‘Impossible’ Feature – Oliver Blohm’s Microwaved Pictures

We’re delighted to be working closer with The Impossible Project team as we continue to branch out and expand our reach with all things related to mobile photography. Analog post-processing of mobile images is becoming more and more popular and we’re going to make sure our readers are fully briefed on this very exciting development.

The Impossible Project is in many ways leading the way, but there is also a growing community of mobile artists and photographers experimenting with other analog post processing techniques in an attempt to make their mobile images stand out even more, in galleries, magazines and the like and we have viewed some outstanding images and techniques.

A good deal of my formal photographic training (many years ago) was spent in a huge college darkroom and it is an area that I’ve always enjoyed, I think you will too. I also had a very close working relationship with Polaroid built up through my years as Technical Editor for various UK photography print magazines/titles.

Today we are publishing the twelfth of a series of ‘Impossible’ articles, this time with Oliver Blohm, born and raised in a little village near the Baltic Sea in Germany, Blohm started studying Communication Design and photography. Now settled in Berlin, he keeps exploring alternative and experimental photography.

He is currently working on different projects, as a photographers assistant as well as giving workshops in experimental instant photography, especially in the Impossible Partner Store Berlin, Sofortbildshop, where he also had the chance to exhibit his pictures a few months ago.

One of his experimentations involves the use of a… microwave. You might think that Instant Photography and microwaves have nothing in common, and we must admit that these kind of experimentations are not the safest – but they do provide amazing and unique results!
Oliver’s experiment started with an effort to speed up the processing time of Impossible pictures. Finally, he decided to put an Impossible picture between a piece of glass and a wet carton firmly hold together in a microwave for a few seconds. Blohm managed to get the development time back down to two or so minutes. Yet, this experiment came with a side-effect.

The use of a microwave led to unique faults in the Impossible picture, such as textures, shapes, and burns. Oliver kept on experimenting and refining the process until he found the perfect time and power. He created a series of one-of-a-kind images that are burned, torn and partially destroyed: Hatzfrass Fastfood.

Find more of Oliver’s work over on his website.

Note: We do NOT recommend to try this technique at home, especially with a brand-new microwave, as these are too powerful. Try it at your own risk!