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
“Metamorphosis” of Worlds Within
Kodak Tri-X 400 on Nikon FM
It is images like this that fuel your imagination. This gorgeous double exposure was shot by photographer Tim Chao as part of a joint project with Luke Bial in an electrifying series of capturing the inner and outer worlds of people on black and white film. You can check out other pictures from “Worlds Within” here.
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
It is normal when at times you don’t feel your work is good enough.
Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu
This is a great video that helps encourage you in your pursuit of creativity. Coming to a dead end or feeling that your work is becoming stagnant is just a sign to keep on going. Watch this and be inspired!
Elderly Animals by Isa Leshko
Elderly Animals: Photographs by Isa Leshko from Mark & Angela Walley
This has got to be one of my favorite photo series I stumbled upon last year. Check out these haunting yet heart-warming pictures of elderly animals shot in medium format and hear what Isa has to say about her project and her journey.
You can also check out Isa’s other work here at her official site.
-eleanorrigby236
Spirit Photographs of William Hope
These photographs of ‘spirits’ are taken from an album of photographs unearthed in a Lancashire second-hand and antiquarian bookshop by one of the Museum’s curators. They were taken by a controversial medium called William Hope (1863-1933). Later in his career as a “spirit photographer” he was exposed as being a fraud, using a technique of superimposing images onto his subjects to create these bone-chilling, ghastly images.
Fake or not, I think he did a pretty good job, and all done in the era where Photoshop and computers were not at his disposal. I think this ought to be included in our Inspiration section for those who dabble in alternative photography or print their own images. Head over to the National Media Museum Flickr for more of Mr. Hope’s sinister spine-tingling photos.
As we’re on the subject of ghost photos, here is also an interesting article on New Scientist discussing Ghouls on Film : Ghost or Glitch. Have a pleasant ghost-free day, my friends!
-eleanorrigby236
Inspiration : Kristian J. of Analogueonly
Kristian and his out-of-this-world pictures have graced out blog a few times now and he continues to inspire us. He has been very kind to share his Film Soup recipe with us and we are marveled every time by his new analog “creations”!! Just check out some of my favorites below and be up to date with his new works by liking his Facebook page.
-eleanorrigby236
Inspiration : Alison Scarpulla
Thought we’d start up a new section to share photos, images, well, simply anything and everything that inspire us in our photography. I stumbled upon this stunning and beautiful portfolio of Alison Scarpulla and fell in love instantly with her eccentric and arcane style. Her images are windows into vast unexplored worlds that lie beyond our imagination, that can lead you deeper down into the rabbit hole, into a brand new wonderland. If you want to get your creative gears kicking, head over to her online portfolio now!
-eleanorrigby236
Next project: Holga & B+W Infrared Photography
So there I was, browsing through flickr searching for some inspiration and I stumbled upon this infrared photo taken in medium format. Then I checked out the tags, bloody hell, it was taken with a Holga 120N with an Efke IR820 120mm Infrared B+W film and a Hoya R72 infrared filter!
So being the nosy me, I went to the photographer’s blog and read it all up like a giddy schoolgirl and found out that you just need a 46-52mm step up ring to get the R72 filter on a Holga. Then I rummaged my box(es) of camera accessories, and found the ring in my stash, what luck!! The rest came as a blur: got myself the Hoya IR filter, 10 rolls of Efke & Ilford SFX 200 IR films off eBay and I’m ready to take on this project, I’m super excited, aren’t you???
Here’s a sample from flickr and a link to the website that spurred my infrared photo frenzy!
Tree IR by Mohain via Flickr (Holga 120N, Efke IR820, Hoya R72 filter)
Here’s a very helpful link on how to get started on shooting infrared on your Holga:
Foto Go-Go by Steven W.
Just for kicks, here’s a photo of my 120GCFN with it’s 46-52mm step up ring and a Hoya 52mm circular polarizer (my R72 have yet to arrive, heheh) —-sorry for the fuzziness, it’s just a lousy 0.9 megapx iPod cam. :/
-delusiana
