Color Film in Monochrome

Lately, the trend of cross processing film in chemicals designed for a different type of film has been attracting more and more attention and enthusiastic fans. Usually, color slide film is processed in chemicals meant for color negative film, but it can also be done in the reverse. 

The following photos have been cross processed as well, but with a different twist.

The images were taken on a roll of color 120 film, using a Holga. I was curious about the images and  wanted instant results... so mailing in the film for processing in a professional lab wasn't my first choice. Instead, I developed the film using the materials I already had on hand: instant coffee, soda ash, and pure vitamin C.

Those three ingredients are mixed with distilled water to create a stain developer called caffenol (or more precisely, caffenol-c, since it's the variant with vitamin C for speedier development). Caffenol is normally used to develop black-and-white film. But why not try it with color film as well?

Reflected tree line

To my happy surprise, the film did just fine in the caffenol, and all the images turned out mostly clear... maybe with just a slight haze. I chose to scan the film in color, leaving the color cast just as the scanner read it. It varied a little from one photo to the next, some appearing brown-toned while others have a green, golden, or even eggplant tint.

Harwood Mills

Peeking into a barn

 

Smithfield

I'm sure I'll be processing color film in caffenol again soon!

Rome

One of my favorite places in Rome is Piazza del Popolo. A vast open space, paved with cobblestones and bordered by an ancient city gate, three churches, numerous sculptures and fountains, and a monumental park descending from the Pincian Hill, it's part outdoor living room and part outdoor museum. And of course it's also a living, breathing Roman square, with scooters, taxis, buses, and cars zipping around its edges. 

The near-twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli hold particular charm for me... I can't seem to photograph them enough!

Cyanotype on watercolor paper, toned in coffee.

Original image taken with a Polaroid and Impossible Project PX600 film. 

Coffee

Cyanotypes are known for their luminous shades of Prussian blue. But as beautiful as that shade of blue is, what if it's not the right color for a certain subject or mood? Well, cyanotypes are wonderfully versatile, and it turns out that the colors can be altered by toning the print in different liquids. Some of these are specially formulated chemicals, while others are common liquids found around the house.

Would you believe that one of these is coffee? 

  

After creating original blue-and-white cyanotypes, I then let them soak in a tray of fresh, warm coffee for well over an hour.  

 

When the prints came out of the tray, the blue had morphed into a dark gray, while the cream-colored paper had turned a lovely shade of caramel. Who knew how useful coffee would be for my photography?