Photo Transfers, Part Deux

These are my second attempts at photo transfers, this time onto 1" blocks of maple and pine. The images transferred much cleaner than my first try onto MDF, partly because I let them set for longer, but quite possibly also that wood is just a more suitable material?

Now if only I had some proper carpentry skills to cut the wood straight, and plane the edges down smooth…


Street scene from Prague. Transferred to 1" thick block of Maple.


Inception-esque double exposure of Marseille. Transferred to 1" thick block of Pine.





And the original photos:

Taken with a Holga on Kodak E100G slide film.


Taken with a Kiev 88CM on Ilford XP2 Super 400 B&W film.

Photo Transfers by George, First Editions

I've been looking into printing my photos onto alternative surfaces recently (metal, acrylic), but hadn't quite worked up the fiscal motivation to actually follow through ($$$$$). So when I discovered the cheap and magical process of DIY photo transfers, I quickly hit up Home Depot to pick up some MDF and a circular saw. And I didn't even hack off any of my fingers cutting the pieces down to size! WIN!

These are my first two photo transfers (first editions, yo!), from pictures taken in Chile and Portugal. Clearly, I don't have the quality down yet (the larger transfer is peeling), but I still really like the raw look and feel of photos on mdf. Next up, photos on beautiful grained wood.






And here are what the actual transfers look like, scanned in full resolution, alongside the original photos.

Chairman Mach, The Great Helmsman

Comrades!! George Mach Photography Inc. is now a thing. For real. I'm filing to become a corporation. Partly for tax purposes, but MOSTLY because I want to give myself the title of Chairman. Chairman Mach has a certain authoritative (dictatorial!) ring to it. The great helmsman. No, wait, the Great HelmsMach!

Anita wasn't in the mood to sit for a portrait last night, so I had to mess around with the wifi mode of the Fuji XT-1 to take this self-portrait. The wifi mode lets you remotely trigger the camera via a smartphone app. The way the camera and app connect is a bit clumsy (like I've had three and a half pints clumsy) but once connected, it works fairly smoothly.

The Chairman


Strobist: Nikon SB-800 speedlight and shoot through umbrella to camera right, triggered via Cactus V5's, with the Fuji XT-1 and Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2. Fuji XT-1 triggered remotely via the iPhone in my hand.

Nature (and a telemarketer) Calls

We were out for drinks on Friday after work, when I was rudely interrupted by a phone call from the scourge of the earth: telemarketers asking to assess the service I received during my last visit to the bank.

Her: Hello, my name is blah blah blah… conducting a survey about service you received at TD...
Me: I'm sorry, this isn't a good time. I'm in the bathroom. *makes pseudo grunting noise.*
Her: Oh… uh… well, you're in the bathroom? Should I call back, maybe in an hour?
Me: Yeah, I should be done by then.
Her: Uh… okay... enjoy.

I guess I should qualify this: we were sitting at our table, having drinks, and I was not actually in the bathroom. Regardless, she could not have felt more awkward, or rushed to end the call any faster. But the best part was that she had no idea how to extricate herself from this call - she couldn't run through her normal script of 'Thank you for your time' or 'Have a nice day', so she ad libbed the first thing that came to mind: 'enjoy' - aka 'have a good shit.' HAHAHA!!!

I would receive another call from a number I didn't recognize less than an hour later. And in a rare fit of good judgement, I decided against answering with 'I'm still crapping!!!', as it turned out to be a call from a client confirming they wanted me to photograph their corporate headshots.



Above photo taken during the ceremonial changing of the guards at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, with the Kiev88 on Kodak Portra 160. I chose to post this photo tonight, because his stoic expression reminds me of someone who really needs to take a… well, anyways. As the telemarketers like to say, "Enjoy."

An Unusual Burst of Colour

We don't get cherry blossoms out in Cowtown, but this past week, there has been an unusual burst of colour in my neighbourhood as the trees have seemingly blossomed overnight in an explosion of pinks, purples, and fuchsias (yes, that apparently is the correct way to spell it). I'm no botanist, so don't ask me what these blossoms are, but they are quite pretty in the sunlight of golden hour.


















Photos above shot with the Fuji XT-1, and 35mm f/1.4 and 56 f/1.2 Fujinon XF lenses.


Photos below shot with a Polaroid SX-70 on Impossible Project Colour Protection Film.

Beer and Polaroids and Camera Photogeekery

June's already shaping up to be a better month than May: Beer and Polaroids and Camera Photogeekery! Photos taken with a Polaroid SX-70 on Impossible Project Colour Protection Film, in Scott's backyard.


The Hutch family pooch, Raven.


The Hutch and his Olympus OM2.


The Hutch, police mugshot style.


Mike the Greek, police mugshot style.


Mike's Polaroid Land 250.