Entries in instant film (3)

Saturday
Mar242012

The Epitome of Instant

This stuff is legen...wait for it...dary!In between the hectic darkroom sessions, that are now over with, I found myself shooting anything I could get my hands on that wasn't 8x10. I'm not sure if it was "large format burnout" or just a change of scenery, but literally any other format seemed appealing over the last few weeks. Earlier this past week, a very exciting opportunity arose as a Flickr and Twitter contact of mine announced she had some very, very late dated Polaroid 779 for sale. After a quick consult with Leslie over at Imagine That!  the brick of ten packs was on it's way to Findlay.

Now, I'd like to make it very clear that this post is in no way taking a stab at The Impossible Project. Those folks are doing amazing work reinventing instant film, and almost every month, it seems, are churning out a better, more reliable product (assuming you can shield it properly). If you're an analog photographer that loves shooting instant film, consider supporting them by purchasing a few packs and paying some long deserved attention to your SX-70 or 600 series cameras.

Fill flash went off. Doh! >__<Having said that, it's time to gush. I LOVE THIS POLAROID 779! The one thing I've missed for years about real Polaroid film is that from the moment it comes out of the camera, you can watch it develop. Seeing every last bit of the opacifier fade into a beautiful, fine grained image right before your eyes; now that's instant photography!

The first test of this film was a simple one. Running out the door from Imagine That! and about 50 ft. down the sidewalk, I found Lauren, my ever willing model, and her best friend Val having breakfast outside of the Baker's Cafe. This "final run" stock of Pola 779 from March of 2009, is some of the freshest instant film money can buy, and man does it show. Most 600 style films have a burnt sienna/red cast over the entire picture, with pod degradation causing 3 visible streaks in the film. But not this stuff, just a kiss of warm tones over the entire image area.

Scott Meivogel, in front of Aperture.

One shot down, 32 to go (a few bonus frames left in Leslie's SLR 680), what to shoot next? I'd already mentioned the previous month's darkroom scramble to get prints ready for "Dapper", so why not shoot some instant film at Cleveland's home for all things analog?

 If you're in the Northeast Ohio area and love film, there's only one place to go. Aperture: A Photography & Variety Store in Tremont. The owner/operator Scott, pictured left, is a very cool guy, that's doing some really great things for analog photography on a local and national level. He was the very first Impossible Project partner store, carrying experimental instant film when nobody else could even get their hands on some. Most recently, he's started making his own pinhole cameras, teaching workshops, and holding his own photowalk weekend at the end of June. If you're looking for a big photowalk event or just looking to be around other like minded film photographers, be sure to check out Analog's Pulse later this summer. There's more great things I'd love to say about Scott, but at this time I'm not at liberty to discuss it. Let's just say it's HUGE! ^__^

Dave Lam, recent analog convert.

While hanging out at Aperture, loading up on Impossible PX-70 film, and dropping off my show prints, another, slightly more new to film photographer came in the shop. Dave Lam, a Cleveland street photographer, was guns blazing with his trusty Leica rangefinder, and Bronica SQ, and all sorts of other crazy gear. A very knowledgeable guy, with some good taste in cameras, I'd say we hit off pretty well. P.S. Polaroid 779, Hasselblads, and B&W prints make for great ice-breakers. More of Dave's work can also be seen on his Flickr.

He always looks this dapper.Last, but certainly not least, was a good friend of Scott's, and new personal hero of mine, Anthony Zart. In a matter of hours, he took my CV, a few sample images, and Scott's ideas for my latest show, and created this! He's an incredibly talented graphic designer, and quite the photography enthusiast as well. These Cleveland creatives are all really cool, and I look forward to meeting even more of them at the opening of "Dapper" on  April 14th, as well as later this summer during Analog's Pulse.

Hmm, it didn't really strike me until now, but these first four images on Polaroid 779 are all of creatives. A new series perhaps? ;)

Anyways, there's almost nothing bad I've got to say about this expired Polaroid film. My only one comment to those out there shooting only discontinued and expired film stocks is to get out there and shoot the new stuff as well! Sure, the prices and selection aren't what they used to be, but the current lineups of color negative and B&W films are some of the best there have ever been. And considering Impossible and Fuji's instant film track records, those films are only getting better as time goes on. Stocking up a little at a time is one thing, but don't be a hoarder, be a supporter of film photography.

As always, happy shooting and long live film!

Tuesday
Mar292011

The 52 Project, Week 32: Hasselroids & Polablads

Pro tip: get a GOOD used Polaroid back.

