cat ears

Shortly before going to Boston in 2011, Ki snapped this instant photo of my cat Chasputin on Impossible Project film. It's on page three of an online exhibit on Aline Smithson's Lenscratch blog. The exhibit is called Pets and Favorite Animals and can be found at http://www.lenscratch.com/2012/11/the-2012-lenscratch-pets-and-favorite.html?m=1

In Progress

Fortunately the severe weather and flooding effecting much of the U.S. has only been a minor inconvenience here in Dayton. We have had a lot of rain this year which translates to a bit of water in the basement which is where I do most of my work. I have always thought that my work was immune to the vagaries of humidity often blaming the poor quality of prints on the water supply or old chemistry. This spring has been a learning experience. I now know that when the relative humidity climbs into the 70 or 80 percent range, it is pointless to coat and print paper. In a couple of days I'll upload two versions of "Apple" ( I wish I had a more romantic name) that were printed at 80% RH and one from two days ago printed at about 65% RH.

Besides the weather, my NuArc 26 1K plate burner has been a bit unpredictable, sometimes taking 2 hours to ignite the bulb. Perhaps it is the basement sending me signals that I need to clean up the office upstairs with all the piles of old and new Polaroid and Impossible Project photographs I have been scanning.

In progress. This week I will give this image the vandyke brown treatment, possibly outside or inside depending upon the NuArc and the weather outside.

From my walks this week, mulberries are on the ground. Possible anthotype pigment and the Catalpa trees are dropping their white flowers. It's already one time around the sun since I created that image!

Ten days until Boston. What kind of work will I be making there?

Impossible Project Color Shade

Here (below) are scans of the same instant photograph created on different days to keep track of a cyan  shift in the image area of the Impossible Project's PX 70 Color Shade First Flush. Although it is a touchy film, I am learning how to maximize images made with this material. Testing, although the material is expensive, is the key to succeeding with instant photographic materials from the Impossible Project.

From left to right: 8 hours, 29 hours and 48 hours after exposure.

Attack of the Poor Pods

It finally happened. A bad pack of the Silver Shade Black Frame UV+.

Below you will see the progression and finally a good pod instant photo. BTW, Bridgette is a fan of the poor pod look. PAINTERS!

Bridgette and Bridgette II, Exposures 1 and 2.

 

Bridgette's Apron and Poison Ivy, Exposures 3 and 4.

Poison Ivy (Again) and Chasprix, Exposures 5 and 6.

Poor Pods, Black Frame, Instant Gratification

Ryan Adrick photographed by Francis Schanberger

I have succumbed to the lure of the Impossible Project. Last week I received an email about problematic Silver Shade 600 film being sold in packs of six. I've been fighting off the urge to use their film due to the expense but there was no way for me to resist. Six boxes of 8 sheet instant film for 36.60 plus shipping. Le't say it was about $45 in total for about 48 sheets. The less than a dollar a sheet threshold had been crossed.

At College Park Center, Studio 238, home to the University of Dayton's Photography and Visual Communication Design facilities, I met up with Ryan Adrick and Christine Zuercher for some instant gratification. Here are the first three sheets from the black frame poor pod lot. All developed perfectly protected from light in an empty 4x5 sheet film box.

Studio 238 R by Christine Zuercher

Untitled (CPC Visual Arts Facility) by Ryan Adrick