fun with emulsion lifts

[explody pup]

Shot w/ Fuji 3.25 x 4.25 100 ISO pack film and my Polaroid 360.

First image is the unaltered image, the developer sheet pressed on some printer paper with a rubber roller, and the final emulsion lift:

I haven't yet gotten an emulsion lift I was happy with. This is no exception. Anyone have any helpful tips? Especially for scanning an emulsion lift without those ugly reflections. Also, how do you fix the emulsion to your medium? As soon as everything dries the emulsion becomes hard and tries to separate from the paper. I've heard of people using shellac, but I have no idea what kind or how I would go about applying it.

Next is actually my friend's idea. I liked how it turned out. First two images layered plus plenty of level/color balance shenanigans:

This stuff is pretty fun and easy to get usable results. Everybody should try it at least once. Polaroid cameras are cheap if you go wander around the flea market for a while or clean out your grandparent's closet.

Thanks.

 

[The_Traveler]

I think there is too much emphasis on technique over content.

Technique should have some purpose in relation to the content - and I don't 'get it' here. The tricky stuff makes the pic undecipherable.

I said this on another post and it seems appropriate here too. It may be 'art' but it isn't photography.

 

[PlasticSpanner]

I know how addictive this stuff can be to work with! Once you start you wanna keep doing another, and another.....

I agree with the traveler in that it isn't strictly photography but more developing/darkroom stuff. However, it is still more photography related in my eyes than heavy photoshop manipulation!

 

[terri]

I think the last image works all right as an abstract. It looks like a Polaroid image transfer to me.

Heck, I can't even tell what the object is from the straight print.

I've never worked with Fuji film, only Polaroid, for emulsion lifts and transfers. I've never had any problem with the emulsion adhering to the surface of dampened watercolor paper, even after drying. I typically spray the emulsion with a UV protectant once it's dried down.

Your emulsion lift looks perfectly fine to me. Not sure why you're not satisfied with it. What kind of paper are you transferring to, explody pup? If you're not using a good artist's watercolor paper, that might be part of the trouble right there. You might try coating the receptor surface with a gel medium before the transfer. I've used Liquitex brand in the past, and it does just fine. Let the watercolor paper soak for a minute or so, squeegee off the water, then apply directly to the surface with a plain old artist's brush right before before the transfer. Apply the transfer and roll with the brayer as usual. You may get better results after dry-down.

Hope this helps.

P.S. FWIW, image transfers/lifts are considered to fall into "alternative photographic techniques", and have been widely written about. Nothing non-photographic about it, IMHO. Keep having fun with it!