Natalie discusses the film soup technique that created these brilliant and strange results.
Experimentation has always been a significant part of my photography practice. I have always found ways to use materials and equipment in exactly the wrong way, and made some pretty exciting images through these experiments.
Film soak, film soup. What's it all about?
Film is light sensitive material contained within a light tight canister. The image is recorded onto the film, which is then developed using a series of chemicals. Film soaking means that before developing, the film is soaked in liquid which affects the emulsion: the chemical make up on the surface of the film. I have made some serious fun trying different liquids to see what results they produce. Acidic liquid seems to give the best results, but I have also had some good results by adding salt to the soup also.
Serious mistakes
I have previously made mistakes of soaking film in liquid which is too aggressive such as bleach. This stripped the entire emulsion off the film back and left me with a strip of clear plastic!