A few weeks ago I purchased a Polaroid instant camera on eBay; it’s an old one that takes the 600 film. This was after Siân Cann came to Sidmouth Photographic Club to give her amazing talk “Welcome to a world of instant photography, Polaroid emulsion lifts, and cameraless processes” I had to try it!
The camera was easy to get hold of as there are plenty for sale on eBay and many of them come with a “tested” promise; mine cost £24:50 and was advertised as tested and working. The film was much harder to get hold of. Almost everywhere was out of stock of the black and white film, which is my preference, but I managed to track down one B&W pack, plus a colour pack. Pricey stuff!
I am in the process of testing the camera with the colour film and have done one emulsion lift so far, which worked out OK. It is a picture of the back of our house which was a handy subject on the day. The edges are a bit ragged and I need to improve my technique for separating the layers without damaging them. Unfurling the emulsion and getting it spread evenly on the art paper was time consuming just requiring patience; it was actually easier than I had imagined
The result is below. The texture of the underlying art paper shows through very nicely, and the emulsion layer itself is so thin that you cannot feel the edge – it’s as if it were painted on with water colours.
Now for something more interesting and artistic…… but what?
Mike Hawkridge Photography 
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