Instant film exhibition - BIG QUESTION!

polarbear · Aug 30, 2010

Hi there

Firstly, thanks for being willing to help me! I'm new here.

I'm looking at doing an instant film exhibition, and I want to show the uncontrolled nature of the images - that I haven't edited them. So I want to only peel the film apart when the exhibition is installed and open - in front of the audience.

Can anyone tell me whether this is possible? I'm sure I've seen it done with invitations to an exhibition in New York - where the images must have been shot days before peeling the film apart, and the images worked. But the write up I saw on this was years ago, and I don't remember it well.

I've contacted the Impossible Project, and they said:

"i don't really know any film that only starts to expose when peeling the top layer?!

usually one should wait 1-2 minutes after exposure to peel the film apart.
if you expose the film and wait several hours/days before peeling it apart, the images might turn out dark or at least overexposed."

Can anyone tell me if I can do what I want to do here, and if so, do you have any recommendations on film stock, camera, max time between shooting and exhibiting, and conditions for storage?

Thanks for any help you can give me

Samantha in New Zealand

c.cloudwalker · Aug 30, 2010

polarbear said:
"i don't really know any film that only starts to expose when peeling the top layer?!

1/ I don't either but, then again, I am no expert on instant/Polaroid type films.

2/ I don't quite get how peeling two layers apart is going to show that you haven't edited them any better than if you use some in-front-of-your-face digital photography.

Helen B · Aug 30, 2010

You could do this with Polaroid 4x5 peel-apart sheet film, though I think that you would not have to wait too long between exposure and development. I've waited a day or two, but I have no direct experience of waiting longer.

You expose the sheets of film in a Polaroid 545 series back, then remove each sheet without developing it (lever set to 'L'). Later you put the sheet back into the holder and remove it with the lever set to 'P' whereupon it will start to develop.

You need a camera that will take a 545 series back, a back (they are very cheap now) and some 4x5 sheet film. There is some still available, but production has stopped.

You could use peel-apart pack film, but each pack could only have one latent image.

Alternatively you could think of using Fuji instant pack film, clean up the negative and show the negative along with the print.

Best,
Helen

polarbear · Aug 30, 2010

Hi there, thanks for replying. The images need to be shot in one city and exhibited in another. I want to give a feeling that they are the "real" city, unedited, instant, unreapeatable, one-offs.