Sunday, November 4, 2012

Matthew Moore did not take a photo with Instagram


One of the best things about teaching is that the enthusiasm my students have for analog film techniques that most people only experiment with in college tends to rub off.  Of course we all know what these techniques look like because they have become popular as filters on Instagram.  I don't use Instagram but I can certainly understand the desire to trick out your cell phone images.  (I can also imagine how awesome star filters must have been in the 80's).  But it's nice to get back to the origins of what makes the look of analog photography so appealing.  Below are some examples of images that I made over the last few months using paper pinhole cameras, Holga cameras, infrared film, and red-scale, which involves shooting film backwards.

 
First some Holga pics.  This one is done on Kodak slide film (now discontinued) and the two below are on negative film.



This image is made with Rolli infrared film loaded in a paper pinhole camera that I spent all of Christmas day assembling.  (Thanks mom, it works)!
 

More infrared...



This was the ONLY photo I got from two motion sensor cameras I put up in Costa Rica last spring.  I have no idea what kind of critter that is.


And now for a few red-scale images.  This was my first time trying red-scale.  The first step is to break open an unused roll of color film and roll the film backwards into an empty film canister.  Color film is assembled in layers, with three of the layers being sensitive to a different color of visible light; blue, green, and red.  When the film is shot backwards the red layer is exposed first and because there is a yellow filter between the green and blue layers, blue is left out of the exposure.  You can learn more about this technique here.



 That's this months post.  Time to go vote!








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