It has been a productive weekend for hand-tinted portraits. Today’ image features Jinxy, an alternative model with a unique and vibrant esthetic.
Category: Alternative Processing
Theme and Variations
In my last couple of shoots, I have made a point of using different cameras and technologies at the same shoot, and I am glad I did so — I love the different kind of results I get. As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, here is another image of Shreeti, but instead of a high resolution digital image, today’s image is a scan of an instant print (using Fuji FP3000B film in a Polaroid Model 455 Land Camera). Shreet’s look is timeless, and I think the vintage appearance of this print technique captures this, while still retaining her thoroughly modern sensibility.
A Time and a Place
Yesterday I had a great shoot with model and photographer Amy Sarfinchan, using the infamous “shipwreck” located along the Q.E.W. (exit 55) in Southwestern Ontario. I shot a number of different cameras and film: Colour and black and white instant film, traditional black and white film, Infrared/Hybrid black and white film, along with some digital. One of my favourite shots is from an instant print, where I scanned the negative from the Fuji FP3000B print. I think the retro, low fidelity look really compliments Amy’s timeless, haunted expression.
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmeadows/7926327794/” title=”Waiting 2 by John G Meadows, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/7926327794_450eb25c82_z.jpg” width=”491″ height=”640″ alt=”Waiting 2″></a>
A New Approach
Today’s image is another hand-tint, but unlike all my others, there are no people in the image, and I am making no attempt to be realistic. Ive been thinking of trying more surrealistic hand-tinted prints, and this is my first attempt. I shot the original black and white image of Pompeii last year during our trip to Italy.
The Colour Purple
Today’s image is from what was likely the last Kensington Market project involving models and the use of bleached/reclaimed negatives from Fuji FP100C instant film. I love the large swath of purple in the image, and model Caroline’s expression, hair, and choice of wardrobe were great for the setting.
Suppression of Detail
Today’s image in a sense has a complicated genesis: the original image was an instant photo, shot on Fuji FP3000B instant film. The negative portion (originally meant to be simply thrown away) was preserved in a delicate and wet state, and carefully dried, resulting in a low contrast negative image. This image was scanned, and brightness/contrast adjustments were made to the scan. The scan was then printed (inverted as a negative) on transparent stock for contact printing using the Van Dyke Brown process. The look is vintage, with the texture of the paper subduing detail.
Portraits In Kensington
Today, a video of various portraits taken recently in Kensington Market, Toronto, with Fuji FP100C instant film, using the negatives after bleaching/reclaiming. I love the colours I get from this process!
More Mad Scientist Photography
Another post with a Polaroid bent today: When the very first Polaroid was introduced in the late 1940’s, the original prints had a sepia-like tone. This was considered a limitation at the time, and later Polaroid black and white films had a more neutral tone balance. Years later, they did introduce films that brought the tones back, but alas those films are long gone. I decided to try using traditional print toner to see what would happen. (Tech details for those so inclined at the ned of this post). The results while not perfect are intriguing, and worth experimenting with a bit more. The next test will be to leave this print out for a few days to see if I get any further tonal change or discolouration.
(Fuji FP3000B instant film, toned using Kodak Professional Selenium toner, diluted 10:1. Applied with lint free soft cloth,
allowed to sit for about 60 seconds, then wiped off with lint free soft cloth and rinsed under cool running water.)
Back to Kensington
Today it’s back to Kensington Market, for another image created by taking the negative from a Fuji FP100C print and bleaching off the black back coating and then scanning it. I’m really hooked on the vivid colours (especially reds and blues) that result from this process!
Rough Around the Edges
Today’s image is of model Emily Decoteau, wearing an amazing costume she made herself, “reverse-engineered” from an illustration she found. The title “Rough Around the Edges” does not apply to her amazing costume work! I am referring to the process used for this image; the original was taken using a Polaroid Land camera model 455, and the negative was allowed to dry, then scanned. (I also added some toning, along with brightness and contrast in post). I like the fact the the edges are messy, and that bits and pieces of the paper film pack are still visible; to me, that says this image is real and tangible, you can hold it in your hands, knowing it was a witness to the moment.
My Third Eye 
