Old Magic by Foto Baryo at One Workshop Gallery

Old Magic by Foto Baryo at One Workshop Gallery

Maverick photography group Foto Baryo works their unique brand of “Old Magic,” an exhibition of rare Polaroid photos at One Workshop Gallery. Opening on October 7, 2008, “Old Magic” features a collection of photographs taken with a vintage Polaroid SX-70. Photographers then manipulated each photograph manually using techniques such as tracing with a plastic fork.

No longer manufactured today, the Polaroid camera used for “Old Magic” is owned by Foto Baryo founder Fernando Afable. Apart from producing his own photographs for the exhibition, Afable shared his beloved camera and Polaroid manipulation techniques with close friends and Foto Baryo volunteers Amor Rodriguez, Cres Yulo, Pinky Urmaza, Tommy Hafalla and Vixienne Calulut.

With Afable's injunction to “Go out, shoot and enjoy,” these photographers went out to take Polaroid pictures of personal significance, while having fun during every step of the point-and-shoot and scratch-the-surface process. As Rodriguez put it, “I was like a kid with a new toy and I lugged the thing everywhere I went.” Yulo likewise felt “like a child on a “secret mission”—to find a subject matter interesting enough to shoot, and to change it into a whole new image.”

For Urmaza, the photos at “Old Magic” are her “records of trips, both near and far; some are journeys inward, as I discovered more about myself in each shape and colour I have scratched and traced.” For his part, Hafalla sees Polaroids as a method that “gave me a chance to express my frustration to be a painter...I started creating my own painting through a lens... with just a few pieces (that) fulfilled my long-forgotten dream to paint with light.” Calulut, who describes Polaroid manipulation as “giving the picture a Van Gogh-ish look with the use of a stylus,” says her pictures “bear a myriad of emotions, foremost of which is the spirit of generosity shown by friends.”

As the brainchild of master photographer Fernando Afable, Foto Baryo is the result of the dreams and the life's work of a man who worked his way up from humble origins in Tanauan to become Darkroom Manager of the prestigious International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York City. Wishing to nurture a Filipino version of the ICP back home, Afable founded Foto Baryo in order to raise local awareness of the beauty of photography. From the first year of its inception, Foto Baryo has spread the word to over a hundred photo enthusiasts around the country. Since its first landmark exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), One Workshop Gallery has always supported Foto Baryo and Afable's vision of a community sharing ideas, knowledge, art and culture.

“Old Magic” by Foto Baryo runs until November 7, 2008 at the One Workshop Gallery, Ground Floor 2241 La Fuerza Plaza II, Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Sabio St., Makati City. Gallery hours are from 10am to 7pm daily except Sundays. For inquiries, call or fax 819-2074, e-mail inquiry@owg.cc one_workshop@yahoo.com, or visit www.owg.cc.

An Overview...

The ancient bike is about to crash

Towards the orb that is a looking glass...

The colors are about to explode

As the photographs begin to unfold...

When all agreed it was done and dead

We shot the magic before it all ended....

POLAROID MANIPULATION

Before the onset of digital photography, instant pictures were taken using special cameras and film. One such company that manufactured these cameras was Polaroid, which came up with the SX-70. It was such a hit especially during the 70’s and people used them to capture memories and witness pictures magically developing before their eyes. The camera was built very simply with only a few moving parts. The film is loaded with built-in photographic paper and chemicals that when used, comes out of the camera. The image taken develops in a matter of minutes and the photographer witnesses the whole process.

Some artists discovered that photographs taken with the SX-70 camera and using the SX-70 film, or later on known as the Time-Zero film, could be altered manually by using a blunt instrument like a stylus or any ordinary implement such as a pencil. When the film develops, the chemicals remain soft and before they harden and dry, alteration can be done to the image. Applying a small amount of pressure by using the blunt stylus directly upon the picture causes the colors in the film to “move”. A painterly effect is achieved in the picture.

Polaroid Manipulation has been done by artists all over the world and has been accepted as a photographic art form. However, this type of style in photography is now considered dead or extinct. The Polaroid Company has since phased out the SX-70 camera and the manipulative Time-Zero film. The new generation of film Polaroid markets do not have the characteristics of their predecessors. Thus, Polaroid Manipulation cannot be done anymore today.

The reason for the demise of Polaroid Manipulation is digital photography. Digital pictures are fast and instant. Alterations or manipulation can be done by using computer applications. It was not feasible anymore to compete with digitalization because the film was expensive to manufacture and the demand for it became lesser when people started switching to digital cameras, which do not use film at all. Instant gratification in photography completely developed through a new medium.

The age of digitalization in photography, however, allowed Polaroid Manipulation art to be enlarged and reproduced through digital printing. This enables people to appreciate and enjoy this lost art form.

FOTO BARYO BRINGS BACK THE MAGIC

Fernando Afable was a big-time Polaroid Manipulator before its demise. Armed with a flea market found SX-70 camera, he scoured New York City for images that would soon follow the extinction of his beloved camera. He passed on his passion for etching & scratching photographs to his friends, notably, Pinky Ibarra-Urmaza, Cres Rodriguez-Yulo, Vixienne Marie Calulut, and Maria Amor Rodriguez. The latter passed the fun-to-do art to Tommy Hafalla, who is mostly known for his black and white, serious documentary pictures. These lucky “students” of Fernando would later join him in building his dream, Foto Baryo, a school that aims to spread the gospel of sharing through photography.
Together, the group built a collection of images that burst in colors and captured the exuberance of a bygone era in photography.