okay...I'll go first

[terri]

The Photo Forum-dot-com has the :king: of administrators...always ready to keep the subjects happy...

My interest in alternative photographic techniques has really taken off over the last several months. I especially like Polaroid manipulations and image transfers. You can do some cool things with humble images, and there are some really great artists out there, doing this stuff.

This image is of a backyard shed, somewhere in a little south GA town. What do you think of this kind of work?

 

[terri]

Yay, it worked......

I'm still happy to see an image transport correctly.....

 

[carlita]

wow! time zero film huh? i'm impressed with what you ended up with. how long have you been experimenting with that technique? i've only played around with it a little bit myself so i know how hard it can be sometimes.

what tools did you use? i bought some burnishing tools and have yet to use them. i'm also curious what camera you used to shoot that. i have a polaroid one-step camera that i just rig up to accept the time zero film, but i don't have a filter to use on it yet, which you're supposed to use. i've just been lazy about getting one, so my stuff usually comes out too dark, but i go ahead and play with it anyway, just to get the practice with moving the colors around and seeing what level of pressure creates what effect and such.

also, do you have any personal tips or tricks you've learned along the way, by chance?

i'm all excited that someone else here has worked with this. eeeeeeeehehehe. i'm a dope.

 

[terri]

Nah - you're brilliant, Carlita!! It was your idea to get this forum going, right?? :thumbsup:

I have a Daylab, which means I can shoot plain old 35 mm slide film, then use it on whatever Polaroid film I want for the technique in mind. It's kinda pricey but it really frees you up.

I also have an SX-70 Land camera that I got off of ebay last spring. I love the feel of that thing, but I'm not very good with it yet. My stuff comes out a little light most of the time. Practice, practice..... The One-Step supposedly converts fairly easily to accept Time Zero film. You must be talking about one of those gelatin filters, you'll have to cut it to fit, is that right?

I use burnishing tools, various sizes. I also have some wooden thingies I found in an art supply store, for ceramics and sculpting. They have long handles and are comfortable to hold. I've done a couple things with a large golf tee, too - but that's a little small and makes my hand ache after a while. :no smile: Lately I stick with the larger tools. I've only been doing this stuff for about 6 months now. Highly addictive!!!

 

[carlita]

:blulsh2: yeah it was my idea. i figured it was a long shot though. i'm really happy we actually got it. weeeeeeee!

The One-Step supposedly converts fairly easily to accept Time Zero film. You must be talking about one of those gelatin filters, you'll have to cut it to fit, is that right?

yeah, it's really easy to get it to accept the film. i just have to make sure i keep one of the little cardboard things from the film catridge handy. and yes, i'll have to cut the filter. it's just a matter of getting off my butt and buying one.

i have a polaroid propack camera and a vivitar slide printer. i got both of them off ebay. i think i spent like 75 on the camera and another 50 on the slide printer. it's a nice deal when you consider that camera shops and whatnot sell them for twice that much.

i haven't used the slide printer much. i made a couple of prints using some of my parents old slides because i just wanted to see how the thing worked since i'd never used one before and i didn't have slides of my own. every time i tried to make a print, it came out with semi-decent darker tones and really washed out lighter ones, so that's gonna take some tweaking i guess. i really want a daylab so i can use different sizes of film but i got the vivitar instead because it was cheaper. i may ask for a daylab for christmas. i want to have these techniques nailed down by the spring when i go to NYC again with one of my photo classes. *crosses fingers*

the only sx70 manipulations i've done so far i did before i bought the burnishing tools, so i used this mechanical pencil that didn't have any lead in it. :green to: it served its purpose, but i was at the art supply store the other day and went ahead and bought the burnishing tools for when i work with it next. they were cheap enough.

do you work with your images right away or do you save them and reheat them later? i've never really done much with mine right away so i end up taking a 1/4" pane of glass and setting it on top of my heating pad so i have a hard/warm surface to work with them on.

 

[carlita]

oh... i found an example of how the prints from the slide printer were turning out:

 

[terri]

yeah it was my idea. i figured it was a long shot though. i'm really happy we actually got it. weeeeeeee!

Well, notice I slobbered all over our Administrator with thanks for actually doing it.....he needs to feel big and powerful, you know? (And here's hoping he knows I am teasing and doesn't do anything evil)

You got a VERY deal on the camera and slide printer. The Vivitar is limited in its offerings, but it does a great job with what it can do and has a great reputation. Just keep playing around with it, you'll figure out those settings. The Daylab is similar in that you have to develop an "instinct" for it, but when you do hit it, it's pretty slick! I haven't yet frozen an image to manipulate later. Your method sounds right on the money. The longest I've waited to start playing with an image has been around an hour, but you can supposedly wait a lot longer. But then, I don't break out this stuff unless I'm in the mood to do it, ya know??