Time Zero: The Instant Art

Polaroid Time Zero Film (expired) on Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera by The Gentleman Amateur

I’ve been contemplating on getting one of Edwin Land’s gorgeous folding SX-70 cameras and did a search on Flickr when I stumbled upon The Gentleman Amateur’s wonderful photostream. I was immediately in awe, what is this Time Zero film? Truthfully my knowledge of the Polaroid films and cameras are severely limited to my simple One Step box type SX-70 & The Impossible Project new films and when saw these, I was obsessed.

I spent the last few days scouring eBay & Googling the Time Zero films & cameras, and found out that other than getting some sweet, unpredictable shots like the ones above, you can also manipulate  the TZ  films and produce something akin to impressionistic paintings. Isn’t that so sweet??

Back to the photos, The Gentleman Amateur had kindly shared with me a few tips on purchasing the right type of TZ films should you be interested in getting one:

• Get TZ films with expiry dates around 2000s, anything from the 90s or older probably won’t work
• Artistic TZ films are generally easier to find and much cheaper, but produces much muted tones compared to the former

Thanks so much for the kind tips, you really are a gentleman through and through :)

So be sure to visit The Gentleman Amateur’s photostream and check out his other works, especially his polaroid double exposures, they’re seriously awesome!

Also, if you’re interested in manipulating your TZ films as I’ve mentioned earlier, check out this article by Scott Wittenburg & download this free ebook by Filippo Centenari. Alternatively you can also get this book from the Pola Art website.

Now, I’m off to hunt on eBay again ;)

-delusiana

Getting to know Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus was known for making the most normal of things into something strange and peculiar through her photos. Her distinct style in her photography can be seen in every image she captures. She preserves the essence of her subjects showing them as is but with more depth which you would have missed otherwise. Check out this documentary filmed in the year she took her own life after suffering prolonged depressive episodes, leaving behind two daughters, one who took the path of journalistic writing and the other who became a photographer herself.

A Polaroid inspired Project

POLAROID teaser from Maximilian Zenk .

What a cute Polaroid inspired project, and with a good cause to boot. Follow the project on Tumblr to be updated!

The Life & Work of Sally Mann

Sally Mann is acknowledged as one of America’s finest and most controversial photographers. In this video, from the documentary film, What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann, she discusses her work and her project examining death and decay. Sensitive or squeamish viewers should be aware that there are very graphic scenes in this video clip. READ: Sally Mann was given access to a forensics facility where corpses were being studied and left out in the open to decompose. Human corpses.

Check out this 3-part video and delve deeper into the mind of Sally Mann and follow her imaginative journey into large format photography.

Trading to Extinction

by Patrick Brown

Taking photos for a cause. That, will always be every photographer and aspiring photographer’s dream. Supporting the cause is just as gratifying, knowing that you too can make a difference. I stumbled upon Patrick’s book on American Photo’s website that featured an extensive interview with Patrick in which he shares his goals and hopes to get the attention of people on the illegal exotic animal trade that is happening today. Patrick also shares interesting notes on his preferred photographic medium, film that is, and why he choses to shoot with film! His gear includes 2 Nikon FM2s and a Rolleiflex! (I recently shot animals at the zoo with my Nikon FM2 myself)Make sure to check out this interview to get more insights on how he goes about shooting in harsh conditions, and why he would take the Nikon FM2 over the Nikon D700 anyday ;)

Check out this video that outlines Patricks project and head over to emphas.is if you are interested in funding the publication of his book and be part of the movement. 

Day by day, hour by hour, our planet’s rarest creatures are being hunted, trapped and slaughtered to feed a global black market in wildlife products. This is my attempt to expose that trade. I could use your support.—-Patrick Brown

You can preview pictures from his book on the emphas.is website. The images are heart-wrenching and sad, but at the same time powerful and engaging. It is a great book to be inspired by and also to help educate the ignorant. I’m getting a copy . It’s not too late. Our animals need our support.  

-eleanorrigby236

What is TinType Photography?

TinType Photography | Bob Shimmin from Kalamazoo Valley Museum 

Pinhole Photography 101

A Five Minute Introduction to Pinhole Photography from Nancy Breslin .

You know we at CGSF are great fans of pinhole photography and I have been following Nancy’s work for awhile now. Her “Pinhole diary of eating out” has especially been inspirational, making something so plain and ordinary into amazing art!

Watch this 5 minute video to understand pinhole and best of all check out the resources she included at the end including a list of creative and insightful photographers who take pinhole seriously producing some of the most astounding fine art and landscape pinhole pictures I have ever seen. Enjoy!!

I never use my Diana F+ (because it hates me!) but it’s time to take it out again, lensless!

-eleanorrigby236

Introducing Online Mag “Lomo Lovers”!

I stumbled upon this online magazine by chance, perusing on Flickr and I was wondering to myself, how have I not seen this before??!! The magazine is chock-full with wonderful lo-fi images produced on various cameras from people all over the world including wonderful tips for every aspiring photographer. Somewhat like what we do here on CGSF, only on a larger and grander scale. I had to reach out to the creators to get their story and to share this amazing title with other lo-fi enthusiasts out there. I am sure you will love it, so do check out the mags, they are FREE to boot, by clicking on the links at the end of this article! Enjoy and spread the word.

Keep up the amazing work Lomo Lovers!!

-eleanorrigby236  

From Nicola….

