When I make art I often look
for the path of most resistance. It is not intentional, it is just
part of my process that emerges consistently. For example- the idea
starts simply enough: Paintings generated from photographic images of
homes in my community. Then it becomes more complicated. Paintings
generated from photographic images of abandoned homes in my
community. Then, paintings generated from photographic images of
abandoned homes in my community at night. And, paintings generated
from photographic images of abandoned homes in remote areas of my
community at night with little natural or artificial light. At this
point I find myself standing in the dark, cold, abandoned streets
freezing from shooting five-minute exposures all night and explaining
to the police that I have done nothing illegal. Did I mention that my
canvases were six by six foot? I can never do things the easy way.
One of my projects involved me taking a digital image and manipulating it only to record it on instant film. The project called the Dollhouse series needed the intimacy of a Polaroid format combined with the perceived legitimacy of the medium( a photo never lies!). This would be a breeze if I could use an Impossible Instant Lab or even the new Polaroid Lab, but I did not have the additional 200 plus dollars nor the requisite I-Phone(not to mention, I hate the idea of tethering the lab to another product-the cell phone- that has a fairly short usable life). I have a lot of old Polaroid oscilloscope cameras, and one of these would be perfect, except I really wanted to try the idea on the iconic SX-70 border and not the Fuji pack film style.
One of my projects involved me taking a digital image and manipulating it only to record it on instant film. The project called the Dollhouse series needed the intimacy of a Polaroid format combined with the perceived legitimacy of the medium( a photo never lies!). This would be a breeze if I could use an Impossible Instant Lab or even the new Polaroid Lab, but I did not have the additional 200 plus dollars nor the requisite I-Phone(not to mention, I hate the idea of tethering the lab to another product-the cell phone- that has a fairly short usable life). I have a lot of old Polaroid oscilloscope cameras, and one of these would be perfect, except I really wanted to try the idea on the iconic SX-70 border and not the Fuji pack film style.
I
set about looking for a solution, and this is what I came up with:
the Kalimar copy stand. I hacked the Kalimar copy stand (generally
found as new old stock on eBay) with a Dremel tool, pliers, and
adhesive-backed craft foam. The end result is a stand that you slip
into place on the front of your SLR-680 or SX-70. The camera balances
squarely on the stand with the SLR 680, which you set directly on a
tablet, or possibly a phone. With the flash turned off and using a
shutter release cable, you focus the camera and take the shot! The
stand comes with the enlarging copy lens built-in, but you will
likely need filters to avoid the strong blue cast caused by an LED
screen. I taped on a strong yellow filter and that did the trick.
So
how did I do the mod? It was quite easy. Describing it is harder.
Since I already had the camera and cable release, the whole project
set me back 12 dollars! I started with the Kalimar Kali- Copier for
the Polaroid ColorPack II camera. There are other Kali Copiers, but
this one lines up perfectly with the lens and sensor on the camera.
When
I did this originally, I spent a lot of hours cutting and measuring
stuff, but if you print my simple template you will save time.
Once
you have cut the template out of light card-stock or an index card,
lay it across the camera side of the stand, folding the sides to
follow the metal tabs on the stand. Using a silver or colored
sharpie, trace the template. Remove the lens from the stand and set
it aside.
Now
take your Dremel style tool and a good metal cutting blade and cut
away the excess metal. This is the fun part- lots of bright sparks
showering to the side of your work! Tip: when I traced with a silver
sharpie it gave me a fat line. In order to be accurate, I cut away
all of the silver right up to the black. Be careful to wear safety
glasses, and support both the stand and your Dremel firmly. I
adjusted my rpm to only 3000 and took my time.
Please
take note from the photos that I did some cutting that was not on the
template. Parts of the lens housing have to be cut back, as well. Be
careful to only cut away what I have shown. Any more could weaken the
stand. Follow the Dremel work with filing all of the raw edges that you created.
Now
take your template and trace it onto a piece of adhesive-backed craft
foam. This can typically be found in the children’s section of a
craft store. I chose black, but you can do it in any color. The
purpose of the foam is to protect your camera from scratches( I
learned this the hard way!). Put the craft foam in place, covering
every part of the stand’s camera cradle with the foam.
The
final steps to building the stand require bending. This metal is not
quite light enough to bend easily with your fingers, so I suggest
using needle-nose pliers. Study my photos showing the slight bends
outwards and up, and also hold your camera to the side of the stand.
The hole should line up with the exposure window, and the cutout on
the side should line up with the shutter release. Once I got
everything bent and it slipped into place, I put an extra bit of bend
at the top of the tab that didn’t have the cutout. This acts as a
grip for the front of the camera. Once you have set it in the stand in
its correct position, look at the shutter button and remove the
foam that would press against it. Just cut out that small section so
you don’t accidentally trigger the shutter button with the foam.
An
area you may or may not decide to bend is the base of the stand. I
chose to do it so it sits flatter. I pinched the part that allows
you to slip pictures in to copy, as I wanted it to be flat and
padded. I added craft foam to the surface so the screen I would be
setting it on would be protected(I use my “instant lab” with a
tablet), as well as to avoid touch screen activation with the metal.
Use
is simple. Open the camera, turn off or remove the flash, mount the
camera on the stand, plug in the remote shutter release cable, lift
the camera and stand onto the tablet, then focus the shot.
This
stand pictured here is my second one. I really think the template and
instructions should make this a very easy project for anyone. There
is one downside, though. You may get addicted to cutting things with
a Dremel cutting wheel!