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It's review of the year time...

The year started with an unexpected gift: a Rolleiflex! My dear departed friend Matt's mother decided to clear out some of her old film cameras, and wondered if I wanted it, along with an old Polaroid Super Shooter. I did. I love it.

 

Also, early in the year I got to be one of the beta testers for The Impossible Project's new PX680 colour film. Very exciting indeed!

 

I went to France three times this year, spring, summer and autumn.

 

I took a pleasing photo of my father:

He took a pleasing photo of me:

 

In August, one of my Polaroids inspired Quilt of the Month at The Purl Bee website!

 

After six and a half years of commuting from Cambridge, I moved to London!

 

Loved the limited edition Black Frame "Poor Pod" film from The Impossible Project (see above and below)

 

Also loved the new PX100 film - these were taken with test packs:

 

And to round off the year, The Impossible Project Blog allowed me to talk about myself...

So Happy New Year, and I hope 2012 is a good one for everybody!

And so another ‘Roid Week comes and goes. As always, it’s an inspiration, with so many fantastic pictures posted. Clearly instant film is dead: the group has 1378 members and 3891 pictures were posted! It would be interesting to know what proportion is Impossible, what expired Polaroid.

Anyway, here are my shots, in order, with minimal commentary. Click the pictures for the original Flickr page.

Monday:

Two Chocolate film shots in my Super Shooter. The hatch for pulling the film out is a bit tight, so sometimes odd things happen...

 

Tuesday:

I have to have corners. Even if they’re round.

 

Wednesday:

Poor Pod City of London.

 

Thursday:

Some spring shots with a badly deployed pack of Impossible Project PX680 (photographer’s error).

 

Friday:

Red things near work.

 

What fun! So many thanks to the originators of ‘Roid Week, gardengal and * cate * for making it happen. See you in 2012!

I came quite late to the game with Polaroid, taking my first shot (as an adult) in spring 2009. I bought one pack of ATZ to see if my dad's old SX-70 still worked. It did. I was hooked. 

 

Back home I did my research, got a neutral density filter for the lens and searched out some 600 film. Boots The Chemists in Cambridge had stock and I was on my way. I went back a month later and bought the last packs of Polaroid in the shop. 

 

I loved 600 very much - very easy to use, good clear colours. Along with the 779 promotions Pola Premium then Impossible Project ran, I shot a ton. Many of my favourite pictures are on it. After trying a couple of packs of Time Zero, I yearned for the magic of that film (I mostly found 600 to be slightly more prosaic than the dreams TZ produced, but none the worse for that). It served me well in the forest, on the city corners, in Paris and in Provençe.

 

Until eventually I was down to one single pack.

 

At the end of April I finally took the plunge and put that last pack of Polaroid 600 film in my SLR680. It's possible that I may shoot another pack if one turns up, but I'm not so keen on how the 600 ages: where Time Zero gets crazy flames and colour-shifts, 600 just seems to lose contrast and turn yellow. Not my favourite. 

 

The last 600 produced expired in the autumn of 2009, and this pack was one of the Giambarba edition bought from Impossible Project last year. Those Impossible guys have been excellent at sourcing the last stocks of films (especially the 600 and its twin, 779, as well as the Edge Cut packs), but all stock is gone, never to be replaced. 

 

This last pack had taken on a totemic value, sitting in my fridge, proclaiming "I am the LAST", waiting for the perfect opportunity to be used. And I worried about the right occasion to use it, fearing that I would waste it on poor subjects in poor weather. 

 

But that pressure has been relieved by The Impossible Project's PX680 film - there is now and going to be full colour film food for our cameras again! That pack of 600 lost it's fearsome aura, and demanded to just be used and celebrated. I'm mostly very happy with what came out:

 

1. Lion and Dragon

2. Long Roof

3. Green Man

4. Cross Keys

5. Corner

6. Hotel Russell

7. Abbey Ruins

8. Road sign

9. Doctor Land

10. Forest

 

So farewell then, 600. You've been an excellent companion, and thank you for the journey. And if any of you have film left, shoot it! The pictures come out much better if you use the film...

 

(Deer Crossing)

The day has come! The Impossible Project is now selling the fabulous, exciting and new PX680 First Flush in its store.

Having now torn though a few packs of PX680 (including the ones in this post, taken in early April in the South of France), I feel I can deliver an opinion: it's the Holy Grail. Ever since Impossible was established to reengineer from scratch the miracle of photography which is integral film, there has been the hope and wish for a new Time Zero replacement. I think this is it.

(Glass)

The colours leap out at you in sunlight, there are more subtleties with interior shots. The reds and blues are vivid, the details are sharp. Shield it for great contrast, allow it to flash for some magic with light.

(Knight)

This is the real deal, folks! I showed my dad (who's original SX-70 I still use) a shot of my niece taken with the first beta batch. "Yes! They did it!" was his response. Yes, they did.

