Think back to the Beatles and the days of psychedelic art. Some amazing images
were produced, mostly while under the influence of illegal substances. This week
I will show you some old technology, so you can produce your own amazing images
without any LSD.
You do not need any special equipment at all - other than an
‘old’ film camera. Now I know we have all gone digital (including me), but there
are plenty of film cameras lying around, and it is still possible to buy slide
film. Not straight off the shelf these days, but your local photo shop can get
some in for you, if they haven’t got some in stock.
The good news is that you do not need to know anything about
filters, let alone use one. The next piece of good news is that you also do not
need to know anything about f stops, shutter speeds, zoom lenses, reciprocity
failure or the like. Any film camera will do - even a cheap point and shooter!
The first step is to pop down to the local photoshop and buy
that slide film. Don’t worry if you haven’t got a projector, never used slide
film before or any other of the excuses. If you normally used 100 ASA print film
then get some 100 ASA slide film. Do not get the Kodachrome type that you have
to send away for processing, just get ordinary slide film that can be processed
here.
OK, load the camera with the slide film (it’s just the same
to load as print film - for most cameras, put in the cassette, pull the tail
across and shut the back of the camera!)
The final result looks best with landscapes - include some
sky, or seascapes where you include a yacht or similar close up, or a river
scene, and finish the roll of film. Don’t worry too much about the picture
itself, it is relatively unimportant.
Now take the film back to the shop for processing and here is
an important part. You ask for E6 slide processing, but do not mount the slides!
Leave the slides either as a roll or cut into strips of six and put in sleeves
like your print film negatives used to be. Impress this on the girl behind the
counter. You do not want them mounted. Repeat the instructions!
When you get the slide films back, just hold them up to the
light and select any one shot that you like the look of. You can choose the
image in the shop even. You don’t have to be super-selective.
Now talk to the girl behind the counter, saying “I want you
to print number X as if this is a negative. I know it is slide film, but I want
you to print a picture, using this slide as if it were a negative.” It will
probably take quite some repeating before the technician will reluctantly take
the job on, with much warnings about it will not look right, etc. Ignore all
warnings, just have faith. While you are at it, tell them that you do not want
the usual small size, but get an enlargement done straight off. 10" x 8" is
sufficient and costs around 100 baht. The photoshops generally call this size
8R. Repeat your instructions, tell them you know the color will be wrong and
leave them to it.
You see, what happens with color prints is that the
processing machine recognizes certain colors in the normal shades of brown
negative and converts that to green for grass, blue for skies, etc., in a
photochemical way. By giving the autoprocessor grass that is already green and
skies that are already blue totally confuses its auto brain (and the girl in the
shop usually) and it will produce a print with the wildest psychedelic colors
you will ever see. Expect orange trees and yellow skies - you can get anything!
It is almost impossible to predict, but the end result will certainly have that
Wow factor you’ve always wanted. Try it this weekend. You will not be
disappointed.
