Jan
29
As you probably know you can transfer images to a great number of different surfaces such as: photo papers, canvas, wood, ceramic tile and so on. And so obviously experimenting with different surfaces is one enjoyable aspect of image transfer.
One of my favorite surfaces to transfer to is aluminum foil and recently I decided it will probably be a good idea to mount these transfer on a canvas panel so they don’t tear easily as they might when they are kept loose.
So all you need to do here is take a canvas panel or any other firm surface of your choice and using Mod Podge cover it with aluminum foil.
And now you have your surface ready to receive the transfer.
Here, when covering the 8”X6” canvas panel I made sure to smoothen the surface before transferring the image (taken at the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan) onto the foil.
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And here I actually crumpled in the foil and didn’t smoothen it when covering the canvas in order to create a textured surface.
Posted in Best Photos, Image transfer aluminum foil Image transfer Manhattan mod podge nyc silver the met The Metropolitan Museum
Jan
27
Last week, during the intense Southern California winter storm I made sure to have one of my cameras with me all the time and eventually I ended up with a few rolls of film documenting these unexpectedly stormy days.
While shooting at the Grove I had the annoying feeling of “Been there, Done that”,.
I’m sure every photographer out there knows exactly what I’m talking about.
So I decided to try something new; I will photograph from above and try to connect the images together into one visual narrative of the scene.
It was both fun to adjust my thinking and photograph this way and also put the photographs together in my photo editor.
Though I’m sure it would have been much easier to do with a digital camera, I cannot imagine the effect would have been this pleasing.
I also have to mention that I absolutely love the appearance and colors of this particular film, an expired (2003) Kodak 400NC which I shot with an Olympus 35RC.
Posted in Film photography, classic cameras, techniques composite kodak 400NC olympus 35RC patching photocollage photomontage photos rain stiching
Jan
24
The only difference between color and black & white image transfer is that the color Xerox is printed on a higher quality paper than the black & white Xerox copy.
Therefore it needs more time to dry and also it requires a bit more effort to remove the left-over paper (step 5). But otherwise it is the same basic process.
Posted in Best Photos, Image transfer, Polaroid
Jan
20
Everybody knows what a Polaroid transfer is but what is a Transfer to Polaroid?
Ok, so this is what it’s all about:
A few days ago I realized I kept around a few Polaroids that didn’t turn out good; some of them didn’t even develop. Why I kept them is a whole different issue, but the fact is that I did and now I was looking at these Polaroids thinking “hmmmm.. there must be Something I can do with these nogoodniks… but what?”
And then, as it often happens, I had a marvelous idea; how about transferring an image onto the hopeless Polaroid, so the Polaroid acts as the receiving surface. What a brilliant idea! I thought to myself.
(As you see, I was quite impressed with myself.)
But anyway, now to the technical details:
1. In order to prepare the Polaroid to receive the image it is necessary to de-gloss the surface by lightly sanding it.
2. The next step in preparation is to coat the image area of the Polaroid with Gesso so the surface is unified.
3. After choosing the image to transfer it is important to trim it to the size of the Polaroid.
4. After covering the image with Mod Podge or any other gel medium it is placed face down and pressed onto the Polaroid.
5. The transfer must be completely dry before spraying the back of the transfer with water and removing the access paper to reveal the transfer.
6. When spraying the final transfer Polaroid with clear protective spray it’s a good idea to use a gloss finish to restore the appearance of the Polaroid’s original shine.
The really cool thing about this transfer technique is that after it is done you end up holding an actual Polaroid in your hand.
{Let me know if anything is unclear as I don’t think you’ll find any information about this process anywhere else 
}
Posted in Image transfer, Polaroid black and white gesso image mod podge Polaroid transfer xerox transfer
Jan
17
Though I always look for new ways to transfer images I was quite surprised when one mixed media book mentioned paint transfer. So of course I had to give it a try first chance I’ve got. And obviously I was delightfully surprised to find out that using paint for image transfer actually works.
1) The very first step is to choose the right image to transfer. I chose a mirrored Xerox copy of a black and white picture I took in NYC near Madison Square Garden. The reason I chose this image is because it has good details but also a bunch of light areas where the paint will be visible.
2) I covered the image with standard yellow and orange acrylic paints and placed it face down and pressed it onto a 5”X7” canvas panel.
3) After a few hours when the transfer was dry, I sprayed water on the back and began peeling and rubbing off the excess paper to reveal the image.
4) The final step, as always is to protect the image with clear UV protection.
Posted in Film photography, Image transfer copy Image transfer paint transfer xerox
Jan
13
A couple of months ago I wrote a post praising the charm of cross-processed slide film. One thing I would like to add is that different types of slide film will react differently when cross-processed; Often they appear green but sometimes they have a blue or even a brownish hue. Therefore it will be a good idea to try a few of them before settling on your favorite effect.
And this is what a cross-processed Fuji RDPIII looks like:
Posted in Best Photos, cross-processed cross-processing olympus 35RC slide film venice beach
Jan
09
I find that if I use an expired film, even when it is 2-3 years past the expiration date, there’s really no noticeable inferiority in the final result. Most film begin a very slow process of deterioration well after the expiration date. On top of it, refrigeration will extend the life of the film for an indefinite period of time.
But if you do want to get some unexpected and unusual results from your (cheap) expired film you’d better let it expire for a really long time. And maybe even
consider further damaging it by placing it in the sun or forgetting it sitting in your
camera for a few months.
This picture was taken in Venice, with a Kodak T400 CN, expired in 2001 and was shot with an Olympus 35 RC.
Posted in Film photography CA expired film Kodak T400CN olympus 35RC venice beach
Jan
08
A few days ago I discovered at the bottom of my xerox photocopies stash that for some reason I have a bunch of photocopies that are not mirror copies. As I mostly use these photocopies for image transfers I make sure to print a mirrored version, especially if there is text in the photo.
So clearly these photocopies were not good candidates for image transfer.
OK, now, what can I do with them?
I thought about it for a while and decided to try cutting the photocopies and then assemble them back together but just for fun I will put them back together in a slightly different order.
I chose an 8X10 canvas panel and using Mod Podge I covered it with decorated papers, old newspapers and other found objects. I then chose one of the photocopies; a picture I took a few years ago in Greenwich Village, NY. I randomly cut the picture into 8 different pieces, rearranged the pieces, and pasted onto the background layer, again using Mod Podge. I added watered down Gesso to some areas and and waited for the piece to dry before covereing it with Krylon clear UV protection.
And here it is; another way to present a photo:
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Posted in Experimental, Photographic art, techniques Greenwich Village mod podge NY photocopy xerox
Jan
04
One way to create a background for the Texture Layer technique is to get scrapbooking or designer or any other decorated paper which you can then scan and manipulate to work with your photo.
I found lots of these wonderful papers at Michael’s; they have a couple of aisles displaying a bunch of designer papers and since they all look good the real problem is which ones to get.
I like using these papers for photo backgrounds mainly because after I scan them and have a digital copy I can use the actual paper in my mixed media projects,
such as this one.
Posted in Best Photos, techniques, texture layer downtown LA papers texture layer
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