ZoE Photo

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  • New55 FILM Tester

    I feel so happy (and lucky) to have been able to test this film and be part of the very beginnings of bringing my way of working back to life. As I am sure those of you who love Polaroid Type 55 (and miss it dearly) are anxiously awaiting the day when you can go out and shoot and develop a negative right in the field may feel just by knowing that the negatives have been exposed. Once in a Blue Moon (when I shot the images) good things do happen! And it’s all thanks to Bob Crowley who has been working like crazy to produce the film again. Please visit the New55 FILM project website and get to know the new goodness!

    I received the hand made film and immediately got nervous, “what if I mess this up?” Luckily it is so much like shooting with Polaroid Type 55 that from the first exposure, and handling it so very delicately, I lost that sense of nervousness and just started dancing (uncontrollable dancing happiness) around after each click of the shutter.

    It fits in my i545 back just as easily as the Polaroid Type 55 does.

    I still have a stash of Polaroid Type 55 locked away in a secret bunker so I was also able to shoot with both and compare the two films. Gladly, I had a model, St. Merrique, who is quite the pro so doing the same poses and remembering them wasn’t a big deal for her. Let’s hear it for awesome models!

    As you can see, it’s truly the beginnings of the film. Hand written instructions on the film sleeve and everything. It’s amazing what they have done so far in such a short amount of time. The “Stop” is obviously where you stop pulling up the sleeve before you expose your neg. The dotted lines are a guide for where you need to cut the sleeve open with scissors as this is truly the beginning of the film production. Shooting it like this really made me appreciate it so much more.

    See the Polaroid Type 55 negative in the bucket of Sodium Sulfite with the pinkish chemicals washing off the negative, I didn’t get this as much with the New55. It was a bit pink, but not as much.

     

    There are no attachments on the negative of New55 like there are on Polaroid Type 55 (paper – see above, first photo) – which I found to be lovely. A pure sheet of film that has been hand coated almost even resembling a platinum print. I allowed each New55 negative to sit in the bucket of Sodium Sulfite for 5-10 minutes. They suggested using Rapid Fix but I didn’t have any so I used Sodium Sulfite (to clear the chemicals off the neg) and it worked fine.

    When you come back to it a white goo has formed on the negative which you have to gently smudge off by hand by carefully rubbing the negative. I suggest wearing rubber gloves for this but I didn’t have any so I just sacrificed myself and dove in naked.

    This is what the negative looks like before peeling it off of the sleeve to dip in the bucket. Notice the hand taped love! So cool.

    The white section on the sleeve that holds the negative in place are the chemical pods. When you yank the film out of the i545 back these chemicals get dispersed so a positive side of the negative can develop. An immediate contact print. (and yes, that’s a rubix cube)

    The positives of the two films are completely different. The New55 positive (on the left) looks like a platinum print while the Polaroid Type 55 positive looks like a straight black and white image. The developing time for the New55 is 2 minutes while the developing time for the Polaroid Type 55 is about 20 seconds. I wish I would have tried developing the New55 just a little bit longer, maybe 3 minutes, to see what it would have looked like, but I JUST thought of that this second. I wonder if it would give me more contrast or darken it a bit. I hope I get to try that out some day soon!

    I posted this image on Facebook right after I shot it (before it got flagged by a prude and facebook deleted it) and someone (I forget who) asked me a question that I’ve heard lots of times from photographers. Do you have to expose for the negative or the positive to get a good positive side? Photographers who don’t religiously (I’m a zealot) use Polaroid Pos/Neg always seem to think that the exposure for the positive is different than the exposure of the negative. I THINK THIS IS A MYTH. The way the positive develops is completely different to how the negative develops. And who wants the positive anyway? It’s really only a contact sheet. The way you get a good Positive is not to peel apart the two pieces (the negative and the positive) before the developing time is up. With Polaroid Type 55 in 75 degrees that’s 20 seconds. If I want my negative to be darker I let it develop more (30-40 seconds). If I want it to be lighter, I peel it apart after 5 seconds. Just like you would in a darkroom under a lamp when you’re printing. Or if you’d leave a print in the developer for too long it would get too dark. But I just don’t put a lot of interest into the positive side of the film. It only shows me if I’m on target and if I shot what I thought I shot, or if I need to try it again. Plus, the model can see if she needs to adjust her pose or I can see if I need to adjust my exposure a bit. The negative is the big deal, the big kahuna, the whole enchilada… If I wanted a positive “only” why would I bother shooting pos/neg film? I’ve always wondered about this when some photographers say this about the exposure thing. And I could be wrong… I’ve just never concerned myself with the positive. Unless it pertains to happiness.