 As little as 8-10 years ago, when you were going to take a picture that needed to be absolutely, positively, sharp and well exposed, you couldn't look at the back of your camera (also known as "chimping"), you needed to take a Polaroid. Not the boxy, point and shoot style, integral film eating Polaroid 600 that we all know and love, but one made to take pack film (click the link for more info). On my Hasselblad, taking a test exposure is as simple as attaching the film back, taking the picture, and pulling out the instant film tabs. If you've never taken an instant picture with pack films before, I highly reccomend getting an old Polaroid Land Camera or Polaroid back and trying it. It's a thrill to peel apart the positive from the negative, held together by a thin layer of gooey, unused reagent (dont' eat this please). This is infinitely more fun than looking at the back of some glare-ridden LCD screen.

Save the model of camera used, this video perfectly illustrates the process of using pack film in a Polaroid back to proof your exposure:

Now, some of you that follow the news may be wondering, "where the heck can I get Polaroid film? Didn't they stop making film?"

The truth of the matter is yes, Polaroid no longer makes their signature product, Polaroid 100 series pack films. Thankfully, the guys over at Fujifilm in Japan have come up with their own phenomenal pack films, Fuji FP-100C and FP-3000B. The 100 speed is lower speed, vivid color film, and the 3000 is an incredibly fast B&W film. Each are great under a variety of condtions, and include self-terminating development. You can literally shoot all day, and peel your film when you get home.

 Considering the quick nature of instant photography, lessons can be learned quickly and to little cost to the user, leaving little for me to discuss in the typical good, bad, and ugly format. Instead, we'll talk about some things that can go wrong with your instant film, with examples from yours truly.

Lesson 1: Light Leaks - never, ever open up your pack of film after it has been loaded

 

 

Lesson 2: Overexposing is the Devil! - instant film responds to overexposure much like slide film and digital, by crying, blowing out highlights, and fogging your positive. >__<

 

 

Lesson 3: Don't Expect Expired Film to Perform - if it's more than 4 years old and hasn't been cold-stored, consider any kind of image a miracle. The images below are Polaroid 669 film from 1992!

Reagent is a liquid, it can dry up and do this.The background is more yellow than black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes you get really lucky. ^__^

 

And that pretty much does it for this week. Instant photography is fun stuff, and the only way it'll keep being made is if somebody is out there to shoot it. So pick up that Polaroid Land Camera or Polaroid back today and get shooting!

 

Next Week: More fun times with the Hasselblad.

Tuesday
Feb082011

The 52 Project, Week 25: PDN PPE in NYC with the FPP!

Duane explaining the Hasselblad NPC Polaroid back.

 

The acronyms, make them stop! >__<

Seriously now, this first week of my little trip out east was pretty freaking awesome. There were a lot of photos taken, and whole hell of a lot to scan; most of which are still being scanned, by the way. So all the following weeks you’re about to see will be completely in order of awesome and in no sense of chronological order. Enjoy.

 

 

 

FPP Hosts Mike Raso & Duane Polcou

First up is the main reason I made this trip, to go meet the makers of the Film Photography Podcast at Photo Distric News’ Photo Plus Expo 2010 in New York City. (see why I used the acronyms? :P) Before, during, and after my interview with them, I managed to snag some shots of Mike Raso (left) and Duane Polcou (right) at the registration/interview booth outside of the madness of the PPE showroom. Overall, the interview went very well, Mike and Duane were awesome guys who were as, if not more, enthusiastic about film than me. While I was snagging pictures of them, Mike was snagging pictures of me and the whole kit, with a Kodak Pocket Instamatic 110 camera and some Impossible PX 600 black and white.

With FPP’s more recent interest in large format, I’ll have to pay them a visit and let them play around with the 8x10. Good times for sure. ^__^


Impossible Project Space, NYCLater that same afternoon, I made the huge mistake of walking almost four miles from the Jacob Javits Expo Center all the way to the Impossible Project NYC Space. Thankfully, the long haul was worth it! All the way up on the fourth floor of this building, rested one of the last frontiers for instant film in the world! If you haven’t heard of The Impossible Project or tried out their awesome films, be sure to check them out.

Something Good: The scans are pretty clean, with a long tonal scale and chock-full of midtones. TMAX 400 in XTOL 1:1 never seems to go wrong.


Btw, the Pat Sansone show was also awesome!Something Bad: The light in the Javits Center was a tad low for ISO 400, but opening up the aperture and lowering my shutter speed to dangerous handheld levels, 1/15 and 1/30th were necessary for the final image.

Something Learned: The best way to meet new people in photography is to get out there and shoot. And when you’re sick of shooting, go on the internet and put yourself out there some more. Chances are you’ll run into cool guys like the FPP; heck, you might even score some new gear or film!

Next Week: More medium format scans from the trip, still trying to nail down these 8x10’s. >__<