This evening I attempted to do an Emulsion Lift for the first time. I was pleased with how easy it was and the results that I achieved. I have attached photos below for refernce.
Equipment needed:
Polaroid 600 camera.
Impossible Project film for a 6oo camera.
Watercolour paper.
Tiny paintbrushes.
Container of warm water (The warmer the better, but not boiling).
Time and patience.
Method:
1. Take a photo with a Polaroid 600 Instant Camera, using Impossible Project film.
Allow to develop.
2. Cut white border of image, this does not damage the image.
3. Pull backing off image.
4. Place image in a container of warm (preferably) water.
The warmer the water, the quicker this process is, but, please do not use boiling water.
5. Agitate water with small paint brush.
You do not want to touch the image with the brush, just move the water over it. This is to help loosen the image from the plastic cover in the front.
6. Let image become saturated with water.
7. When the image has come off the clear plastic cover, place watercolour paper in the water, under the image. The face of the image should be facing you.
8. Place image on the paper (can be tricky).
9. Move image around until you are happy with result.
10. Dip image in and out of water, whilst gently brushing the image to flatten it.
11. When happy with result, remove image from water and allow to dry.
I took my photos in the morning and then went out for the day, just so I knew that they would have finished developing by the time I started the Emulsion Lift. I read that the older the print, the more brittle it is, and therefore the more likely it is to tear. I shall test this over the next few days and check. I used Impossible Project film, as it is the only company that sells film for the 600 camera. I will have a separate post on my thoughts on Impossible Project. I took the photos solely for the purpose of trying this technique. This is a technique that I have been meaning to try for a long time now. I was hesitant to try it, as I thought that I would tear the image, also, I did not want to use an image that I wanted to keep in an album. I shot the eight images in my darkroom, two were of my cat and one was of me, so neither of those will be posted here. You may see some white bits coming off the back of the image, this is nothing to worry about, please do not rub the white substance on the back of the image.
You can see from the final image, that the edges of the print got slightly folded over on itself. The colour is due to the Impossible Project Film, this process does not fade the colour in the image.
This morning I had a look at the Emulsion Lifts and discovered that overnight they had dried incorrectly, and they had developed bubbles under the Emulsion. I put them back into warm water and removed the bubbles, they are now drying whilst flat.
Gallagher Photography 