    Speaking of HAPPINESS!!!!!!!! Check out the negatives!

    © 2012 Zoe Wiseman - New55 FILM negative - model: St. Merrique
    © 2012 Zoe Wiseman – New55 FILM negative model: St. Merrique

    and expired Polaroid Type 55 (peeling negative sadness)

     

    If you have followed my work at all and have seen my Polaroid Type 85 or 665 images where I solarize the negatives, you will understand why I like the New55 film better than the Polaroid Type 55. What depth and funkiness and just WOW awesome!

    After testing my first image (it’s a bit lighter than I’d ultimately like it) shooting at 50 ISO, I decided to change my settings just a tiny bit. I don’t remember exactly how much. But just a tad. So I probably shot the second exposure at about 35 ISO. I just had an impulse to do it and it worked out great.

     

    And the Polaroid Type 55 for comparison (shot at 50 ISO):

     

    So as you can see, much different films, but just beautiful, luscious, and YUMMY. For my work… this is what I want! The New55 Film reminds me more of the Polaroid 665 or 85 films than the 55 film. With the 665 you would always get little surprises that would put a unique spin on the image. I live for those little surprises. I enjoyed shooting with Type 85 on a Holga with a Polaroid back way more than I enjoyed shooting with Type 55 because of this. Like shooting a Holga with a peculiar light leak or solarizing your negatives in the sun. (see an earlier post I made about this here: http://www.zoewiseman.com/ZW/2011/08/04/85/)

    Sure – you can get tack sharp images with a Hassy or some digital contraption, but I have always loved quirks. The quirkier the better. And the New55 film has got quirky covered.

     

    With the image below this text, I tried peeling it at one minute instead of 2 minutes (the total developing time) to see if I could get some solarization happening by holding it up to the sun. I think that’s what the fog bit is on the lower left and the funky line near the top edge. I wish I would have been braver and pulled the negative at 2 seconds to see what would happen, but testing it just proves to me it’s possible – I just got chicken and waited too long. (see an earlier post I made about this here: http://www.zoewiseman.com/ZW/2011/08/04/85/ if you don’t know what I’m talking about)

    And on this image below… as I was putting the film into the film holder the sleeve slipped off about a quarter inch. I caught it in time before it exposed the entire negative (cursing at myself), but as you can see it has the line at the top of her head where the sleeve slipped.  I think it may have fogged the negative just a little bit because of that. But I love the way it turned out anyway.

     

    So those are the images I was able to shoot from the 5 slides of film I received. I would like more please! haha. I’m just happy I have the negatives and it worked and that I didn’t disappoint myself or Bob as he’s worked tirelessly to make this happen. Does anyone have a few hundred thousand dollars lying around? Production must commence! If you are an investor and believe in art related goodness… give Bob your money so I can shoot this film every day. Please? With sugar on top?

    One of the other things I love about the negative is it conforms to all the standard 4×5 film holders! Especially for the film holders on my scanner. The Polaroid Type 55 negative is just a smidgen larger than a 4×5, so trying to get that huge negative into a 4×5 film holder and scan the entire negative can be quite the challenge. The New55 negative fits in perfect with no fuss at all. It’s a true 4×5 negative.

    I took some iPhone snaps of what I’m talking about so you can try to see what I mean.

     

     

     

    Please let me know if you have any questions about my experience using the film below in the comments section. I hope I covered everything! If not, just ask! And if you have any questions about the production or that sort of thing – Please visit the New55 FILM project website and get to know the new goodness! Bob Crowley answers a lot of questions about this and his FAQ will tell you a bit too. And don’t forget to send him a few hundred thousand dollars. Annenberg… are you listening? Please please please? 🙂

    Everyone have a very safe and sober Labor Day! Much love!

  • Polaroid Type 55 yum

    A new image with Titania Lyn. Polaroid Type 55 and some natural light.

  • It’s Leonard Nimoy’s birthday…

    So I thought I’d post a photo he made of me. Leonard Nimoy saw me naked. ha.

    Happy Birthday, Mr. Nimoy!

    © 2002 Leonard Nimoy

  • Let’s be BLUNT

    Today is International Woman’s Day

    In case you haven’t been paying attention there have been over 1100 pieces of legislation introduced to federal and state legislatures over the past year which severely impact women’s health. And if you’ve been following me on twitter, you’ve probably seen my disdain for the jackasses who are responsible. And please ignore the fat man with the golden microphone (is that his golden penis phallic fetish?), he isn’t the one responsible for creating bills designed to discriminate against women. The only thing he does is throw white trash easily mutable fly over’s into a hate frenzy – and yeah, well he calls women sluts. But so what? Slut shaming is so 1965. I can’t remember a time when I felt ashamed when someone called me a slut. It usually made me laugh myself silly. But hey, I spent 10 years with a rock band listening to their hilarity, so I have thick skin. And I’m probably a little more harsh than even they were sometimes. I’m impervious.

    What myself and the rest of the 51% of the population (women) aren’t impervious to is the legislation being introduced into state and federal legislatures. It is infuriating. These tiny little boys who are playing politics with my body need to find a new job. They should be censured for discrimination against a group of people. They should be charged with hate crimes against women. But that’s just how I feel about it. The Catholic Church should lose their tax exempt status for this (< click) and Darrell Issa needs to be sent packing. He is a disgrace to my state. I think people are afraid to blame the one entity responsible for this war on women, the Catholic Church. They have displaced their rage on to a fat man with a golden microphone. Criticizing a church isn’t criticizing a god. Their ego wants you to think that, but it’s perfectly OK to be angry at the church. Jesus was. (or so the scripture tells us) I’m rambling, aren’t I? Sorry, I’m really upset.

    I realize when it comes to women’s health and a woman’s anatomy, most men are baffled. It’s no wonder a group of men from the Catholic Church wouldn’t understand the many uses of birth control pills. Nor would they realize that they actually help women conceive children. I don’t think the nuns really talk to them about these things, and mixing with women really isn’t their thing. So it’s no surprise to see an all male panel discussing religious freedom and being so stringent to a false belief that they won’t even allow a woman to speak – thus creating a national stir on the issue and turning Sandra Fluke into the poster child for “government handouts of birth control pills” which is a complete falsification.  Ladies and Gentlemen – we have our Martyr! This is so fucking high school bully syndrome. What are women supposed to do who pay for insurance plans, prescription drug coverage and a list of other health related things to do when they have an ovarian cyst eruption that could have been prevented by taking a pill that their insurance should pay for? This is childish. The only people who should feel shamed are the Catholic Bishops and Darrell Issa. Wasn’t Jesus into healing the sick? This is elementary my dear Watson!

    THEN! after this started up this backwoods bigot from Missouri is jumping on the bandwagon and using women’s bodies to fight against the Affordable Care Act which prevents insurance companies from treating women as pre-existing conditions.  His little friend in Florida, Mark Rubio, is in cahoots with him.  Click on the links and read their dribbly diatribes. The Blunt Amendment, in essence, would allow for any company large or small to refuse to pay for any medicine or medical treatment based upon their moral beliefs. Thus, allowing your boss to have dictatorship over your health care. And not just women’s health care, gentlemen. Yours too. So if you think this is just about women (which it was designed to be but written slyly to wink wink at their good ‘ole boys) you’re missing the point and you haven’t READ THE BILL. 

    Women, if you don’t vote things are going to get very taliban(y). Everyone else – please educate yourselves about the many uses of birth control pills.

    ***all words are my own***

    But this is by Carl Sagan:

    “How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, ‘This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant’? Instead they say, ‘No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.’ A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.”

    So, I made some images. And they are free to share all over the internet if you want to grab them and post them everywhere. Just as long as you aren’t making a profit from it. Not for hardcopy publishing rights though. I retain those. 

    Let’s be BLUNT! BE BLUNT EVERYWHERE!!!! with credit please.

     

     

     

     

  • 15 Mexico – A Video

    Zoe Fest X 2011 was held in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
    figuremodels.org/festx

    Behind the scenes footage courtesy of Michael Marlborough. michaelmarlborough.com

    It was 100 degrees on the Southern Tip of Baja at the end of the day on October 24, 2011.

