One final image from the shoot with Arnika last weekend, and again this is one of the reclaimed negatives from a Fuji FP-100C instant print.
Scanning these negatives is a challenge — they don’t have the orange background mask that conventional C-41 negatives do, and film scanners invariably get confused. It took a couple of tries, but I ended up with this tonality tha I really like, faded in a retro kind of way that reminds me a bit of the Autochrome process from a century ago.
Another from my Guild Wood shoot with Arnika this past Sunday. This time, I used the negative from a Fuji FP-100C instant colour print. the black backing is removed with bleach, and the developer “goop” from the emulsion side is gently cleaned off with lukewarm water. I like the colours this process gives me: retro, but with a raw intensity, not even pretending to be accurate.
Today’s image in an instant print (of Model Justine from the recent High Park shoot) shot with a recent acquisition — a Mamiya Universal Press Camera. This is another big beast of a camera, and I got it mainly because it came with a Polaroid instant film back, which will give more flexibility for shooting instant images. I also have 6×9 and 6×7 (soon) roll film backs, so it will be quite flexible. It is not the easiest, or most ergonomic camera to use, but once I get used to it, I will be using it frequently!
In a recent post, I showed an example of what could be done with the negative from Fuji’s instant black and white film (FP-3000C), once allowed to dry and then scanned. Today, another example of hacking the process: it is possible to take the negative from Fuji’s colour instant film (FPC-100) and carefully wash the black backing off with bleach, and then wash the developer off with plain water. You are left with a transparent negative that can be scanned as a colour negative (albeit requiring a lot of colour correct in the post work). I love the results, and the messy borders add to the character of the image, in my opinion. I am also struck by the sharpness of this approach, compared to the scan of the original print, which seems soft to me. Expect to see more bleached negatives in the very near future!
(Classic car in Kensington Market, taken with Polaroid Land Camera model 100)
My Third Eye 