box, accounting for stability and sturdiness.

When my MDF boards were cut, I went to the workshop to glue them together with PVA glue. To secure them I used some weights they had in the workshop and left it overnight.

Andy mitered them for me. They were now ready to be assembled. I used PVA glue again, nails and screws (on the bottom part of the box) to secure everything together.

In the last pictures we can see that I made a few mistakes when I assembled it. So I used some wood filler to fill the cracks and to fill the head of the screws that are securing the bottom board. I waited for it to dry and them sanded it down. I didn’t take a picture of it, but once everything looked (and felt) smooth, I painted the box with matt black paint on the outside, and glossy white paint on the inside.

Once everything was dry, I looked for a small desk to place the lightbox. Here I thought that instead of placing it on top of a desk, maybe it was a better idea to make the lightbox look like a small desk. So I started looking for some desk legs (black ones, ideally). I went for these ones from Screwfix as they had adjustable feet.

This is how the lightbox was looking now:



The next step was to place the LEDs inside the box. I started by making a small hole (for the LEDs wire) and started cutting the strips of LEDs and connecting them together with clip connectors. Below there’s the two products I used for this. This time I decided to get Warm White (2700K) for the LEDs, because although the lightbox look more “professional” with Neutral White (4000K), I wanted to give it a warmer look. I also used that silicone plug (in black) for the hole.

This is how it looked after finishing with the LEDs (the plug is still not placed in the hole). I also used some cable clips nailed down to secure the LED driver so it wouldn’t be moving around the box and potentially casting any shadows:

I then placed the semi-transparent perspex I had cut to size in Stockline Plastics and started placing the negatives on top. I ended up using some double-sided tape to secure the negatives before placing the other perspex sheet on top, because I was afraid they were going to move.

I’m really happy with the measurements I made for the lightbox - the negatives don’t look cluttered, and it adds a kind of desk-like feel that pairs nicely with the “bedroom vibe”. Doesn’t look too archival either. Below there is a video showing how it looks with the other perspex on top, and another with the light on!

To see how it works together with the rest of the elements of my project, head over to the Final Outcome page!