Topic: my first polaroid transfer

[formica]

after having it for nearly a year. finally managed to use my vivitar slide printer and do a polaroid transfer with the first polaroid i got out of it. maybe nothing earth shattering, but i still wanted to share.

                  william

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[seekingfocus]

WooHoo! 

The fist one's the best... it's get's you hooked. Now you'll never look back.

And if you got the very first one to transfer I'd say you're off to a good start. It took about half a pack to get a good one my first time!

-Jason

[Ed Wenn]

Congrats. It looks lovely...and it's a testament to the excitement you get from messing about with film.

[gary m]

Very nice. I have been really thinking of going this route since my SX-70 days are damn near done- 4 packs left

[db]

Well done. of course it's earth shattering- it's film, it's unexpected, it's unique.

[kuru]

Nothing quite like image tranfers. Nicely done.

[rdbkorn]

Excellent job on your first transfer. I'm pretty sure my first transfer was not where near as good.

[formica]

thanks for the kind words everyone. i think having done inkjet transfers in the past helped me in getting this one to transfer better than if i'd never done anything like it before.

                   william

[Yaniv Waissa]

I love transfers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My first transfer is still my favorite
Enjpy the slide printer and hope to see more transfers
Here some of mine

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[woodstove]

Looks great...where was this taken? I do a lot of transfers, but I've had trouble getting emulsion lifts to work for me. Tips from anyone?

[seekingfocus]

@woodstove-

Funny, I've always found transfers to be trickier than the lifts. It's usually tough to get a really nice transfer without losing bits of the emulsion whereas with the lifts it always comes up in one nice piece- at least for me.

Here's how I do it: Expose your photo, pull through rollers, develop as usual. Then wait overnight. I have lifted right away, but I have much better results when waiting at least overnight or 24 hours. It just gives the emulsion a chance to really solidify. Then, hot water. Not boiling, just hot from the tap works nicely. Dunk the print, let it float for about 5 min to loosen the emulsion layer. While this is happening, get your receptor paper (or something else - glass is great for these) ready. After a few minutes of the print being in the water it should slide off the polaroid paper fairly easily. If not, give it a few more minutes- don't force it or it will tear (can still be nice!). Once you have the emulsion off the polaroid paper, leave it floating in the water and put your receptor paper in too. Slide the receptor under the floating layer of emulsion and work it around to position it where you want it. Then slowly lift the paper up so that the emulsion 'lands' on it.  Before you pull it completely out of the water you can reposition it slightly to make ripples, smooth it out, or however you want it to look. Then take it out, make sure it's adhered well, and hang to dry.

-Jason

[Skorj]

but i still wanted to share.

Glad you did! Nice work. Hopefully, I can try this myself one day... Is this Type-690? Skj.

[formica]

thanks skorj. this is 669. i'm surpised you haven't done this before. i'm loving them so far.

jason, thanks for posting about the way you do your emulsion lifts. most of what i've read about them say you really need two trays of water at different temps. but doing them simply in one sink like you describe sounds much more simple and easy.

woodstove were you asking about mine or about the cool ones yaniv posted? mine was taken at a temple here in tainan, taiwan. the temple is huge. they also have a pretty amazing fireworks show as part of their lantern festival. i went last year and there were rockets being fired in every direction(ie at the audience) as well as fireworks in the sky from teams from 4 or 5 different countries. in total i think the show lasted over 4 hours.

        william

[kuru]

Looks great...where was this taken? I do a lot of transfers, but I've had trouble getting emulsion lifts to work for me. Tips from anyone?

My process for lifts is to use two trays. One filled with boiling water and one filled with room temperature water. Place the Polaroid in the hot water and let it sit until the emulsion begins to lift. You can gently move it off the backing paper with your fingers, but you don't want to force it.

After the emulsion is off the backing paper, I move it to the other tray and use a piece of mylar that is about twice the size of the emulsion arranged. You can catch the corners with your fingers and use the action of gently pulling the mylar out of the water to get the emulsion out flat and looking the way you want it to. I've found you want to make sure the side of the emulsion that was on the paper is on top, other wise it is hard to get it to stick to your final surface.

After I have the emulsion on the mylar, I place it on my recpetor (usually slightly damp water color paper) and use a roller and my fingers to work out the water and get it to bond with the receptor. I gently bring up one corner of the mylar and see if the emulsion is staying on the paper, if not, I just rub my finger on that corner until it stays in place. Getting one corner down generally makes it easy to remove the mylar.

[seekingfocus]

jason, thanks for posting about the way you do your emulsion lifts. most of what i've read about them say you really need two trays of water at different temps. but doing them simply in one sink like you describe sounds much more simple and easy.

The reason for the two separate baths is that the first is supposed to be VERY hot in order to melt the gelatin coating away from the actual emulsion layer. You will see it begin to bubble up and flake away after a few minutes in the very hot water.

But putting it in the second bath you avoid getting all the nasty booger goo stuff on your receptor paper and keep your paper from disentigrating in the extremely hot water. It sounds like an extra step, but it's not actually any more involved. Sometimes rather than change baths, I just dump out the first bath and fill with fresh warm water to do the actual transfer. Whatever's easier for you.

-Jason

[woodstove]

Jason and Kuru,

Thanks for the step-by-step instructions! I'll have to give it another go sometime soon.

As for transfers, I usually prepare my surface by rinsing it with warm water and then patting it dry with a paper towel. After taking the shot and removing the polaroid, I wait about 12 seconds before peeling it apart. When I put the negative side down on the paper I give run over it with a rubber/foam roller (I believe it's normally used for making woodblock prints), being really careful not to shift anything, but also putting a bit of pressure into it. Then I sit a moderately heavy book on top (with a paper buffer so I don't ruin the book cover) for about two or three minutes, occasionally pressing down on it. I then take the book off, give it one more roll with the roller and then peel up at the corner, extremely carefully.

It generally works with any material that is at least slightly porous, and I've had the best results with wood and cotton-based paper.