lornamatic

Faceography.

We really miss you, over here across the pond.

Last weekend, I observed a bird banding session at Zuma Canyon, in Malibu. The banders had just begun doing Avian Influenza testing on songbirds, as the Pacific Flyway is believed to be the most likely potential entry point for H5N1 in the United States.

To band a bird, you must first capture a bird, and the way to do this is by stringing up fine nets, called mist nets. They resemble somewhat longer, finer volleyball nets in construction and size. Birds cannot see the nets and become trapped until the banders retrieve them.

Watching the bird banding was lots of things: educational, overwhelming, fasinating and frustrating. I have always adored birds, and it is difficult to witness wild animals caught up in nets, no matter how good the reasons are for doing it.

Here are some photographs from the event:

…Others come to sleep.

Welcome back, Noah!

So every so often, you get a severe urge to do some polaroid emulsion transfers.

Once in a while, the urge strikes at 10PM at night, and there are no more yard sales and the photography stores are all closed, and even if you bid on the ENDING SOONEST items on ebay, it isn’t going to come fast enough. Exactly what are you supposed to do then?

Well, Walgreen’s was open tonight. They had Polaroid 600 cameras for sale, not the right kind for emulsion transfers. Instant gratification dies hard. We bought one anyway.

So, now you’ve a Polaroid 600, some film packs, and all the art paper in the world. But you’ve still got the wrong kind of Polaroid to use with an emulsion transfer, and you’ve still got that instant gratification problem. What to do?

We did all the same things you’d do, as if we had all the right equipment for the transfer. See, Mike and I are stubborn people, and we have spent years honing our craft on each other. When we both get the same idea in mind, not all that much that can stop us.

So, on the off chance that you find yourself stuck in similar straits, here’s how to fake a reasonably cool looking polaroid transfer in Photoshop CS2.

Prep:
Get scissors and paper. Keep them nearby. We used Strathmore Bristol Board, Smooth finish.

Step 1:
Take a picture with the Polaroid, and quickly cut the two sides and bottom off the developing photo. Leave as much border as you can - this will make your frame more interesting.

Step 2:
Peel the sides apart and press the icky side firmly down on your paper. (Warning, yucky chemicals here, and they’re probably not good to get on your skin, so be careful or something!)

Step 3:
Let the film sit for about 2 minutes, then peel off the plastic. The image itself won’t transfer, but all the emulsion yuck will. Let the paper dry for a few minutes: this is what you’re going to scan.

Step 4:
Scan in the dry emulsion, and open the file in Photoshop.

Step 5:
In Photoshop, create a new layer in the emulsion scan file. Paste your source image (I used a picture of a yellow rose) into the new layer.

Step 6:
Set the layer effect for the source image to Overlay. You should see something that is starting to look a lot like a real emulsion transfer.

Step 7:
Use your favorite technique to erase the boundaries of your source image, so that it fits on the emulsion scan. I used the eraser tool, changed opacity several times, and used different brush shapes to allow the grunge of the emulsion to show through.

That’s it! Here’s what I came up with: