ACE Camera Club (inc)

FUJI FP100c NEGATIVE STRIPPING:

There's definitely something magic about using a Polaroid camera and it's not only the appeal of having a real print in your hands in a matter of minutes but there's so much more that can be achieved by using just a few simple processes.

The normal procedure is to click the shutter, pull the photo from the camera, wait a minute or so and peel off the developed image.   

The remaining half is most often discarded as waste but it contains a perfectly usable colour negative that after a little processing can be scanned and printed just like a normal image.

To clear the anti-halation layer from the back of the negative you need to tape it to a piece of glass or perspex, emulsion downwards.

A liquid gel household bleach is brushed carefully onto the film and allowed to soak for approx. 2 minutes.    

Wipe of with a paper towel and apply more solution.  Note! always wear protective gloves.

Wipe down once more and carefully remove the negative from the glass and wash off ALL the bleach and the remains of the developing chemicals in running water.

After drying, the neg can be scanned in the normal manner.  I trim a little from the ends and place them sideways in a 4" x 5" film holder in my Epson V700.

Adjustments will need to be made to correct the colours and this can be carried out prior to the scan and completed in your image processing software.

The neg will look normally a little flat and will need to have some detail enhancement work performed to give it some 'bite'.

It's quite surprising to find that the resulting image looks a lot better than the original print.

If you want some 'creative' effects, be a lot less careful with your processing and let the scratches, blotches and drying marks add some great effects to your image.

Process the negative and you'll find there's a lot more to be had from the FP100c than simply one photo.