I work as a packaging and branding designer in London and I’ve always had a keen eye for photography and design.  I got my first analogue camera back in December 2010 for Christmas… a Holga 120 CFN and had the bug ever since. I have developed a love of Lomography cameras and my current count is 25 give or take.  Over the last couple of years I have been fortunate enough to have won about 6 of them so it’s not solely my addiction to buying them (I like to think). 

I love love love slide film, and my favourites are currently Fuji Velvia 100F and Lomography Chrome 100. I love the punchy colours and crazy results, and I have an addiction to multiple exposures. 

I’m not much of a writer, and that’s why I feel my online book series works so well, it lets the photo’s speak for themselves. I would love to turn it in to a blog, but I just don’t have the time to blog every day with my busy job. So I thought a monthly online book would suit me down to the ground. 

Lomo lovers came to me one night when I was in bed (as sad as that sounds). I wanted to show off what was out there, people I had seen, different techniques, amazing lomographers all in one easy place. So I though why not come up with an online flick book that people could scan through, get inspiration from, learn techniques and get involved. 

Each month there will be different themes for the main bulk of the book, say different cameras, techniques and films. Then I would invite an inspirational photographer to answer a few questions, show off their favourite work and inspire our readers. There is then a part in the book for the lomo lovers tipster, I find a technique that I think people would be interested in and ask a specialist to talk us through it. As I’m quite a novice in the world of lomography I have found these tipsters great and easy to use, they have inspired me to try new things and it’s great that I have had such a great response from fellow lomographers saying the same.

I’m always looking for submissions to the book, after all I have about 70 pages to fill with great photography every month!

You don’t have to be a veteran, we include new lomographers and seasoned ones, we just want to share great pictures. You can enter your submission to our flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lomolovers/ or email me at: nicnocnoo@hotmail.co.uk with your details: Shot, name, camera, film, technique etc.

Past themes have been:

Vol 1: LC-A

Vol 2: 120/medium format

Vol 3: multilens

Vol 4: multiple exposures

Vol 5: panoramic

Vol 6: new camera, film or technique

Vol 7: Diana  NEW ISSUE ONLINE!!!

-Nicola

CGSF: Show your support and send in your submissions to Lomo Lovers and give a shout out to the creators of Lomo Lovers by visiting their pages below.

Lomohome: 

http://www.lomography.com/homes/nicnocnoo 

http://www.lomography.com/homes/rosebud82

Flickr:  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenickie56/ 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammiepops/

You need to know Richard Avedon

Check out this great documentary picture of one of the greatest fashion and portrait photographers of our time, Richard Avedon. He revolutionized how fashion should be portrayed in photos, and is one of those  guys who tackled everything he ever wanted to explore. He intercepted his fears and his questions about things that were alien to him and used photography to overcome the unknown. The biggest thing I took away from this film is the importance of connecting with your subjects and how the correct interactions can bring out the rawest of emotions from them. It is 90 minutes long but it is very worth the watch. I now have so many new ideas in mind that I would love to pursue and attempt. Something he said towards the end of the film really defines photography as a device that plays with time and I really connect with that.

“There has been nothing like photography in the history of the world. There’s no vocabulary for it. Photography literally stops something dead. It’s the death of the moment. The second the picture is taken, that life is held and stopped and over. That moment is over. It’s part of the melancholy, part of  the beauty of what is a photograph. “—-Richard Avedon 

Richard Avedon never took a break from deepening his study of humans and faces and photography and I wish I was lucky enough to have been at one of his workshops, to be his subject even, but I guess the right mentality to have now is to say to yourself that it is never too late to embark on your own voyage. 

-eleanorrigby236

Exploring the Holga on TEDx

Some of you may know her for her book “Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity”, Michelle Bates is a well-known photographer who chooses the Holga as one of her main cameras. Check out her wonderful talk on TED here.

Kodak Film is here to stay!

After the initial scare on the Kodaktransforms webpage after doing a search for “film,”

Not Found

Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn’t here.

we contacted a Kodak personnel who told us otherwise telling us that Kodak is still very much in the film business. Here is the excerpt taken from their official Facebook assuring us that they have not given up on the film business,

” Today Kodak announced that we will be phasing out of the market for digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames during 2012. Our traditional film capture and photographic paper business will continue to provide high-quality and innovative products and solutions to consumers, photographers, retailers, photofinishers and professional labs. And our Consumer Business will focus on desktop inkjet, online and retail based printing – which offer great opportunities for profitable growth. We will also continue to offer camera accessories which work with other brands.”

The Rubikon DIY Pinhole Camera

These images were shot by Czech designer Jaroslav Juřica using his own creation, a paper pinhole camera called the Rubikon. The camera itself has gone through 2 design updates with the first design released in 2005 and the latest version called the Rubikon Pinhole Rebel released in 2010. The Rebel is more user friendly and easier to build compared to its predecessor. You can download the full manual and camera template on Jaraslov’s website here. The manual has everything from explanations on how the camera works, to how to glue your camera together. The Pinhole Rebel takes 35mm film, both color and B&W based on what you like. It also comes equipped with a useful exposure table to help you time your exposures. 

So, what are you waiting for?? Go build yourself a camera already!!

The original paper camera obscura from 2005

The new and improved Pinhole Rebel that you too can own free of charge! Download the manual and template here!

From B&W to Color

We’ve all seen these photos before but never in this light. Check out these iconic photos which have been restored to color by Swedish artist Sanna Dullaway. Pretty impressive work but somehow the images in their original monochromatic glory evoke more emotion than when seen in color. Funny how our mind’s eye work.  Still, it is pretty fun to go through her colored pictures, so trot along now.

-eleanorrigby236