Filmchemy by

Posted in Objet D'art

Most people who shoot in analogue are petrified of damaging the film canisters or negatives post processing... But not many people have a wide enough view, or are willing to take steps into it, to intentionally do this damage and see what comes from it!

So... On a recent experimental urge, I chose to do just that. Of course, with most photographic process there's a lot of alteration needed to the techniques used and this project took me about 2 months to finally get something that I was happy with. But that's all part of developing as a photographer right?

This image was created by shooting on colour film using a Canon 30V and 28-105mm lens then soaking the film in cough syrup and boiling it.

Some people may ask... Well, what's photographic about that other than taking a picture?

Well let me tell you...
1. You need to understand what effect chemicals will have on film. You need to know your boundaries otherwise you could melt your film, wide all of the photosensitive pigments away or in the worse possibly scenario, you could create harmful mixtures such as hydrogen peroxide and acetone being 2/3 parts of a explosive mixture.
2. You still need to shoot pretty images right? That takes technical skill.
3. If you choose to process the film yourself, you need technical skills to do that.

Obviously this type of photography isn't to everyone's taste... But the whole idea behind it really does help you understand some fundamental photographic processes which can be applied to your standard analogue and digital practises.

Have a go yourself! You never know... It may be your photographic forte.

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What I love most about this is your attention to technical detail, and perhaps most importantly, your decision to step out of the box. I've tried several of these types of experimental developments, and it is not easy. You were very deliberate in what you wanted to achieve, which places this in the "art" category. Keep posting!
Posted by Sarah Williams (co-founder), about 3463 days ago
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I like the technical side of this and the write up that comes with it. In a digital world its too easy for some of us to overlook the origins and darkroom side of photography. 👍👍
Posted by Neil Bugge (moderator), about 3463 days ago
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Very cool shot and great write-up. I miss film sometimes. I don't miss spending hours in the darkroom, not even a little.
Posted by Scott Smith (co-founder), about 3466 days ago