Many years ago, a co-worker brought an old Polaroid camera into work, and demonstrated how you could create wild designs on the image by pressing down and making swirls on the emulsion while it was developing --- sort of an LSD-trip filter. I was fascinated.

Years later, I did some research on the process, and stumbled across a whole new world of Polaroid creativity: not only SX-70 manipulations, but image and emulsion transfers as well. I was lucky enough to be able to take some workshops from the master, Kathleen Carr, and I was off and running.

To create a Polaroid SX-70 manipulation, you take a image on a piece of Polaroid Time Zero film and, while the emulsion is still soft, you "moosh" it around with various low-tech implements (one of my favorites is a nutpick), creating a watercolor-like effect. Although you can take images in the field and do the manipulation on the spot, I prefer to transfer slide images to the Time Zero film using a Daylab. That way, I always have a source image, and I can make as many manipulations I want of the same initial image.

For more information, the best resource is Kathleen Carr's excellent book on the process: Polaroid Manipulations: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating SX-70, Transfer, and Digital Prints.

If you're interested in any of the Polaroid processes, I strongly recommend taking a workshop. If you've never used a Daylab before, you really need an in-person demonstration of what to do... it's not difficult, but there's a lot of trial and error involved, and it's a lot less frustrating if you have someone to help belay you as you scale the initial learning curve.