SUNDAYS

#ProductDesign

#AlternativePhotography

#DesignResearch

#SocialResearch



SUNDAYS IS AN ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY ENLARGER DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR UV LIGHT EMULSIONS. IT USES THE POWER OF SUN RAYS TO PROJECT 35MM FILM ONTO CYANOTYPE OR VAN DYKE PAPERS, RESULTING UNIQUE PRINTS.

WITH SUNDAYS, YOU CAN EXPLORE THE BEAUTY OF ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY IN A SIMPLE AND INTUITIVE WAY. IT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE FULL RANGE OF THE UV LIGHT SPECTRUM FROM THE SUN, WITHOUT RELYING ON SUPER POWERFUL UV LEDS.

THIS PROJECT WAS DEVELOPED AS MY FINAL DEGREE PROJECT AT ELISAVA.


HOW

THE ENLARGER IS EQUIPPED WITH A FRESNEL LENS THAT CONVERGES ALL THE SUN RAYS ONTO THE EXACT FOCAL POINT OF THE 50MM PROJECTOR LENS. BEFORE REACHING THE LENS, THE SUNLIGHT PASSES THROUGH THE 35MM FILM, AND FINALLY PROJECTS THE INVERSE IMAGE ONTO THE PHOTOSENSITIVE PAPER.


DUE TO THE HEAT CONCENTRATED BY THE INFRARED RAYS OF THE SUN, THE FILM CAN BE EASILY BURNED. THAT'S WHY SUNDAYS INCLUDES AN IR BLOCKER FILTER TO PROTECT THE PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM.

THE SLIDING GUIDES OF THE ENLARGER ARE DESIGNED TO ALLOW A GOOD FOCUS OF THE IMAGE AND ADJUST THE SIZE OF THE PROJECTION.


THE EXPOSURE TIMES WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF EMULSION AND THE TIME OF DAY WHEN USING THE ENLARGER. SUNNY MID-DAYS ARE THE BEST TIME FOR ENLARGING, BUT THIS WILL DEPEND ON THE SPECIFIC SITUATION AND PREFERENCES.


INVESTIGATION

I UTILIZED A METHODOLOGY BASED ON THE DETECTING, ANALYZING, AND TRANSFORMING MODEL TO CONDUCT THREE IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS.

I EXPLORED WHICH PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES WERE BEING LEFT BEHIND AND WHY, EXAMINED THE CURRENT STATE OF PHOTOGRAPHY IMPACT ON SOCIETY WITH 4K DEFINITION CAMERAS IN OUR MOBILE PHONES, AND CONSIDERED WHAT THE NEXT STEP IN ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY COULD BE FOR OUR SOCIETY.


BASED ON THESE INSIGHTS, I WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY PROCESSES THAT HAVE SENSE TO USE TODAY. PROPOSING A WAY TO RECONNECT MODERN PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH THE ARTISAN STYLE OF ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY WITHOUT USING TOXIC CHEMICALS.

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PROTOTYPING

BEFORE FINALIZING THE MEASUREMENTS, MATERIALS, AND USABILITY OF THE ENLARGER, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO TEST ITS FUNCTIONALITY.

A PROTOTYPE WAS CREATED USING CARDBOARD AGILITY, WOOD PIECES, AND MOBILE JOINTS TO EXPERIMENT AND DEFINE THE BEST TECHNICAL DETAILS FOR THE FINAL PRODUCT.


THE GOAL OF THE PROTOTYPE WAS TO PROVIDE AN ADJUSTABLE AND INTERACTIVE MODEL THAT ENABLED PLAY AND DISCOVERY. THIS PROCESS ENSURED THAT THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE ENLARGER WAS OPTIMIZED BEFORE FINALIZING ITS DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.


RESULTS

VAN DYKE PRINTS HAVE A GOLDEN BROWN TONE AND TAKE BETWEEN 2 AND 6 MINUTES OF EXPOSURE, WHILE CYANOTYPE IMAGES CAN TAKE AROUND 8 AND 15 MINUTES WITHOUT THE USE OF ANY CHEMICAL PRODUCT.

THE USE OF SUNDAYS HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT VARIABLES THAT CAN AFFECT THE FINAL RESULT. THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION WHERE IT’S USED, THE SEASON OF THE YEAR, THE TIME OF DAY AND EVEN POLLUTION.


THIS CREATES UNIQUE RESULTS AND ENCOURAGES THE USER TO LEARN AND EXPERIMENT WITH UV LIGHT SENSITIVE PHOTOGRAPHY EMULSIONS, RECONNECTING PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH THE ARTISANAL PROCESS PHOTOGRAPHY USED TO BE.