analogue

My Ghosts

After experiencing the idiosyncrasies of the Black and White Fujifilm FB3000B during our period of Lockdown, I decided it was time to explore the colour expired version: Fujifilm 100C. It demands a sunny, bright day at only 100 ISO and contrasting colours to enjoy its full impact. So with the Land camera’s light meter; if you can even call it that, not really working, the day being pretty dull and the film pack dating back to 2006 nothing was really going in my favour. But as ever, Polaroids and Peel-Apart film are not just about the instant photo for me, there are an abundance of treasures to be found.

Using expired colour peel-apart film produces a unique layering of image making. On my black and white peel-apart negatives The Pull, removing each film from the camera, left random, permanent light streaks interacting across many of the images. The pull on the colour negatives however, behaves in a completely different way.

Depending on the physical speed, flow and strength of the pull the negative is marked with a white substance. A purely physical fleeting act translated into a static moment of time. There is little control over the results and the outcome is purely random. Once the back layer of the negative has been bleached away a partial image emerges, not dissimilar to a photogram or a glass plate negative, but the physical action of the pull has transposed itself in an ethereal and spiritual nature. Once the front of the negatives are cleaned the marks of the human interaction will be washed away. My Ghosts express in visual terms the idea of human presence that was only momentary leaving only traces of its existence.

My ghosts-3.jpg

Emergence From Lockdown

My final chapter in my triptych journal is a reflection on our emergence from Lockdown. It is a confusing and unsettling time. Our behaviour and day to day life will have to alter accordingly. A new order will arise out of the chaos.

During Lockdown, I’ve really enjoyed packing away the digital cameras and using the old Polaroid Land Camera. The slowness and thoughtfulness that is required before pressing the clunky shutter has been a true reflection of our lives during the pandemic. I wont be putting the Polaroid away just yet, my fridge contains quite a few packs of expired colour film and I have a few bottles of bleach in preparation to reclaim the negs, a completely different process to black and white. In the meantime, I’m going to get printing and bind my journal. The paints will also be staying out.


Time Management in Lockdown

During Lockdown it feels like time has unravelled. For many, our daily organised routines have been dismantled as we have been released from the metronomic ticking of the clock. Our lives have slowed down, the deadlines have gone and the divisions of the day have become fluid. I feel there is a new sense of time and, in parts, I’m enjoying this freedom and hope to take a piece of this into the new ‘normal’.

Submerged #3

I made a big discovery with my latest batch of submerged Polaroids - heat. I hadn’t quite appreciated the intense heat we had in the summer played quite a major part in the ‘cooking’ of my previous Polaroids. They bubbled away for 3 months, while the chemicals did their thing…

Well, my cold winter batch barely changed despite the addition of bleach, followed by white spirits, turpentine and finally after my patience got the better of me - oven cleaner. The changes were still minimal. On reflection, I wish I had stopped there. Too late - within seconds - two images virtually perished in the microwave, I would have continued but the flames were quite worrying.

So, next it was the turn of the oven. Not a bad result - initially - but I got distracted… they are quite crispy now and pretty far gone. Interesting though.

Not to be deterred, I have revisited these Polaroids and have been rewarded with something quite interesting, but you will have to wait until the next post.