And from today it’s available to everybody. And two days before Edwin Land’s 102nd birthday.

(Beaumes de Venise vines)

(Shelves)

(Sauf Riverains)

(Pens)

 

My father and I are very serious men. Many a solemn hour is spent discussing important things. Frivolity is frowned upon. In fact most things are frowned upon. Except frowning. 

 

Or not. 

 

I bought my dad a Polaroid EE100 as a Christmas present and when I was out in France in early April he was trying it out, taking a couple of portraits of me to get the feel of it. I don't often take portraits, but I was in the mood, so I got my 600SE with Chocolate film. Camera as prop, father deploying stern, serious expression. Exposure measure with the fab Pocket Light Meter iPhone app. 

 

Click. 

 

Pull out the film, wait, start peeling. Oh right, as I often do, I forgot to take out the dark slide. I need something which pops up in the viewfinder with the word "idiot" if I press the button with the slide in. Swearing and laughing ensued. 

 

Try again, and success. 

 

Next day we went for a matching shot, father at the camera. Me in stylish attire. 

 

Click. 

 

Dark slide in. 

 

Sigh. Laugh. 

 

Try again. 

 

Click. 

 

Lens cap on. 

 

Third time lucky. Successful serious face despite the terrible giggles. 

 

I'm very keen on this pair of pictures. I've kept the one of him, he the one of me. Perhaps I should do more portraits. 

Adventures in the new instant films, and a look at the future!

 

On March 22 2010, in the Impossible Project space in New York, Florian Kaps unveiled the first products of the factory in Enschede: PX100 Silver Shade First Flush, a sepia-tinged monochrome instant film. It was characterised by a soft, often golden quality. It was very sensitive to light when ejected, as well as sensitive to temperature. But handled correctly, and the results are great. 

Next came the faster PX600 Silver Shade. Also monochrome, but this time with more contrast. As the year progressed they improved the formula. I love this film. 

Then came the colour films. The PX70 Color Shade First Flush was soft, blue tinted. In the autumn came the PX70 PUSH! film. This one tended towards pink tones. Handled well, colours come through. 

So far the colour films have seemed artistic, potentially a bit 'niche' for a wider audience. The Holy Grail is a film which is not too scared of light when ejected, not too worried by temperature. And a fuller range of colour. Ideally something like the nostalgic beauty of the original SX70 films. 

Ladies and gentlemen...

PX680.

In the autumn of last year I entered a picture to an Impossible Project competition with the hope of being a beta tester for new film. I got through, and the film arrived in February. This first batch had an issue with white speckles (this is an issue with the first batch), but not with the colour. It's gorgeous. The blues! The reds! A fuller report on my experiences with this to follow...

And this is just the first test film. The second batch is better still. It's going to be a great year.

 

I spent Sunday with my sister and three of her children (the other is away at university). We had a fun time in the gardens of Cotehele in Cornwall, then went and had a big cream tea at Hotel Endsleigh in Devon. Of course I had some Polaroid cameras with me, and in my SLR680 I had some Impossible Project PX 600 UV+...

A year ago I had a little rant about the modern company Polaroid, their disrespect for their history, their disrespect for those making new film, and their appointment of Lady Ga Ga as a creative director.

Well, at CES in Las Vegas this year, Polaroid and Ga Ga announced the first results of their collaboration: the Grey Label range of products. There's the GL10, a digital printer (an updated version of the Pogo); the GL30, an "Instant Digital Camera" (much like the Pogo Instant Digital Camera), and something truly new: the GL20 Camera Glasses:

• Merges Fashion With Photography: Never before has the world seen fashion, photography and technology come together in one, singular product.
• Tells Your Story to the World: Users can instantly capture or upload photos with the built-in camera and then display the images on the glasses' LCD screens for others to see.
• Expresses True Artistry and Originality: Only Lady Gaga could create a hybrid that's part fashion statement, part revolutionary technology and part tool for self-expression.

I think I need a pair of those.

Apart from the printer, these products "will be available later this year, at a price to be announced."

Paul Giambarba, the design genius behind the branding of the classic Polaroid company has a thing or two to say about the way the company announced these devices over at his blog. (By the way, he has a book out about his work at Polaroid - you should buy it!)

Mike Zawadzki has a thing or two to say about the products themselves over at Unique Photo.

I think they cover most of my misgivings about the endeavour. But what I also feel strongly is that the spirit of the original Polaroid company under Edwin Land was that of powerful innovation - everything was striving forward to create something new. I've linked to this document by one of the SX-70 engineers before, but it deserves repeat viewing: Polaroid was a company driven by vision and a visionary man; his teams were inspired to go further than had been gone before because he instilled the belief that such innovation was possible.

Here's an interview with Francis Ford Coppola, and here's the money quote:

"If you don’t take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn’t been seen before?"