    Zoe Fest is a yearly fine art nude artist retreat held in different areas of the globe. 2009 and 2010 were held in Australia. From 2002-2008 we were in different areas of the United States. This was it’s 10th year, hence the “X.”

    Models: Carlotta Champagne, Sara Liz, Anne Duffy, Tara Liggett, Claudine, St. Merrique, Anoush Anou, Ella Rose, Brooke Lynne, Samantha Grace, Stephanie Anne, Meghan Claire, Keira Grant, Rebecca Lawrence and Candace Nirvana.

     

    You do funny things when you hold a camera sometimes to get certain angles. I know I’m weird.

    First video by me.

    Thanks to Michael Marlborough for filming the behind the scenes action!

    And an image from the shoot.

  • 1X4 Beyond 1×4 Beyond

    The guys over at 1x.com put together their 4th book with some of the best photography I’ve seen in some time. The members there certainly rate. I’m happy to be amongst such great artistic expression with my image of Kat Love, “Architectural Nude.”

    They have limited edition copies available at their website. Go over and get yours! It would make an awesome holiday gift.

     

  • Mexico!

    I just had one of the most awesome adventures in Mexico at the artist retreat I put on once a year, Zoe Fest. It was the 10th annual get together of models and photographers from my website Communityzoe.com. You can follow our group blog at http://www.figuremodels.org/festx and check out all the great work everyone created while we were all together.

    I’ll write more about that subject soon. Just wanted to share a few images I created. I’m 1/2 way through all my processing, cataloging, scanning and editing. I can’t believe it! Definitely check out the group blog. It’s really awesome seeing what a group of photographers and models who are passionate about figure photography can do when they all get together. I love these people! 🙂

     

    more soon…

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 85

    Am I the only photographer who still has any Polaroid Type 85 left? I think I might be. It makes me sad.

    Today I had a great shoot with Zinn Star. We worked mostly with my Rollei but broke off for a few minutes to waste away a package of Polaroid Type 85 that I had never put in the fridge for storage. I think the last pack I was able to purchase was in 2006. I’ve been storing refrigerators full of it but wanted to see what a package would do that hadn’t been stored appropriately. I kind of like it a lot.

    These are, of course, solarized. A technique of peeling the polaroid apart before it’s fully exposed (about 10 seconds) and then holding the negative up to the sun so it tweaks the chemicals to make the shadows do really amazing things. They become lighter in spots on the negative, where as the shadows on the positive stay completely black. But what happened with the expired film was the brownish erosion at the top and bottom. To me it looks a bit like out of focus vines or leaves trying to take over a scene as if an abandoned building would attract the same.

    Sadly, positive/negatives films are being overrun by the environment. The chemicals are getting old and rotting the films like they would old wooden floorboards of a house. I’m glad I have a lot of it left still… this makes me want to preserve it even more. I know those photographers who still have their positive/negative polaroid films feel the same. This is magical to us. We aren’t really into the other Polaroid Types…. they don’t have actual negatives. So I raise a toast to all the photographers out there moaning through each pack of film knowing that you can’t hoard it, you have to shoot it, and the day it’s completely gone will certainly be upon all of us.

     

  • Amazing Twitter Moment

    I’m a cynic. I can’t help it. The country is being run by people who want to hurt poor people and the banks aren’t giving home owners a break when they find themselves underwater on their mortgage, the 405 is getting ready to shut down, it’s going to be Autopocolypse and people are talking about cats like they used to in medieval times. And tonight when I updated my wordpress site to 3.2 it died. It disappeared. I cried to Twitter about the White Screen of Death. I cry to twitter about a lot of things… but tonight this stranger came out of no where and told me he’d help me… and he fixed my site! And I have this new profound sense of humanity right now thinking about some selfless individual just deciding to help someone like that. It’s so rare in these times! Funny that it was the twitter plug-in that was the problem and caused my site to do that upon upgrading… and twitter came through with this awesome person in return. http://www.twitter.com/ZKWC follow me, maybe I can repay the favor given to me.  Pay it forward… who said that? And follow Nacin… he rocks! http://www.twitter.com/nacin

     

  • Going through Archives

    Sometimes you miss something… Enjoy a photo.