The Then and The Now

  It is a particularly slow day at work today and i find myself tired of looking at website after website.  My mind is drifting, looking back over the past year or so that i have been a photographer and thinking of the mistakes made, the cameras bought and the photos taken.

  I remember first getting into photography because my girlfriend (now my wife) was a keen photographer.  She had studied digital photography at college and i thought i would get a camera so we could go out on trips together, after all – she would come rock climbing with me, it was only fair i do things she is interested in with her.  I ended up with a Lomography Diana F+ as i liked the look of the lomo style photos and wanted a film camera.  I bought some rolls of film off Ebay (Fuji Provia and Ilford FP4+ if i recall) and got shooting.  I got my films developed at a local(ish) lab and started uploading my photos to Flickr. 

  As time went on i kept acquiring more film and shooting more rolls and i really enjoyed it.  Jess’ interest was starting to wane however, she very rarely picked up her camera anymore and when she did she just didn’t seem motivated to shoot at all.  As i got more and more keen i started picking up more gear.  A Jobo CPE-2  to develop C-41 film at home with, a Paterson tank for black and white developing, a Holga 120 WPC for panoramic pinhole shots, a Lubitel 166B, an Epson v500 to scan all my negatives and eventually my Bronica SQ-A kit.  The Bronica is my main camera these days, it’s just great to have a camera which i can change film backs/lenses on and which has apertures of f2.8 on the lenses.  Im getting into off-camera flash photography with it which is really interesting as it’s an extra avenue of investigation to take.  I feel like i have neglected my Diana lately though, perhaps i should shoot more rolls with it soon.

  I have also got into Polaroid shooting over the past 6 months or so.  I started off by finding an old Polaroid 100 integral camera at a local antique store for £5.  I got some Impossible Project film and got shooting.  Not so long after that i picked up a Polaroid 645CL 600 camera from the same store for the same price.  I stumbled upon a guy online who was selling 30 twin packs of Polaroid 600 film for £90.  Needless to say i bought it, kept some for me and sold some (mostly to pay house-related bills).  A few months later i discovered the Polaroid folding Land camera range.  Wow those cameras look great.  I scoured Ebay and found a 103 for £20 and bought it immediately.  I modded the battery and loaded it with some Fuji FP-100C and got shooting.  Not long after that i saw a 101 with case, flash and spare bulbs going in a local auction.  I placed my bid and won.  I have modded the battery but haven’t yet managed to load any film into it.  Hopefully i’ll get some soon and it will all be working fine; im looking forward to trying out the flash.

  It’s interesting to look through all my photos and see how i have progressed.  Some of my favourite photos even now are ones that i took mere months into my photographic career.  My favourite may well be this photo of Jess smelling a flower.  I took it with my Diana on some cross processed Provia 400 and i just love it.

  I think about all the technical mistakes i have made.  Developing black and white film in C-41 chemicals, pulling film out of my changing bag instead of the paper backing, shooting a roll without removing the darkslide-all mistakes i am sure many people have made.  But i guess we learn from making mistakes, even though we may feel stupid at the time.  I have got my black and white developing technique nailed now and im happy with how my C-41 negatives are coming out.  I’m still working on a definitive scanning process to improve the quality of my digital images though, and i haven’t even started to think about darkroom printing.

  Im not trying to brag about the gear i have or what i can do or anything, it’s just interesting to look back at where i started and where i am now.  The first time i picked up my Diana i had no idea that soon i would be developing my own film and shooting wide angle pinholes, swapping lenses on an SLR and doing emulsion lifts on Polaroids.  I can’t help but wonder what the future holds for me.  I would like to get a telephoto lens for my Bronica and maybe another flash and some extension tubes.  Maybe even a Hasselblad one day (those Zeiss lenses are so sharp).  I’d love to maybe even own a Graflex Speed Graphic one day and shoot some Collodion Plates.  Maybe one day ill even have my own darkroom and i will be able to do my own printing, which would open up a whole new world on toning, tinting and alternative processing. 

  Im thinking lately about getting shooting slide film normally instead of with a view to cross processing.  I have some Fuji Velvia 50 in my film box which i have cross processed every time i have shot it; perhaps it’s time i got it developed in E6.  I’ve also been working on some cyanotypes lately.  My wife bought me some Sunography paper, but i note you can get kits from Silverprint that you can use to coat your own paper; perhaps ill invest in a kit at some point soon.

  When im not shooting it’s nice to look around on websites like Flickr or THIAPS for inspiration, or the Strobist site for lighting technique.  Sites like APUG are good as well as it’s good to be able to advise others and get advice yourself from people who know what they’re talking about.

  But for now im content with what i have and what im doing.  Im happy being able to just go out and shoot with my different cameras and films; finding new locations and honing my skills, working on new techniques and improving my shots.   

  That’s my story so far anyway.  I’m sure that soon there will be something to add to it.

  I’d love to hear from you about your story, however long you have been shooting.  Feel free to comment on this blog or even email me about it.

