Category: Instant Photography

Strength

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Today’s image is from an amazing photo shoot from earlier today, of model Sarah D. In additional to being a very talented model, horseback rider and dressage instructor (and roller derby player!), Sarah has Cystic Fibrosis and recently received a double lung transplant. She is a very strong and powerful woman, and has incorporated what she has been through (and continues to deal with) into what she is, rather than being dominated or defined by it. I can’t help but ve very impressed by that kind of strength.

This image is a Fuji FP3000B instant film negative scan. I also shot some medium format film, so there will be at least one more post on this topic and remarkable model.

Sarah Polaroid032

The Colour Purple

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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.

Caroline Elizabeth in Kensington

Suppression of Detail

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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.

Emily - van Dyke Brown

Portraits In Kensington

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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

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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.

toned polaroid004

(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.)

Polaroid Week 2012

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I’m focusing a lot on Polaroids right now, as August 13th-17th is Polaroid Week, 2012. This event is run by a group on Flickr; members are allowed to upload two previously unseen instant images per day. I am amazed at the quality of the work I am seeing, and how the particular characteristics of the various instant film and camera combinations work so well for selected subject matter. I recommend visiting the page to see some great imagery!!

I’ve uploaded a couple more images today; the second one is another image of Rebecca, taken using Fuji FP3000B black and white instant film:

Rebecca Polaroid 11

Back to Kensington

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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!

Wall art in Kensington

Rough Around the Edges

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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.

Emily - Instant Negative Scan

Something in the Air

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Rebecca Zur, in a park near Yonge St. / St. Clair Ave. in Central Toronto. Twenty minutes before the shoot was to begin, the heavens opened and there was a brief but intense sun-shower. Afterwards, the sun stayed out, and the air remained quite damp and steamy, but the light took on a soft, diffuse and magical quality, which made it perfect for the shoot/ (I was melting in the humidity, but that doesn’t matter :-)) . I shot Polaroid, digital and conventional film for this shoot, and I have chosen one digital and one Polaroid for today’s post, as the looks are quite different, but equally valid.

Rebecca

Rebecca (Polaroid)

Train of Thought

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Today’s image is from another bleached/reclaimed Fuij FC-100C instant print, taken at the Broadview subway station in Toronto. I posted it on flickr as I was going out the door this morning, and didn’t have time to add any description. It quickly got a couple of nice comments, but I think one person made the assumption the look was all done in post. Given the plethora of apps and plug-ins available today to make digital images look like grungy lo-fi analog images, it was not an unreasonable assumption; most viewers would have done the same. I just can’t help but notice the irony of the situation.

Train of Thought