My favorite mistakes: Curse of the Fijian Gods

This image is the result of a specialized slide development technique available only in the Fiji Islands to a select few. Fortunately I was chosen to experience this incredible phenomenon. These photos are not digitally enhanced. This is not a Photoshop effect. Was it coral bleaching? Kava in the neutralizer? A blessing from the Fijian God of Fire? Or was it the combination of La Niña, sunspots and a full moon? Not even the master mind who mixed up the chemistry for this batch of seemingly acid-induced images knows. No 3D-glasses are necessary.

THE TRUTH: Allowing the boat crew to process your film was risky business in the days of E6 processing. They work hard, don’t get much sleep and are usually doing several tasks at the same time, as was probably the case here. Several rolls of film were messed up because something was not in the chemical bath long enough. Fortunately today we don’t need to worry about this with digital cameras, but it would be tough to achieve this effect in Photoshop.