Film & Chemicals

 Toxic Days and Nights

[You Can NEVER Do This With Adobe]

All the images in this post were taken with a 35mm film camera.  Except for the first image [Korean Girl] , which was taken with Fuji 35mm color negative film - the rest were taken with Kodak Tri-X 35mm Black & White Film.  I processed [developed] ALL my Black & White Negatives during those "good ol' film days".  I experimented with altering my negatives MANUALLY by applying chemicals using different techniques.  By different techniques - I mean using hand brushes of different types, cotton, toothpicks, and even needles !!! - literally anything that I could get my hands on so that the chemicals used would  settle in different patterns ---> smudgy, liguid-like,  very fine - as in air-brushed, and -- even bubbly !!! -- Notice the tiny, minute bubbles on the LAST photo  [2 be w/in 24 hrs from now].

-- And then, after hours upon hours of tedious manual, trial and error "lab work", I'd let the chemicals settle/dry up, then on the following day proceed to a reputable photo shop and have my negatives, wether they be Color or Black & White, printed like any regular customer would do. Of course, I'd end up going to the shop repeatedly because it couldn't be helped that I'd end up having a bundle of unprintable and/or permanently damaged, unusable negatives. Even with those wasted negatives - 'twas all worth it it, though.

Unfortunately my original negative files were all lost in a flood - but luckily I was able to save some prints - scanned them in a flatbed - hence these beautiful, if I may say so, manually crafted images from my film days are forever preserved, albeit in digital form - but Yes, I do HAVE the prints from where these images were scanned from.

 - Korean Girl - [taken w/ studio lights]

35mm Color Negative Film

No chemicals used here

Negative surface was intentionally "damaged" to create patterns

Brought negative to a photo shop for color printing

- Bamboo - River Maya [live performance]

Kodak Tri-X 35mm Black & White Film used

Personally processed [developed] the negative

Chemicals applied manually on film negative

Brought negative to a photo shop for color printing

- Bamboo - River Maya [live performance]

Same technique used

SAME Negative used [FYI]

Chemicals were reapplied manually

Brought negative to a photo shop for color printing

- Bea - [model]

Kodak Tri-X 35mm Black & White Film Negative used

Personally processed [developed] the negatives

Chemicals airbrushed [expertly] onto film surface [hence the fine pattern]

Brought negative to a photo shop for color printing

- Color it Red - bassist [live performance]

 35mm Black & White Film Negative used

Chemicals applied [smudged] manually onto film surface

At times - I'd let the chemicals drip naturally

Brought negative to a photo shop for color printing

- Issa - [model]

35mm Black & White Negative Film used 

Personally printed the photo on Black & White Photo Paper first

Chemicals applied manually [cotton swab used] onto film surface

- Cookie Chua - [live performance]

35mm Black & White Kodak Tri-X Film Used

Personally processed [developed] the negatives

Chemicals applied manually [notice the liquid-like pattern] onto film surface

Brought negative to a photo shop for color printing

- Cookie Chua - w/ Color It Red [live performance

SAME technique as in the image above

Notice the tiny, tiny bubbles on the chemicals on the chemical application.

One of my BETTER Chemically Altered Images, a Rock Photo of Perf de Castro with his guitar [live performance], has actually been posted several times in this blog. It was first released in my SECOND post, dated June 14, 2011.

brosi gonzales