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                 Aromas Hills Artisans
 

     Tina Baine                     
Digital Prints from a Polaroid
SX-70 Manipulation
 

Please visit my web page at: www.TinaBaine.com

thebaines@rattlebrain.com
(831) 726-3528

I was a photojournalist for eight years—by far the best job I’ve ever had.  I developed an expertise for photographing people and moments.  The most notable experience in my career was participating in “A Day in the Life of Ireland,” a 24-hour assignment given to a few dozen leading photographers, from which a beautiful coffee table book was produced.

Although I no longer work for a daily newspaper, I now give myself assignments and have found other ways to stay creatively challenged.  One way was by joining a local artists’ group, Aromas Hills Artisans, where I derive much energy and inspiration from this group of devoted, eclectic artists. 

Another was by agreeing to write (and photograph) a monthly crafts column for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which pushes me to develop new projects, learn new techniques and be inventive on a regular basis. 

Finally, I attended a photography workshop in Molokai, Hawaii in 2003, where I learned—among many other things—a  new technique with an old Polaroid camera.  This technique—hand manipulation of Polaroid photographs—has presented me with a whole new way of thinking about and making pictures.

The SX-70—a color-film Polaroid camera from the 1970s—uses Time Zero film—which is luckily still produced by Polaroid (the cameras are now found on eBay or in antique stores).  You focus on your subject, press the shutter button, and the photograph is noisily ejected from the camera.  The image is foggy white at first, but slowly develops over a few minutes into a 3-inch square photograph. 

The unique thing about this film is that, underneath the clear-plastic surface, the inks are still gelatinous for several hours after you shoot.  By using an embossing tool with a round tip, you can press on the surface of the photograph and move these inks around, creating an entirely new image.

The process is very hands-on and low-tech, and the results are surprisingly beautiful—somewhat like an impressionist painting.  I then reproduce my photographs using a flatbed scanner and a Canon i560 printer, without digital manipulation.

As an avid gardener, growing and photographing flowers has now become my passion.  The detailed beauty of flowers is often missed by the casual observer.  I am excited to have found a way to wed my love for gardening with my ever-evolving passion for art.