How To: Do an Emulsion Lift on Polaroid Film

  I have recently discovered the joys of doing emulsion lifts on polaroid film and now im highly addicted.  Shooting polaroids is fun in itself but the different manipulations you can do with the film after you've got the image are amazing.  I currently only have 2 Polaroid cameras cameras that shoot both SX70 and 600 film so i haven't yet been able to try this with peel-apart pack film but im on the lookout for a pack film camera.  A bit of interent research has shown me that apparently this doesn't work on the original Polaroid SX70 and 600 films but will work on all films made by the Impossible Project.  I decided to give it a try using some Orange Flash film i recently got from them.  It worked great so i thought i would write a tutorial so you can all have a try too.

For starters you will need the following equipment:

• 2 trays
• at least 2 small soft bristled brushes
• watercolour paper 
• a sharp craft knife or a pair of scissors
• warm and cool water

  The first step is to put some warm water (between 30 and 40 degrees celsius) into one of your trays and some cool room temperature water into the second tray.  Now use your knife/scissors to start removing the white borders around the film.  One this has all been stripped off you should be left with a transparent plastic rectangle with your polaroid image on.

  Now, put your polaroid into the warm water and push it around a little for around 20 minutes.

You may see the film start to wrinkle up a little-thats fine, its just the water getting in.  The corners may start to lift a little also.

  Now, use one brush to keep the polaroid still and use the other to very slowly and gently peel the emulsion up off the white under layer.  Take your time doing this as it is very easy to tear the emulsion.

 

 Once the emulsion is all off gently lift it out of the warm water and into the tray with the cool water in it.

   Now place in a square of watercolour paper and lay it under the emulsion.  Use your brushes to spread your emulsion out into the shape you want above the watercolour paper.

  Once you have it laid out how you want it then its time to lift the paper out.  A handy tip is to find a coaster made of cork and slide it under your paper.  This floats the paper with the image on to the surface of the water, allowing you to remove the paper without the emulsion sliding off.  Once your paper is out leave it somewhere to dry for a few hours then admire your finished article.

  And that's it!  Simple really.  Have a try yourself - you can even stick the emulsion to other materials like wood if you fancy!

Our House Party

  Last Friday my wife and i had our first house party.  About 40 people showed up so the house got pretty packed.  I decided to load up some Polaroid 600 film and take a few shots of friends.  Don't ever host a house party.  Stains, broken kettles, lots of recycling and very little sleep.  Looking back though, it was worth it!

Party Night

  Old friends visiting is always a good excuse to go out on the town.  7 of us headed into town to our local live band venue to see some bands and get a few drinks.  I decided to bring my Polaroid 600 as i thought it would be nice to get some shots of us all together.  The music was good, if not to everyones taste (after a middle-of-the-road rock band finished their set a thrash band started playing)!

  We left shortly after and headed to the off licence (via a cash machine which nearly ate my card) and then into the centre.

  We ended up at Glovers which is not my kind of place but served the vimto/fruit pastille cocktails that the girls wanted.  Not long after we decided to head back to my house for fun and games.

 

  We ended up staying up until 4am playing hide and seek and blind mans buff.  Quite a few people collided or had their shirts accidentally ripped mid-game but its was all part of the fun.  Then it was off to bed for us all (dont ever try to inflate a double airbed using your own lung power) ready to spend sunday tired and sleepy.

Lazy Day

  After a hectic Saturday the unexpected weather on Sunday made it clear that a relaxing trip to the park was in order.  My wife and i packed up a few bits of photography gear and headed off to our favourite park.  It covers a huge area and has a small forest with a lovely stream adjoining it.  There is also a miniature train that offers rides at certain times of the year, an arts centre, a mini golf course and a playground.. We only had a short wander as we were tired and had to get some shopping done before Tesco closed.  I decided to shoot some polaroids as, to be honest, i couldnt really be bothered with anything more technical.  My wife got a bit excited using our new cokin polarising filter and was snapping away at some reeds in a pond.  I found it was nice just to be out in the gorgeous weather with her, enjoying the surrounding nature and lazily shooting my Polaroid.

Instant Gratification II

  I recently came into possession of a Polaroid 640CL camera which has built in flash, auto exposure and also a macro lens fitting.  I also came into 19 boxes of twin pack expired Polaroid 600 film for a ridiculously low price.  I shot the first pack with my new camera and these are some of the results:

  I'm rather pleased with how they came out as i was a little worried the expired film would result in poor colour quality.  I'm looking forward to shooting the next pack now.

Instant Gratification

  There is something altogether awesome about taking a photo and having it shoot out the front of your camera almost immediately.


  I bought a polaroid 1000 Instant camera about 3 weeks ago forma  local antique warehouse for a mere £7 pounds.  It came complete with bag and Q-Light flash and i felt that the risk of it not working was worth the cost.  I got some film off ebay (impossible project PX70 Push!) and loaded it up.  WHIRRR!! It ground into life and i was ready to start taking my first shots.  


  I had spent the days up to delivery of my film scouring forums online about the best way to shoot this film.  From what i read i gathered it was quite temperamental and so i prepared myself for some bad shots.  I got snapping and although the colours weren't exactly what i hoped for, i still think i got some decent shots.

   Cant wait to get my hands on some more film now and refine my technique.  I hear you can use 600 film as well with a slight modification to the camera; maybe ill look into it.