I'll get it... someday

Polaroid image transfers are like night and day. Sometimes I can make a really great one with little lift off and true-to-life colors. Other times, they absolutely look foul. Here is a collection of a few I've done recently, with this first one being the best transfer I've made thus far. The other three are just filler for this post. You be the judge.

My main issue with making transfers in the field is the inability to maintain optimum film temperature and subsequently, the right developing time. You see kids, in the summer in Utah, it's hot. Zion was hit and miss. The Pa'rus Trail transfer below was made on Polaroid 89 film five minutes out of the cooler. Some that I posted earlier were made on 88 film that I carried around in my backpack for four and five hours in 95 degrees. The film was a wet, stinky, dripping mess. Since then, I've acquired a small sandwich cooler that holds one package of film nicely, but when the blue ice melts, that's it. I see why so many books and articles I've read promote Daylabs rather than field transfers. Plus, all those same books and articles suggest mastering wet transfers before moving onto dry, and well, I skipped the wet part altogether. I guess the moral of this pointless story is that as long as I know the limitations of the film and my checking account, I can just have fun and hope for a winner. All the images below were made on Holgaroid/Polaroid 89.


Along the Pa'rus Trail in Zion