Photos in Cuba

[darkosaric]

So,

friend was in Cuba (Havana), and some guys on the street are making photos for a living in 'unusual' way: they have some kind of home made large format camera and they make paper photo in 15 minutes. Everything in done immediately on the street. Nice tourist attraction for one euro . Friend showed me photos: first they make negative on paper - size ~4x6 cm, and then from that paper they make positive paper that is little bigger, ~6x9 cm.

I am wondering how they are making it? It is strange, positive paper is bigger than negative, so it is not a contact copy...

thanks,

 

[nickandre]

15 minutes is plenty of time for a monobath developer. The easiest way is to use direct positive paper in camera, but that would take about 6 minutes plus drying. If you used a monobath and projected the negatives wet onto paper you could easily monobath process and then print it.

 

[darkosaric]

15 minutes is plenty of time for a monobath developer. The easiest way is to use direct positive paper in camera, but that would take about 6 minutes plus drying. If you used a monobath and projected the negatives wet onto paper you could easily monobath process and then print it.

If there is only positive paper - I would not be so curios. But first negative and then positive paper little bigger ...

 

[fschifano]

Actually there is offered for sale in the US, a direct positive paper from Efke through Freestyle Photo in California. I've never tried it, so I can't relay any personal observations about the stuff. There is a rather long thread about it over at the large format photography site here.

 

[trexx]

This is an old process, I have met a man that used to do this on Conney Island from the late Forties to about 2000. They make a paper negative then place in front of the lens and make a picture of the paper neg. The lens is often turned around for the 1:2 or so macro copy. The neg is developed completely, but barely fixed and hardly washed. Same can be true for the finished picture, so do not be surprised when it yellows. I'll try to find the like on this.

Here is the link

 

[thebanana]

Somewhere in the archives of APUG there is some more info on this topic. Not sure how to search for it though.

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Trexx is right. You used to find these in many countries. Great memories in India. In many Railways Stations 10 roupies for portrait. One of the best portrait of me. But barely fixed and long gone now.

 

[removed account4]

this guy in india
isn't making enlargements
but contact prints the same way

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-lowtech2-2009sep02,0,4488845.story

 

[Colin Corneau]

I saw these guys myself...talked to them and had a picture made too (and photographed them as well). They made a shot of me, but it seemed solarized so they made another one.

Very cool, and I highly doubt these guys have access to Efke positive paper - the looney trade embargo prevents that and they're likely too poor to do mail order for that anyway. It's fascinating stuff, they cobble together these cameras from all sorts of spare parts...the one guy I talked to had one that seemed about 40% Crown Graphic.

 

[fschifano]

Efke materials are made in Croatia. AFIK, the is no trade embargo between Cuba and Croatia. Heck, Canada trades with Cuba. It's the only US that continues this ridiculous embargo.

 

[wogster]

Efke materials are made in Croatia. AFIK, the is no trade embargo between Cuba and Croatia. Heck, Canada trades with Cuba. It's the only US that continues this ridiculous embargo.

Yes and the American people are so supportive of that embargo, that if you go past a shop selling cigars in places like Fort Erie, all the licence plates outside are American. They are resupplying their stash of Cuban cigars....