Printing on aluminum foil or non porous surfaces.

Ever since i saw an image of Roarie, printed on a piece of Aluminum foil, we have been fascinated with trying to recreate the process. I had heard this was accomplished by using toilet bowl cleaner to etch the foil, then supposedly it would be able to hold the ink jet's ink. A Google search turned up nothing as far as the toilet bowl cleaner was concerned. I did however find a product that allowed for printing on nonporous surfaces. "Golden's Digital Grounds". So i decided to give it a try. I collected everything i thought i would need:

The first issue i encountered, was trying to find a way to allow the aluminum foil to feed through my printer without being crushed. Aluminum foil is way more fragile then a sheet of paper. I decided to try to wrap the aluminum around a sheet of paper. This was way easier then i thought, the paper provided a fairly sturdy base for the foil.

After i got the foil edges wrapped around the paper, i taped the corners.

Once i had several sheets prepared, it was time to coat them with the digital grounds, we used a spong type paint brush. The product requires two coats, applied vertically and then horizontally.

The product required about 15 mins for each coat to dry.

After the product was dry, it was time to feed into the printer. I used a "matt" profile for the printer settings. Then the moment of truth.

The first sheet didn't feed properly and faulted the printer, I needed to put a stack of paper in the printer and then the sheet fed properly.

Well the product actually works, the ink did stick to the foil. But by not taping all the leading and trailing edges, the printer tractor tore up some of the edged and wrinkled the foil.

After taping the entire length of the leading and trailing edges, the foil fed into the printer without issue and the prints are much better. the computer screen doesn't show the cool effect, printing on foil provides, but anyone that swings by can have a look...or you could print your own..

The digital grounds product costs about $15 at art supply stores. Best regards ~ Doug ~

One extra look ~

After shooting a real cool beauty look for Roarie's book, I asked her for a quick series of poses, to finish off a roll of film I had loaded into my Leica IIIf. Without hesitation, she blew through a series of poses and expressions. She makes her work appear effortless, so seamless. She has spoiled me, as far as working with other models. Roarie, in nine frames ~

24 Frames with Roarie Yum ~

Roarie and I were shooting most of the day this past Sunday. Right before we going to some beauty headshots, I remembered that I had loaded up some Ilford HP-5 in my Nikon F3. I asked Roarie if she could give me a quick look, in my over grown backyard.

Being the great creative partner and great sport that she is, she obliged enthusiastically.

No pretense, no clothes, no makeup, no photoshop, just Roarie, on film ~

Shooting at abandoned Supermarkets and Artesian Springs

Roarie and I set out on a shooting adventure last Monday. Our intention was to not only create some cool art images, but also do some recon for future shoots. Our first destination was a natural spring fed river, a few hours north of Tampa. We rented a canoe so we could have access to areas, outside of where the swimmers would congregate.

The river couldn't have been a more beautiful natural setting, it meandered for about 5 miles. The trees that over hung the river, provided a nice break from the mid day sun. The water however stays a consistent 73 degrees all year long, so it was a bit tough (cold) to get into, but as soon as you got used to it, it was totally  refreshing.

 The crystal clear water provided a lovely backdrop for Roarie to swim/pose against. I shot six rolls of color film/chrome, with two Nikonos V cameras. The film was sent out on tuesday, so hopefully they return midweek, next week. My underwater video camera flooded and was destroyed, but it was such a fantastic day, i didn't think twice about it.

On the way back to Tampa, we stopped at an abandoned strip mall, A huge supermarket was the obvious anchor store. It was set far enough off the main road, to provide privacy and ample time to cover if someone decided to pull in (which they did).With lots of debris, vandalism and graffiti as a setting, we tiptoed though the mess and captured some really great images, While I am not accustomed to guerilla/ninja shooting, the results exceeded my expectations.

Naked Portraits ~

I am creating series of simple nude images. I want them to be pure and honest. It is my intention to highlight the human female form, beautiful in it's simplicity, without the pretense that comes with make up or clothing.

This ongoing project was primarily intended for display at the "Art Basil" photo exhibition in Miami next December, but hopefully it generates enough content to create a distinctive art book.

Return every now and then to check on the progress.
Doug ~

Opportunistic Fashion Shoot..

Roarie had a fairly quick/easy shoot Friday...fortunately for me, they left her with lots of energy and a cool make up job.