instant love

So, if you haven't already heard, instant photography is definitely not dead.  Three ladies, whom many of you familiar with instant photography will recognize, put together a book entitled Instant Love.  For years, I have been following the awesome works of Susannah Conway, Amanda Gilligan, and Jenifer Altman and believe that these ladies have made a huge contribution to the world of instant photography by sharing their love for this photo medium and getting others excited about it as well.  Now, especially with the creation of integral film by the Impossible Project, people are dusting off their old Polaroid cameras and bringing them back to life again.  The book is a guide to the different types of cameras and film used in instant photography, but it's also a guide on basic elements to photography such as composition and lighting.  Below is a book trailer that was put together by the folks over at Pacing the Panic Room.  Have fun watching!  Oh, and they're having an awesome contest by the way!    

.instax-ographs :: n˚1.

And so here are the first set of Instax photos that I feel are decent enough to share with you.  Today was really the first day I actually made a point to take the camera out with me.  Got some tires put on my truck today so while we were waiting, I piddled around the tire shop, looking for things to photograph.  Not a whole lot, but it's a start.  Later on in the day, we headed out to Wrightsville Beach.  The photos I took there were AWFUL!  Talk about major washout.  I need to figure out a way to keep the camera from overexposing when you're in a very bright spot.  You would think the "clear" setting (marked by a nice sunshine symbol) would let it know that I'm in a "sunshiney" spot.  Go figure.  As far as I know, the Instax films only come in ISO 800.  If I am mistaken, please enlighten me.  So Char, I'm working on it lady!    Other than that, I can say that I truly adore this camera.  The film is much less expensive than film for Polaroid cameras (which makes me sad) so there's less anxiety when shooting!  Ha!  Now that I've got a handful of decent shots, I may embark on some kind of Instax project.  Hmm. . . just have to wait and see.  

Here are some more Instax photos taken by other Flickrites!   And if you're into contests and Instax, here's one for you.  Happy Wednesday friends!

.polaroid::a new chapter.

A new chapter in the life of Polaroid cameras and film has been written. What was once considered an impossible attempt to bring back the adored instamatic film back from what would have been a terrible death, has become. . . well, possible. Almost. Although the original chemistry that created the popular 600 film, and many of its siblings, is no longer manufactured, the geniuses of The Impossible Project have created a NEW formula that has resulted in the launch of it's newest films: The PX 100 and PX 600. Both will officially be available tomorrow. And the world celebrates!

Like many who rediscovered a love for analog, specifically instant, photography, my time came a little late. I had purchased several packets of Polaroid 600 film from the only place locally that it was still available. Walmart. No sooner did I go through (painfully might I add) my packs of film that Walmart suddenly ran out of film. I would drive and drive and call and drive some more to find ANY Walmart that still carried the film. They were out. Gone. Nada. I went on to eBay and found that piles of this film were being sold there but my wallet would not oblige. So, Alpha, Lula, and Cutie (the names of my cameras) were put away. Alpha being the only one that still contained a few shots of 600 film.

Today, I brought my Polas out of the darkness to let them know that there is reason to celebrate. Soon, they will have purpose again. Thanks to these guys.

::video via Grant Hamilton
::be sure to check out some test shots of the new film on Flickr