this week i finally jumped in and tried emulsion lifts. i first downloaded how-tos from the web in 1999, and they were so intimidating: 120 degree water. tongs. distilled water. 2 pages of instructions. it took me a really long time to get around to trying it.

but it really is pretty simple: boil water, place a photo (peel-apart film, polaroid or fujifilm) into a tray of the hot water until the emulsion begins to peel, then move to cold water to remove the emulsion from the photo backing. place onto a sheet of paper. that’s the jist of it!

the photo above was created using my daylab slide printer. the slide was created from a photo i took in chinatown new york a few years ago.  i still need to fiddle and figure out how to reduce the rolling on the edges, but i’m ready for that challenge and am looking forward to making more transfers.

i recently acquired a polaroid back for my holga camera, and a bunch of expired film.

i hadn’t used my holga since my college photography class — the film is a challenge to load/unload when one doesn’t have a darkroom. so i was excited to have a means to use it again without needing to relearn how to load film.

i knew the polaroid film was expired, but i had no idea it was soooo expired. at first i was really bummed out about the state of the photos i took this weekend, but now they’re growing on me. i think they each need a story. like this:

years ago, i took a class on polaroid transfers. i fell in love with the process: i bought my own daylab, i had slides made of my favorite photos, and i did my best to perfect the image transfer technique onto paper before the emulsion completely developed. and as quickly as my obsession developed, it faded and my daylab was relegated to storage.

but finding old slides from when my parents first met renewed my interest in producing prints from slides. and the very last issue of craft had a quickie tutorial on emulsion transfers that didn’t scare me like other tutorials on the technique. so i’ve pulled the daylab out of the closet and have been fiddling.

while the polaroid 669 film i used to use has been discontinued, fujifilm’s fp-100c is a great alternative. (pARTiers - remember how much of 669 film we went through?! it’s sacrilegious to think of now!) i’m currently printing a series from slides from 1972, and wanting to try emulsion transfers this weekend. stay tuned…

friday i received a valentine package from jen. it was full of fun valentine ephemera.

saturday i joined anna and her sister ellie at highpoint center for printmaking for their free ink afternoon, and we made monoprint valentines. that night i shared a piece of cafe latté’s turtle cake with a friend.

sunday i finished my valentine mobile. and ate red and pink m&m’s for lunch.

hope your valentine’s day was sweet.

my geranium upstairs is blooming, bright red.

simple joys.

happy weekend.

i’m really liking my fujifilm instax 210. i’m not a polaroid-purist: instant film is a joy for me regardless of the brand. i have polaroids from childhood that are over 30 years old, and the instant gratification still cannot be beat by digital cameras. and even though there are rumors that the impossible project is going to start producing polaroid film this year, i’m happy to support fujifilm and load up on their film stock!

i finally treated myself to my tomato soup over the weekend. and yes, i could taste fresh tomatoes and feel a summer breeze on my face.

(the moaning and groaning that go along with canning were worth it.)

i have to say i am so in love with my sx70 that some days i want to marry it.

just kidding.

but i love having control over depth of field. maybe a tshirt in honor of my love is in order. like this sx70 camera tshirt from film monsters.

photo credit: film monsters etsy shop 

hello, and welcome to february!

i’ve decided that february is instant film month here at painted fish studio. for the next four weeks, my posts will be about or photographed with instant film. i’ve got lots of ideas, and think i can pull it off, despite a full-time job and limited access to daylight hours. but i will try!

i went on a date last month, and i thought it went well. i got a little over-excited and ordered a lemonstory fall shirt dress - sunset yellow from etsy seller kimenna in anticipation of another date.

the dress arrived a little over a week ago, and i love it. the guy? he never called. but that’s ok, i have an amazing dress!

and that concludes yellow week. oh wait, i want to include a link to coldplay’s yellow, the soundtrack for the day… and i want to thank ayama, for sharing yellow of warmer climes!

happy weekend!

more yellow goodness…

highway 10, anoka

university avenue

caesar chavez drive

ayama has daily uploads of yellow in singapore on her blog sew what. i love yesterday’s elusive koi.

it’s yellow week here at painted fish studio, and at ayama’s sew what. i’ve been missing yellow… we don’t see it much in nature here during the winter, so i’ve been searching for it in other places.

university avenue

snelling & larpenter avenues

hamline avenue

ayama is in singapore sharing her finds with us this week. i can almost feel the warm breezes of the southern hemisphere…

part 1

we had a wonderful indian summer last week for 4 days: 70’s and warm, about 30 degrees warmer than average. work is slow, so last tuesday i took a long lunch and walked around the warehouse district, looking for orange:

a few more will be posted wednesday… happy monday!

my last matchbox for matchbox mondays: from the brücke museum in berlin. my sis and i went there a few years ago.

while i’m not usually a big fan of art work slapped onto merchandise, i do love this kirchner, and see it in my kitchen every day. a little work of art in of itself…

lots of great matchboxes/matchbooks are up in the flickr group!

a new acquisition. martha recently went to new york, and visited lever house restaurant. she brought back the above matchbox, and gave it to me. i love the simplicity. if you need to kill time, check out the lever house site: the restaurant is in the historic lever house building on park avenue. the interior of the restaurant is an amazing example of modern design. i’m getting a bit of wanderlust for new york…

if you’ve got a great matchbox to share, upload it to the matchbox mondays flickr group!

matchbox mondays continues with a matchbox from café tabac in amsterdam. it’s one of my favorite cafes: the first time i went to amsterdam alone i spent a lot of time there for afternoon tea. the waitress looked like charlize theron, and was so sweet to me, a lone american that couldn’t speak a lick of dutch.

if you have a favorite matchbox, upload it to the matchbox mondays flickr group!

my favorite matchbox. from u maleho glena in prague, where my sis and i had black olive tapenade and pilsner urquell over 10 years ago.

the first official matchbox for matchbox mondays: i brought this one home from a trip to berlin. while the design is very simple, the reason i’ve saved it for so long is i just love that the word “matchstick” in deutsch is 21 letters long… and that there’s a grocery store chain called norma.

i recently realized i collect matchboxes, which was a little surprise. i don’t think i ever consciously meant to collect them, but i am drawn to tiny things that have great design.

so for june, mondays will be matchbox monday. if you’ve got a few matchboxes, join me! i’ve set up a flickr group where you can upload your photos on each monday this month. or, leave a comment if you’re thinking of participating via your blog. don’t forget to tell me/us why you have that particular matchbox: why do you have it? where is it from?

at the end of the month, a lucky participant* will be sent the above säkerhets tändstickor matchbox. purchased purely for it’s wonderful design, it’s made in sweden, but i bought a couple of them in amsterdam in april. so start digging thru your drawers and random bowls around the house for your matchboxes! or go out and buy some! have fun!

*you don’t need to participate all 5 mondays to be eligible.