SX70 manipulation

terri · Mar 18, 2004

This one's pretty recent. I have an infrared of this image, too, but this is shot on Time Zero film from a 35mm slide, using daylab.

vonnagy · Mar 18, 2004

This one's pretty recent. I have an infrared of this image, too, but this is shot on Time Zero film from a 35mm slide, using daylab.

nice one terri, care to do a bit more explainin' on this shot young lady? for instance what do you mean by 'Time Zero' Film and daylab :scratch: for us non darkroom morons out there.

loverly shot terri gal, if was posted anywhere else i would of thought it was a painting!

terri · Mar 18, 2004

hee hee, I'm glad you like it!

The painterly effect is from me actually moving the emulsion around with a tool to get that impressionistic feel. Time Zero film is a square format Polaroid "instant" film (hence its name). It can be loaded into an SX-70 Land camera and poof! you get your image.

But since manipulation has to be done while the image is relatively fresh and the emulsion is pliable, I prefer to shoot slide film like Fuji, which has excellent color saturation. I then take my slide and load it into the Daylab, which is a "slide printer", almost a mini-enlarger except you can do this in broad daylight - no darkroom required. Using a Daylab with a special base that holds the Time Zero film, I shoot the image from the slide right onto the Time Zero and poof! it's there, ready for me to work on. The Daylab comes with an SX70 base for Time Zero film, and a standard base that takes Polaroid 669 film, and I also have the 4x5 base for larger images.

I liked this particular image just as it was, meaning, the "original" is a 3.25x3.25 piece of Time Zero film. But when I ask you about going from color to B&W in PS, that's when I'm not satisfied with the colors after I've re-shot an image onto Polaroid film, and want to paint it myself with photo oils. I'll scan the image and convert to B&W, print it out on special inkjet paper that accepts the oils and paint away.

So, see? We have more in common than you think. :wink:

I'm hardly employing any darkroom methods here. This is considered an alternative photographic process. Highly addictive one, too!

Jeff Canes · Mar 18, 2004

My first thought was Jimmy Buffett, love it :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I what to try this, the Polaroid site clams that Time-Zero film will work in the 600 with thin spacer under cartage

terri · Mar 18, 2004

It's absolutely doable. I haven't tried that conversion, but people do it all the time. There is some kind of metal guard in the Polaroid 600 to keep you from loading the wrong film, and this guide is what needs to be covered so you can slip that film pack in. I think you can actually do this using the dark slide from a Time Zero film pack or something similar. And 600 cameras are rated for the 600 ISO, too, so there's need for a neutral density filter to get it to read the Time Zero film (ISO 150, I believe?).

A little bit of study via the internet and you're there. Go for it!! :thumbsup:

Osmer_Toby · Mar 22, 2004

so this is where you've been hiding your stuff!! man, i never clicked on this forum section before- i thought it was just alot of comments/explanations/questions about alternative traditional darkroom stuff, and since i've gone almost all digital, i don't keep up with that stuff.

terri, this is awesome!! i'd love to learn how to do this stuff- so far, all your explanations above are kinda over my head, so i'll have to do some research so i can ask intelligent questions. do you have any recommended reading for someone who wants to learn this technique but has never done anything like it?

the photo(?) itself is way cool- reminds me of a cross between ansel adams and norman rockwell. shoulda known you were capable of this kind of stuff from the way you spar so well verbally! :wink:

btw, why don't you post this stuff on the regular gallery as well as here? this stuff is way too good to hide here where idiots like me might never come across it...

markc · Mar 22, 2004

Wow. I think that's the best manipulation I've seen yet. I'm usually not to big on them, but that really works well. It is just like a painting! It's a great composition, too.

terri · Mar 22, 2004

Thank you, guys!

I'm really tickled you like it.

This forum doesn't get a lot of action these days. Several months back, another member (Carlita) asked Chase why he didn't have a forum devoted to alternative photographic techniques and he was gracious enough to create one for us. I guess I continue to use this forum because my stuff IS "alt" and I want to honor his consideration, frankly.

I know a lot of my stuff gets overlooked this way, though. It does get looked at, but it seems people either just don't know what to make of it, or they flat out don't like it - so they rarely comment. Good thing I have thick skin. :wink:

Artists I can recommend: there are several, but Theresa Airey is one of my faves. She's a fabulous alternative processes artist. I've learned so much from reading her books. I had to take classes, too, and invest in some special equipment like the Daylab. Although there are still lots of cameras out there that shoot Time Zero film for on-the-spot manipulation, I prefer to use slide film and project onto Time Zero. I can also use 669, and larger format 59 film through the Daylab, so it made sense for me to buy one.

I adore this crossover art form, so feel free to ask anything you want to know.

Just be prepared for my babble.

Not Neve · Apr 19, 2004

Terri, I'm sure it's that people don't venture over to this section. Your photos are very cool. Half the time I don't even know of the technique when I read your subject. (that's no reflection on you - I'm clueless, sometimes).

terri · Apr 20, 2004

I'm clueless, sometimes

Well I'm clueless at least half my waking hours, so don't sweat it. :goodvibe:

Thanks for the kind words, too!

Harpper · Apr 27, 2004

Not Neve said:
Terri, I'm sure it's that people don't venture over to this section. Your photos are very cool.

I agree. I rarely come to this section myself and I actually thought it was a section to only discuss alternative techniques and not to for posting pictures. It's also organized under "examples and how to's" and "tutorial" sections which lead me to believe this was also a learning section. It might help if it were organized next to the gallery and critique section.

Your picture is really nice terri. It's too bad I didn't see it sooner. I love the texture on the boat and the outline effect that it has. The composition is also visually pleasing. The solo bird you have there adds a welcomed personally to your picture as does the dream like colors you have.

terri · Apr 28, 2004

Well, I went and whined to Chase that the Alt section was being overlooked, and see how nice he is??? It's up here now with the Big Boy's forums!

:LOL:

Thanks for looking.....ya'll come back now, y'hyah??

Harpper · Apr 28, 2004

terri said:
Well, I went and whined to Chase that the Alt section was being overlooked, and see how nice he is??? It's up here now with the Big Boy's forums!

lol. I was wondering if Chase did it on his own account of if someone asked him to. You should have asked for mod privilages while you were at it. :wink:

Since this section has been moved up, hopefully more people will use it. It's also a great section for people who do heavy photoshop manipulations as opposed to corrections. I have yet to do alternative stuff myself but might do some in the future.

terri · Apr 28, 2004

I quite agree - sometimes the word "alternative" is a bit misleading, but it would definitely include something heavily manipulated in PS, or even something abstract.

I would love to see more participation in here. It ain't all about Polaroids, that's for sure!!!

btw.....mod privileges......me? :shock: If Chase saw that he'd run screaming, no doubt. :LOL: