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Leaving photos to develop in different spaces around my house (the shower, the freezer, the back of the cupboard, under the table leg, under a pillow, etc.).

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polaroid experimental photographers - Google Search

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Yet very different from Polaroid chemicals, Fuji Instax still leave a space for manipulation.

Sometimes we get the really cool pics with more or less expected results. But sometimes it goes the wrong way. For example, the Instax paper is stuck inside the Instant Back and then pulled out with the other paper, sometimes the result is overexposed, sometimes the chemicals that trigger the development process are not rolled evenly (usually it happens when the sheet is rolled out of the back), sometimes we can develop it in the fridge (to get cold colors) or holding it in front of the yellow or other trippy light (to get warm colors) or just heating it a bit when developing. All those unconventional attempts leads to really surprising and (sometimes) interesting results.

Herein attached some irregular results rolled out of my instant back - have fun watching, would be fun if you could share some of yours - I am sure you have a few in your pocket :)

written by breakphreak on 2011-03-04 #gear #tutorials #lab-rat #tipster #instax-mini #manipulation #development #diana-instant-back #manipulating #film-processing

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Yet very different from Polaroid chemicals, Fuji Instax still leave a space for manipulation. Sometimes we get the really cool pics with more or less expected results. But sometimes it goes the wrong way.

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Develop BW Film at Home with Coffee?! Yes! With our new CUP O' JOE! - The Film Photography Project

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Greetings Fellow Film Shooters!If you listen to the FPP Podcast, you know that in addition to film photography we love coffee, frugality, and a Do-It-Yourself approach.

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Experimental photography is about using your camera as an artistic tool; to capture what is in your imagination rather than what is in front of you. Perhaps more akin to art forms that are not strictly representational, a successful experimental image can make people look at photography in a whole new light.

It may sound counter intuitive to capture images that do not represent things that actually exist in the real world. Many experimental photographers have done so by experimenting with several aspects of the image creation process. These may include distortion, ghosting, double exposures, unusual planes of focus, or perhaps they want to do away with the camera entirely and produce wholly abstract results.

In this article we're going to take a look at most of the available techniques to take photography out of the realm of representing the real. In order we will look at in-camera techniques, processing techniques, and post-processing techniques. Some of these techniques can be achieved with a digital camera, particularly the in camera techniques, while most everything in this article is achievable with film. Yet another reason to consider the analog arts, if you weren't already.

In Camera Techniques

Serious, professional photographers would consider any of these techniques to be things that 'ruin' an image. But in a creative context these techniques can be used to add an unexpected element to a photograph.

Light Leaks

While technically a malfunction of a camera, interesting artifacts can change a photograph when light is able to reach the film through means other than via the lens when the shutter is released. The effect, known as light leaks, can be induced by intentionally using a poorly sealed camera body. It can, to a lesser degree, be mimicked by sending light in to the lens during the picture taking process. Traditionally if a point light source is shone directly in to the lens, such as the sun, it will show the light source and a flare or sunburst pattern. But if instead the light is shone in from an oblique angle, perhaps using a prism or curved glass in front of part of the lens, it will produce a similar effect to a real light leak.

Distortion

Where light leaks are often associated with poor quality camera bodies, poor quality lenses can also lead to interesting effects. Distortion of some sort is the most likely end result of using a less than perfect piece of glass as a lens.

Toy Cameras

Combining light leaks and distortion in to a lightweight and inexpensive package is the specialty of toy cameras. It should be noted that these "toys", such as Holgas, were not initially meant to produce art. They were simply a means of getting cameras in to the hands of the masses at a very affordable price.

Much like Polaroids, the process created a certain look, which to serious photographers of the time was likely considered a bit of a joke, but has since been harnessed to create some very beautiful and unusual images by embracing imperfection.

Pin Hole Photography

Lenses work by focusing light, and have complex mathematics behind their curvature. You can technically do away with the lens entirely, if you make the opening for light to enter the camera small enough. With such a small opening all of the light rays are focused when they hit the film. The tradeoff of course is a lack of correcting optics, and incredibly long exposure times. Often achieved with a coffee can and paper negatives, themselves also incredibly slow to expose, pin hole photography produces a very unique look.

Free Lensing

Another trick for combining the look of light leaks and distortion, but really dialing it up, is called free lensing. The name may initially sound odd, but it literally means removing the lens from your camera and holding it in your hand and moving it around freely in front of the camera to focus light. This technique is works best with digital cameras that have a rear screen, so you can see what you are getting as you compose the shot.

Double Exposure

A double exposure is the practice of taking two pictures back to back on the same film. Film has the property that any light that it is exposed to will "overwrite" whatever was there before, if it was darker. So think of an unexposed film as black, and any light you expose it to as will leave an image in the dark places (anywhere). A second exposure will add light, particularly effectively in the still dark areas.

Double exposures of similar levels of lighting will mostly just produce a mess, which can be interesting if your goal is pure abstraction. If you hope to merge two things in a creative way, however, it is best to have your main subject be well lit, and in a position on the film where there is largely darkness in the other exposure.

Motion Blur

Motion blur occurs when you take a picture of something moving, and that object blurs across the image. It happens when the shutter speed is slow, and therefore creating an exposure for longer than the object is in a single position. This is something you commonly see if you try to use your camera for night photography. There is so little light available, the camera will lengthen the shutter speed, often leaving the entire image blurry because your hands were also not perfectly still during the exposure.

But it can also be used creatively. Typically intentional motion blur is used in sports or other activities to help convey the motion of the subject compared to the background. In experimental photography however it may be an intentional choice to not use a tripod and blur the entire image.

Light Painting

Light painting is a technique where you use light in an artistic way. It is very similar to motion blur, but instead of moving the camera, you move the a light source in front of the camera, and use a long exposure to capture it. The result often reminds me of a neon sign, not only in looking like shapes of light, but in that the illumination around the shape acts similarly to there being an actual light source there (which of course their was during the exposure).

Infrared Photography

There are a few special films which can be used to capture images that the human eye cannot see. These are wavelengths of light that are typically either not visible at all, or only faintly at the edges of the visible spectrum. Digital sensors by default can capture this image information, however manufacturers put special layers or coatings on their sensors to stop these wavelengths of light. Some cameras can be purchased without them, and services exist that will remove them from existing cameras. The trouble is that these wavelengths of light focus in a different place than the regular red, green and blue. For digital you will want to use live view to get focus, for older film cameras look for lenses with a small red dot on the distance focus scale, next to the white dot which is normally used.

Selective Focus with Camera and Lens Movements

A view camera or a tilt shift lens can be used to create an image that has x appear out of focus, while keeping something y in focus. This can be used for a number of artistic effects, such as the appearance of miniaturization. The primary movements are tilt, changing the angle of the lens to the film plane and shift, sliding the lens back and forth while remaining parallel to the film plane. In view cameras the analog to tilt is swing which is moving the back element in relation to the lens and rise and fall are analogous to shift but moving the lens up and down rather than side to side.

Alternatives to Silver Gelatin

The most common chemical based mechanism for capturing a photograph on film today is using silver, most often in some sort of gelatin solution coated on to plastic film. However, there are alternatives that are listed here because they provide a unique look which can be part of an experimental photography practice.

Wet and Dry Plate Photography

wet and dry plate photography are the oldest form of commercially available photographic materials and widely adopted processes. Following the Daguerreotype, first used in the 18th century with mercury-based chemicals on glass plates, Ambrotype and other interesting early processes, silver and collodion won the market by being the simplest and least dangerous processes of their time. Most famous for their use to capture pictures of soldiers headed off to the Civil War, these processes are being revived in some circles today.

Using a collodion mixture to coat a glass or metal plate, soaking that in a sensitizing silver bath, and then putting the sensitized glass in a light proof carrier, photographers could use these one off negatives most commonly with a view camera. Exposed wet plates had to be processed before they dried, whereas later dry plates offered photographers the benefit of not needing to bring their darkroom with them to their photo shoot.

Cyanotype

If you have ever seen a photograph that is blue, that is a Cyanotype. Cyanotypes uses iron instead of silver as its photosensitive material. Cyanotypes can be used for creating positives on paper from a negative or a photogram, and became a popular alternative to other chemically based photography because they did not require developing and were relatively simple to prepare. For a few years, in the early twentieth century, these processes were extremely popular among artists, amateurs, and even some professionals such as architects, hence the term "blue print".

Gum Bichromate and Dichromate

Using carbon, pigments and sometimes other metals to capture and represent light, these images are often formed in layers. They are also capable of representing color. A very work intensive process, but considered to be one of the most stable forms of chemical image capture.

Platinum and Palladium

While running the risk of missing the point of experimental photography, which this article is about, these metals can be sensitized to light in a similar manner to silver. They are generally used in a process of mixing a liquid, applying it to paper, and then as with other processes used for photograms or positive contact prints from negatives. They do have a somewhat unique look, with incredible tonal ranges and inky blacks. They also have the potential to outlast silver gelatin by centuries. So, perhaps not in and of themselves experimental, certainly an interesting, if expensive option to consider.

Processing Techniques

In addition to using camera tricks and non standard film types, there are some techniques that require using a bit of chemistry that subverts or entirely bypasses the usual photographic process.

Film Soup

Film soup is a technique that involves taking your rolls of film, putting them in a soup of various chemicals, and then exposing and developing them normally. This is somewhat akin to the use of in camera light leaks, to produce unexpected artifacts on the film. Tea is one of the most common ways to get started. It can be done before or after exposure, however doing it after will more simply fit in to the development process, and not require re-spooling the film back in to its canister.

Cameraless

Cameraless photography is the process of removing your camera entirely from the act of taking a picture. Instead various techniques of directly working with film and paper can produce interesting and unique works.

Photograms

Photograms are images made by placing objects on film or photographic paper, and exposing them without a camera. Like a photography, photograms use light to make an image, but in many ways that is the end of the similarity. They often look a bit like x-rays, but by controlling translucence of the objects, and distance to the paper, interesting effects can be created.

Chemigram

Like photograms, chemigrams use the process of blocking light from hitting photo sensitive paper. Instead of physical objects however, chemigrams use liquid and semi liquid substances to "resist" the passing through of light. This leads to a much more abstract outcome than photograms.

Postprocessing Techniques

Photomontage

Photomontage is a style of photographic experimentation that relies on combining multiple images. Instead of in camera, like a double exposure, photo montage is created in the darkroom. This offers an unprecedented level of control, allowing the photographer to visualize the result as they work, rather than more or less hoping for the best.

Conclusion

This guide obviously just scratches the surface, but is hopefully a good jumping off point for exploring some options to bring real creativity to your photography.

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Experimental photography is about using your camera as an artistic tool; to capture what is in your imagination rather than what is in front of you. Perhaps more akin to art forms that are not strictly representational, a successful experimental image can make people look at photography in a whole new light.

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https://www.lomography.com/magazine/279053-negative-burning-film-manipulation

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This is an introduction to using a candle flame to manipulate and distort your negatives. This process results in melted, stretched, and twisted images with colour shifts. Proceed with caution there is no going back.
What you need:
Before I took any photos, I drew sketches and made notes of photos I wanted to take, I decided that this roll of film was going to burn. This is also useful to show my skilled assistant, Mrs. Akula, what I wanted in each shot. I developed the negatives at home and pre-scanned before burning, knowing that there was no going back. I held the negatives over a candle flame; I was really trying to heat the film to stretch it out, not letting the flame touch the film.

The heated film produced color shifts from green to yellow and black to purple and blue. The spots that got really hot blistered with red dots. I was aggressive with the edges of the film, which would occasionally catch fire - I simply blew out the flames.

I tested the technique on the end of the film roll to get a sense and feel for amount of heat to use and the results to expect. When I scanned my "test negative" I was struck by the color shift and the image distortions, I was hooked. The candle flame method of burning negatives allowed me to control the amount of heat applied to the negative, and location of the heat. I burned some of the negatives a second time to increase and the effect.

The film bent and got distorted, some got bubbled and shrunk. By the end of the process, the film was a crispy wrinkled piece of plastic that no longer fit into a negative carrier of the scanner. I placed the negatives directly on the scanner glass and manually selected the frames and light levels for scanning.
Precautions:

Keep fingers away from the flame to avoid burns.

Burn the negatives outside or in a well-ventilated room.

Have a method ready to extinguish flames (a bucket of water nearby.)

Wear gloves and eye protection (when working with chemicals and fire.)

written by akula on 2014-06-11 #gear #tutorials #lab-rat #scanning #tipster #burn-negatives-film-manipulation-scan-candle-distortions-canon-eos-3000-vancouver

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Lomography - Negative Burning - Film Manipulation

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This is an introduction to using a candle flame to manipulate and distort your negatives. This process results in melted, stretched, and twisted images with colour shifts. Proceed with caution there is no going back.

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Different processes- boiling, baking, etc.

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Different processes- boiling, baking, etc.

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https://www.lomography.com/magazine/62497-chemical-cowboys

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A review of the most dazzling, must-try chemical tipsters ever written! Enough to satisfy even the most insatiable set of die hard DIY hands.

Experimentation is a key element of Lomography. Be spontaneous and adventurous, be wild and daring and try some of these outrageous chemical tipsters! Dazzle your fellow Lomographers with them and add a further layer of analogue fun-ness to your day!

So here (in no particular order) are some of the most popular chemical tipsters on ways to achieve surreal, hallucinogenic, ethereal effects which will be unpredictable and exciting on each try... so don't be shy, and read right on to gain some far out knowledge!

Add Baking Soda
Whip up a sweet treat by adding some baking soda! Read this tipster by one of Lomographys biggest contributors - mephisto19 !

Do the Dishwasher!
While cleaning up is never anyone favorite task - our very own Dr.Lab aka hti straight from the HQ Lomography Archive changes the whole game. So come on everybody - do the dishwasher!

Bleach and Shout!
Looking to create some divinely dreamy and fashionably faded Lomographs? We have got the perfect tipster for you - its time to Bleach & Shout 1950's style (go on - all the kids are doing it)!

Roast your film
Its getting hot in here - no literally this tipster actually requires you to bake your film! Worry not for your poor roll of film - imagine it as a very warm and (not so) exotic holiday for small and hard working canisters.

Overdose
For the hypochondriac among you film lovers - try out this (slightly over-indulgent) medical "un-healing".

Minty Fresh
For this refreshing experiment you do not even need to sacrifice a new roll of film! Simply take some old negatives and try out this minty-breathed tipster to see what happens!

Film Soup
Do you live and breath Lomography? Then its high time you started eating it too.. well, at least cooking it! Try this delicious Lomographic recipe for some psychedelic results!

As you can see, it is the case more often than not that you do not even need to venture out of your home or buy complex or strange supplies to try or create a new tipster.

So let your wildest DIY fantasies become a reality and most importantly just have fun with these hands on experiments. Wade in the thrilling waters of uncertainty! Be a pioneer or a maverick and pause if you must, but whatever you do, don't stop!

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Lomography - Chemical Cowboys - The Best Chemical Tipsters!

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A review of the most dazzling, must-try chemical tipsters ever written! Enough to satisfy even the most insatiable set of die hard DIY hands. Experimentation is a key element of Lomography. Be spontaneous and adventurous, be wild and daring and try some of these outrageous chemical tipsters!

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Since I started my journey with Lomography, it always fascinated me how easy it is to create great effects with simple means and inexpensive films. One day I was standing in the kitchen and wanted to make noodles for dinner but when I saw the water boiling on the stove, I unceremoniously threw two films into the boiling water instead of adding salt and pasta. When the first film was developed, I was absolutely thrilled!

The results and implementation were so impressive! It's also suitable for anyone who can transform his bathroom (for example) into a darkroom. It's also super fun and is easy to do even for beginners.

Materials

A stove

A cooking pot

Hairdryer

A darkroom

And any number of unexposed films

I used the 200 and 400 ISO Rossmann and DM films because they have especially good colors but generally any 35 mm film can be used.

Instructions

Step 1: First, water is brought to a boil using the cooking pot.
Step 2: You add the 35 mm films to the boiling water unwrapped and without film canister. Let them boil for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Then in the darkroom, unroll the boiled film and dry them with a hairdryer and then rolled them up again.

Finally, a few notes: The film deforms due to the heat and is then no longer a "standard" roll of 35 mm film. This can restrict the use of some cameras the LC-A, for example. Because of moisture left in the film cartridge, the film may stick to itself. I, therefore, recommend you let the film rest for some days and unroll it and then roll it up again in the darkroom before using.

This kind of film manipulation is great fun and delivers unpredictable effects. Go check it out and let me know how it worked for you! My experiment albums can be found here and here.

Enjoy cooking!

This tipster was written by Lomographer dopa. Share thoughts, ideas, and tipsters with fellow Lomographers by creating your own LomoHome!

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Lomography - Cook Your Film and Create Crazy Effects!

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Since I started my journey with Lomography, it always fascinated me how easy it is to create great effects with simple means and inexpensive films. One day I was standing in the kitchen and wanted to make noodles for dinner but when I saw the water boiling on the stove, I unceremoniously threw two films into the boiling water instead of adding salt and pasta.

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https://www.lomography.com/magazine/341784-instax-film-manipulation-with-bryson-chisholm

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http://iheartphotograph.blogspot.com/2007/03/stephen-gill-buried.html?m=1

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such a lovely project by stephen gill. he took all of these pictures in hackney wick, england and then buried the photographs there varyin...

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https://www.behance.net/gallery/120575595/Locked-into?tracking_source=search_projects%7Cexperimental+polaroid

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https://shootitwithfilm.com/polaroid-film-soup-experiment/

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, Shoot It With Film may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Written by Jennifer Stamps
We've tried film soup on black and white film. We've tried film soup on color film. One of our contributors, Amy Berge, even has an amazing little lab dedicated to developing color negative film soup. But what about Polaroids? you say. Great question.

Can you do film soup with Polaroids? Yes.

Is it gnarly? Yes.

If you're unfamiliar with film soup, it is the process of soaking a roll of film in destructive chemicals to create cool effects on your images.

You can grab our free Quickstart Guide to Film Soup to learn all about how to do it and film soup recipes to get you started.

But back to film souping Polaroids...

I had a lot of fun playing with this Polaroid film soup experiment. I tried souping a few different ways... Film soup with an already developed Polaroid, souping while the Polaroid was developing, and a few different film soup recipes.

I used a Polaroid OneStep ( find at KEH Camera) with Polaroid 600 color film ( find on Amazon) for all of the images.

Souping an Already Developed Polaroid Photo

I took some photos that were already developed and placed them in hot water with various ingredients: soap, salt, food coloring, and/or lemon juice.

I tried agitating the photos in the mixture. I tried letting the photos sit overnight in the mixture. And the results where always the same...nothing.

In my experiment, putting an already developed photo, intact, in the soup did nothing.

Maybe if I added bleach or other severe chemicals it would. But seeing how I have a kiddo at home, I didn't really feel like leaving a bowl of bleach on the counter for days. However, if you want to try, I'd love to know what happens!

Souping While Developing

This is when it gets fun!

I found that the results come when you manipulate and soup your film as it's developing.

The base needs to be hot water (not boiling, since you'll be putting your hands in the water). From there, add any other ingredients you find in your home: soap, food coloring, salt, lemon juice, you name it. Have fun with it!

You'll notice that with all of these, I removed at least one side of the seal on the Polaroid to allow for the soup to mix in with the developing chemicals.

A quick summary of the process

Add any film soup ingredients you'd like, such as soap, salt, and/or lemon juice, to a bowl of hot water

Take your Polaroid

Cut off at least one side of the Polaroid

While the image is still developing, submerge in the hot water mixture

Below are some recipes I tried, along with details about cutting open the Polaroids and how long I submerged the photos.

Polaroid Film Soup Recipe #1

Ingredients: hot water, yellow food coloring, lime juice

Directions: Submerge photo immediately after taking the Polaroid, peal one side of the Polaroid open after one minute, peel additional side off after fully developed. Remove from mixture a minute or two after fully developed.

Polaroid Film Soup Recipe #2

Ingredients: hot water, blue food coloring, green food coloring

Directions: Submerge photo in mix for one minute immediately after taking the Polaroid. Then, cut one side of image so the liquid can mix between the paper. Leave submerged for a minute or two after the Polaroid is fully developed.

Polaroid Film Soup Recipe #3

Ingredients: hot water, salt, red food coloring, blue food coloring

Directions: Remove top seal of the image immediately after taking the Polaroid and submerge. Remove from mixture a minute or two after fully developed.

Polaroid Film Soup Recipe #4

Ingredients: hot water, red food coloring, salt

Directions: Remove back corner of seal immediately after taking the Polaroid and submerge. Remove from mixture a minute or two after fully developed

Polaroid Film Soup Recipe #5

Ingredients: hot water, dish soap

Directions: Open top of seal and pull apart some of the emulsion and submerge. Leave submerged for a minute or two after the Polaroid is fully developed.

This was such a fun experiment. I like how the food coloring very clearly changed the color of the photos. I kind of want to add coffee to the next patch I soup!

Thank you so much, Jen! Jennifer is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and be sure to check out her other articles, like how to develop color film in black and white chemicals and 5 Film Cameras Under $50. You can also check out more of Jennifer's work on her website and Instagram.

Leave your questions below about trying film soup with Polaroids, and if you try this experiment, let us know how it goes in the comments!

Check out our other articles about film soup here!

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Polaroid Film Soup Experiment " Shoot It With Film

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, Shoot It With Film may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Written by Jennifer Stamps We've tried film soup on black and white film. We've tried film soup on color film.

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Robin Cracknell photographed his son on expired film and then later bleached the image.