acquired one of those mirror 1/2 balls used in factories at blind hallway
ntersections. I haven't quite found the right application of it yet, but
etween that and cellophane, I'm encouraged with some of the really junky
mages that are possible.
AG
Ken, I know you hang out at apug.org sometimes. Actually this might be a place
others would find interesting. In the articles, one member writes this:
"KILL YOUR DARLINGS..."
"kill your darlings" is basically about ruining your pictures - either the
print it self or the negative..
Normally, scratches - dots of chalk - dust and fingerprints are the worst a
photographer knows....but sometime accidents happen - and what do you do if you
ex. have dropped you film on the floor..?
Maybe you curse a bit...but you have the chance to turn your luck..
Use it!! The random scratches and evt. fingerprints actually can help a picture
to an other level - maybe better - maybe worse..But often the "killing" can
transfer a almost good picture to a very good picture..
There are - of course lots of ways to ruin a negative, and you must find your
own way..TRY IT... it is a very special feeling just before you start "killing".
A painter once said:"You must be prepared to destroy your picture in order to
get a better one...."
and sometimes it is true...
Suggestions on how to……
First of all: if you use a normal negative (24x36), the control over the
“killings” is difficult!
A fine line, done by a ne
edle or even fine sand paper, will obviously be very enlarged when printed. And
thus loose the fine character – being rough to look at..
That it self doesn’t have to be a problem – just so you are aware of it…
I always use big negatives to this.
I prefer Polaroid 665 which is a brilliant film, that give you both a positive
AND a fine negative in a decent seize..
One thing to consider before action…
To ruin a negative means mainly to remove some of the emulsion from the
negative…
That means that emulsion has to be there….
SO
A light background and subject is much easier to manipulate than a dark one….
(it is difficult to make a dark line in an area that is dark beforehand…)
Ways of ruining..
1: curling the negative.
Take the negative in your hand and curl it! Or curl it and throw it on the
floor. Stamp on it!
The uncertainness of the result is one of the points here….
2: scratching the negative…
Anything goes to scratch the negative..
A thump rule is that if you are scratching the emulsion side, you’ll get dark
lines.. and scratching the blank side will give you light lines… .
(Obviously – if you scratch heavily, you’ll always gat dark lines, as the tool
will remove all stuff on the negative…)
A needle can be fine, as long as you know, that it is DIFFICULT to control ..
The shaving blade or equivalent can be used to take larger20areas away.. (Be
careful)
Sand paper is great!
Make sure that you have it in different grain seizes…
IF you make the emulsion side a little wet or damp, then the sand paper will
have more and rougher effect!
And it will normally leave some wet “lumps” of emulsion residue on the negative…
If you will, this will give you small very white “dust” on the image when dried…
Cutting and other heavy measures…
I often cut my negatives in pieces. And then try to tape them back together in
a casual – not precise way…
I use normal blank tape – and often I make it dirty with my fingers (finger
prints..) before taping..
Some times I take a cigarette and burn a hole in the negative with it…
You will get a black hole with a white border from it..
If I tape the place, where I want to burn, and then only melt the area, I’ll
get a white space that looks a little like a shooting star – or a “blood cell”….
Melt the edges of the negative, and you’ll get white borders..
Bleaching and fixing…
You can bleach the negative as if it was a normal print…
But it will not be as evenly bleached..
I always use a little brush, and add the bleach where I want it…
You will see that the negative will turn yellowish and milky….
Now you have three choices…(at least….)
1 If you rinse with water, and then fix it in20a normal fix, the bleached areas
will make the negative quite transparent… (and the result will be total
darkness)
2 If you leave it – the print will show the different stages of bleaching, and
therefore in many cases be more interesting to look at.
3 if you leave the bleach, and then add the fix directly on the negative – also
using a brush, the chemicals will tend to “fight” one another, and surprising
results will appear…
(this is my normal procedure)
By the way: IF you have added too much bleach, or it is too strong, you have a
way to “go back”…
As long as the areas isn’t fixed yet..
Rinse the negative, and then put it in normal developer! Then it will
redevelop… (almost, that is…)
(you can also use this “feature” as a way of manipulating – if you let the
three different chemicals “fight” at the same time on the negative..)
important:
if you leave the chemicals untouched on your negative, a further process will
take place over time…. So if you want to make your prints – and then “save”
most of your negative, then it is important to rinse the negative well after
printing…
(and loose your killings!!)
adding stuff…
I have mentioned the tape.
But if you take some tape and curl it a bit, and then put it on the back side
of the negative, you’ll have a possibility to manipulate the emulsion side, if
you want to
The tape will often look as if the picture is taken through broken glass….
If you make the negative wet, ex. Cigarette ashes or other kind of ashes are
easy to add – and thereby making the areas lighter…
Coffee can actually also be used successfully. Out strong coffee on, and let it
dry… the tone of the coffee will react as a filter, and also make the areas
lighter….
dilute some salt in water. this solution can be added to the negative with fine
results.
furthermore it can easily be removed again! (which might go against the "rules"
of killing, but who cares..
This was a little about the killing process…
If you want the recipe for the bleach then mail me…
(or I’ll add it to this article later – have to translate the words correctly!)
_HAVE FUN!!
This guys images are not junky. In fact they are far from it. Bill Barber
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Olympus Camera Discussion <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:45 am
Subject: Re: [OM] Sort of OT by a pinhead . . .
--
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