Wanderings + NEW55FILM

From all the instant film craze lately, I decided to go out and shoot some of my remaining New55 PN film stock. It’s been sitting on my shelf for the better part of a year, and I figure I should shoot it before it becomes a paperweight.

Recently Famous Format took over the New55 film stock, and have been tweaking the design and slowly building moving forward. See the potential here at Famous Format.

I’m hoping to get another box of New fresh film in before Christmas.

I found a local bike path that weaves along the edge of a nearby college. I still can’t decide if I enjoy the print or the negative better. To the credit of New55, the Positive and Negative alignment (meaning the image you shoot is the same exposure in negative and positive) are not too far off. The positives don’t have deep blacks, but its a HUGE step up from what Polaroid Type 55 had.

You can obviously see that the negative detail is so much clearer than the print, but I still see the two as different parts of the same coin.

I do adjust the negative levels in photoshop, but have not touched the print’s scan.

It began snowing, and as a Large Format shooter, dealing with wet weather and wooden cameras are not the best mix.
All these were shot on my Intrepid MK2 with a Polaroid Tominon 127mm lens think at f8-11 1/8th of a second

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Intrepid + New55

Before i begin, I'm not being sponsored or affiliated with either company. 
New55 PN: The P (Positive/ Print) is what you see on the left. On the Right, is the N (Negative) that I'm then able to scan, print, or do what I'd like to. The aberrations that happen around the edge of the image are a result of how the image is created, and processed. New55Film is a small manufacturing company based out of Ashland, MA. The somewhat foreign process of DTR. This process is the basis for all instant film. New55 is special because they are currently the only 4x5 instant film manufacturer in the world.
Realistically, the film is expensive, it has its bugs, and its always disappointing/ frustrating when your images don't turn out. Learning and failing is not a common experience in photography with a digital camera, or even a seasoned film shooter. One piece of advice, is to start out slowly, and realize this isn't your father's instant film.

All these examples were created with a fresh batch of New55PN. I'd like to say how easy the material is to use, but to the layman, It's a minefield. I'm making this post to show what an amazing material it is. My previous experience with this film was in a controlled setting has been extensive. I worked for New55 developing, troubleshooting, and testing New55PN in 2015, so Im familiar with the materials. Unfortunately, controlled settings don't warrant the photographs, besides, I was at work. So, my results aren't perfect, but I think they're pretty good.

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Let me talk about the other side of this post for a second, my camera.
I shot all of these images in  a Polaroid 545i back on my Intrepid Camera. This camera is amazing, it is the tool that would not grant me the strength to make all these images you see. It weighs ~2 pounds, and I carried this along with everything you see below. Additionally, I had my lens board fabricated out of 3d material. It seemed fitting for the intrepid. I had Randy over at Holgamods help me out. 

Most of my gear. I traveled around most locations with the majority of these items plus a tripod

A typical setup

Custom Ground glass cover (Click to see Mark's Etsy)

Tips for shooting:

• Check that there is some play of the clip, if its sticky, than its not going to work properly. A simple tap on either end to make sure its moving is enough
• Tape: I tapped over the "Remove after processing, which helped from the sleeve getting caught in the 545i lever. (The one shot that completely failed was as a result of me forgetting to do this) Additionally, remember to take the tape off before you process the film.
• Remember to bring a dark cloth. 
• This is new film and can't be treated like anything you're used to. Learning involves failure, and I was happy each time anything came up on my  Negatives or Positives.

I followed these simple steps. 

The Intrepid Camera Company has been making cameras for a couple years, and I'm happy to be using their system for my Large format shooting endeavors. The camera review will continue as I make future updates with the Color Slide film that was shot in this camera.

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Not all images were perfect, and I had some fogging issues, and camera issues to be expected while shooting on a new camera. Also, depending on setting your ISO, will determine a denser negative or a denser positive. The alignment of Positive and negative being equal is yet to be realized.
Also, the statistics. I shot 20 sheets of New55, and I had 75% success rate. It would have been higher, if I hadn't royally screwed up one image. 

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Some Various Negatives

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And, Some miscellaneous Prints. 
The yellowing can be avoided by using a clear coat spray to stop the yellowing, but I do like the patina and aged characteristics. 

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F11 6hours, Iso50

This image made me the happiest. It is a successful long exposure. Taking Night photography, and marrying it with New55 was a dream I've had since I started following Bob's experiments in 2009. This image is a testament to how long this project has come.
To The future of Analog Photography!