Apart from the glasses, Polaroid seem to be playing it pretty safe with updated products. The fact that they recently brought out a "new" instant film camera in the shape of a re-badged Fuji Instax, shows what level of innovation and risk they are invested in. Meanwhile, The Impossible Project are creating new instant film from nothing for the niche market of instant photographers who care about working with something unique, not just re-warmed. And are proving successful. There's risk and innovation for you.

SX-70 film pack (designed by Paul Giambarba) taken on Impossible Project PX70 film.

In July The Impossible Project launched their first colour film: PX70 Color Shade First Flush. I bought six packs, and have been happily shooting away with it.

Like the First Flush edition of the PX100 monochrome material, it's very subtle and delicate. The tones (as I've used it) have tended towards the blues and greens, but with some reds coming through. When the shots first develop, they often appear to be a bit washed out, but with time (a day or so) the contrast improves and the colours grow. It still needs shading from the light when ejecting (although a quick flash of light on ejection can seem to fight the blues... but also fights the exposure)

Here are some of the pictures I've taken with this first step into Impossible colour (all link through to the Flickr page) :

These first steps are fascinating - it's like being at the beginning of the invention of a photographic process, because that's exactly what it is. The original chemicals Polaroid used were often custom made, needed years to mature, and some were later banned for toxicity. When instant film production was wound up, the last of the chemicals went too, so the potion-makers at Impossible Project had to start again from scratch. Bearing in mind the astonishing complexity of Edwin Land's original operation (this document by one of the original engineers on the SX70 gives an idea as to how dedicated the organisation was to getting things perfect, and also what enormous resources they had at hand to custom-build what they needed), it is astonishing that such a small group has succeeded well. My admiration for their achievements know no bounds: clearly Florian Kaps and Andre Bosman inspire innovation in the same way as Doctor Land.

And they keep on striving forwards.

In Photokina in Cologne this September, The Impossible Project showed off the next generation of PX70 chemistry using the wonderful, huge, 20x24 Polaroid camera. More contrast, more colour. Exciting!

But also exciting (for me, definitely!) is the image at the top of this post: I submitted it to the Best Shot competition run by The Impossible Project, and it was chosen as one of the 20 winners! What makes this exciting is that the 20 winners become official test users of the new film. I can't wait for it to arrive.

Giveaway!

As I'm lucky enough to be getting new test film, I want to share one of my last packs of First Flush, just in time for the autumn Polaroid Week in November! Just put in the comments what you'd like to shoot with the pack, and I'll announce a random winner after the weekend. I'll throw in an Impossible Project sticker too...

Enjoy!

The X Files, Season 4, Episode 4. The one with the spirit pictures. And Polaroids! Or are they? Allow me to bore you with observational nerdery... A young girl goes into a pharmacy to get a passport photo taken. She has forgotten her cash, so runs out to the car to get it. She gets abducted. After waiting a while, the pharmacist peels apart the instant passport picture he'd taken, to see a distorted, screaming image of the very same girl, seemingly surrounded by demons or ghosts. Eeek! So let me get my nerd on: The pharmacist and his passport camera: It looks like a Polaroid MiniPortrait 203 camera to me. Except it's, um, called an ETAP. You often see this sort of thing on TV, where they will cover up a prominent branding: how frequently do you see a metallic laptop with a blank circular sticker where there would perhaps be a glowing apple? But The X Files go a stage further, because the plot revolves around scary spirit pictures imprinted on the film, without the need of a camera. So what film does an ETAP camera use? In one shot we see him peeling it apart, and it looks like Polaroid 100 type, but it seems the ETAP has its own range of film: Firstly: Gillian Anderson. *happy sigh* Secondly, the prop-makers went to a great deal of bother with this! Love the faux Polaroid 'squares' logo. I'm wondering if Polaroid expressly didn't want their brand being shown, or whether the producers felt it would be distracting. Perhaps licensing or payment issues. Either way, I want one of these boxes. Because I'm a nerd. But the steamy instant action doesn't stop there. At the victim's house, Mulder notices some 600 shots on the fridge, and goes looking for the camera. He covers the lens and fires off a couple of shots, to see if the scary images are there: I like how these are clearly real Polaroids, and they're really developing, not faked up. TV and film drama always likes to make things more exciting: digital cameras making the motor-dirve sound of film cameras; computers that beep and click at every occasion. But here they've clearly got a spirit photographer to imprint on the unexposed negative inside the Polaroid camera. No trickery. Kudos. Which makes it a slight shame that the passport camera makes the sound of the motor in an SX70 type camera when fired. Sigh. I guess "click" isn't interesting enough. Also fun is the part where Mulder gets the computer boffin to unscramble that distorted image. It's like a 20th Century CSI. With indexed colour graphics and dithering. So there you have it: the X Files was cool, and I'm a massive, obsessed nerd. No new revelations there. p.s. Special thanks to Carol for the heads up!