Owl + Raven

Polaroid Transfers

This series was made between 2000-2003 while working at the Polaroid 20x24 studio, revisiting material and methods I first explored in the late 1990s using smaller format film. At the time, I was granted after-hours access to the Polaroid camera, with one rule: only expired film. It was a gift. I leaned fully into the unpredictability of the process—transferring images onto watercolor paper, embracing the so-called “happy accidents” we used to talk about in photo school.

 Using expired film meant relinquishing control over color fidelity and chemical reactions. Each transfer came with its own quirks: unexpected textures, uneven developer spread, and rich, sometimes moody color variations. The result was a visual record not just of the subject, but of the process itself—chemistry, decay, and timing all at play.

Even now, I remain obsessed with color and grateful to have been in New York during that fleeting era when the Polaroid 20x24 was still active. The film was discontinued in 2017, but the work it made possible—messy, beautiful, and unrepeatable—still resonates.