Hattie the Ballerina

Recently got my first job photographing a ballerina. I had a blast. I love working with creative and artistic people and I was sure we'd get some great photos. The only thing I wasn't sure of was that morning I realized I hadn't thought about music. Not that I need music while shooting, but I wasn't sure if she would assume I would play some appropriate dance and ballet music. And I have no dance music.... except for Philip Glass stuff that the famous dancer Twyla Tharp worked on. I was pretty sure she most likely wouldn't be into Philip Glass's music. Of course half way through the shoot we're talking about music and she tells me one of her favorite works is by Philip Glass. Teaches me I shouldn't assume!

Polaroid Type 55 Negative was shot for 1 second at f4 with a Kodak Aero Ektar 178mm on a Graflex Speed Graphic, and using a hand-tripped strobe.

The "Impossible" is about to become possible

When Polaroid announced several years ago that it would be hanging up film products for good, the world responded with a resounding "I though you were already dead?" There were a few folks, like myself, who were still using Polaroid and buying up stashes of Polaroid, but most people weren't too alarmed. Those that were alarmed wiped away the tears and immediately jumped online, started blogs, Flickr groups and even companies devoted to satiating Polaroid fanatics.

Sites like "Save Polaroid" led to sites like "Unsaleable.com" where you could buy all those crazy film fantasies in the form of Lomo and Holga cameras, Polaroid films and more.

Then something interesting happened. Unsaleable magically became Polapremium.com. This new Polapremium company specialized in only Polaroid, but not only that, they offered films unavailable and even unknown to the majority of Polaroid fans like myself. "Blue" Type 100 Polaroid film? "Soft focus" Spectra? Even "Chocolate" Polaroid, previously only available to those wealthy enough to afford the 8x10 positives and negatives which ran about $200 a box, but now available for less than $20 a box for your Type 80 or Type 100 camera.

Around the same time, a story came out about some Dutch Polaroid ex-employees who got together to buy up Polaroid's equipment and lease their factory to do what seemed the impossible: bring back Polaroid. This endeavor became known as the Impossible Project, a name coined from a phrase said by Dr. Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid, who said "don't undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible. This group at the Impossible Project decided they were going to make new Polaroid film and even try to make it easier to manufacture since the old Polaroid films used dozens of resources just to make one print. The folks at either company didn't make a big deal about it, but a lot of people noticed that the people with the Impossible Project were connected to Polapremium. Not only that, but Ilford was involved.

Today, we see that this wasn't just talk. Polapremium has changed its name once again, and this time it's "Impossible", a clear connection to The Impossible Project (even the URL gives it away). While much of its stock is depleted, it is clear that Impossible (Project) is serious about an announcement they'll be making in late March, apparently about some new developments they've made for future Polaroid films. 

All I can say is if they announce new large format peel apart film -- especially my beloved Type 55 -- it'll be a great birthday present! Otherwise, I'll be content with some new film for my Onestep.

Last batch of Polaroid will be February 2009

CNN's front page Monday night, December 8, 2008 has an story and iReport about Polaroid's sunset coming up in two months. Very sad. They interviewed a few people who run some of the Polaroid enthusiast websites, like Save Polaroid.

I'm just glad I picked up several hundred boxes a while ago! I keep them in a wine cooler I purchased specifically for this occasion. A lot more is in my pantry, mainly the black and white which keeps much longer than color.

$399 for fifteen sheets of Polaroid 809???

I've noticed ever since Polaroid announced they're stopping production of all instant films, people think they can sell their Polaroid and 8x10 stuff for ridiculous prices. I really want to know who is buying this stuff. Honestly, these people on eBay are trying to sell a box of 809 for $399, and the stuff expired in 2001! You know damn well that it's going to be totally washed out colorwise... especially anything that ends in "9" from Polaroid. It's made for emulsion lifting and image transfer. The color isn't pro color and it gets even worse with time. And you also know these people were NOT keeping it cool... the boxes are too big. They sat at room temperature... for years.

I'm seeing people trying to sell a Polaroid 545 sheet holder for $85.

I've seen trends come and go with Polaroid stuff. You used to be able to get an old Polaroid 110b camera modified to shoot 6xx for about $225. About a year or two ago, prices went up people are trying to sell them for $500+. More insanity. Now these people that bought them for $500 six to 18 months ago are trying to dump their cameras on eBay with the Polaroid news and they're trying to get even more.

Craziness.

Don't be a sucker. This stuff is perishable. It's not like Polaroid film lasts forever. Don't get crazy on the equipment either. It will be dumped on the market eventually because nobody is going to buy these things at these prices except the absolutely desperate.

Trash the Dress

What are ten models all made up and in in wedding gowns standing on a beach in Rhode Island doing? They're being photographed by twenty photographers from the Worcester Photography Meetup in an event called "Trash the Dress". It's become a popular photographic phenomenon and it's fun as heck.

I brought my regular digital camera equipment but also decided to shoot some film, including medium format and large format. I managed to get a couple good shots with my Speed Graphic and Type 55, although I got some "happy mistakes" when I didn't remove the packet correctly from the Polaroid 545 holder. The result is a funky picture of Gina, a great model, laying down in the water, but seemingly melting into the composition. You can see it and other photos at the link below.





Gina joined us for Trash the Dress in July. She was a blast. I shot some Polaroid Type 55 but some of it got wet and leaked before I could process it. I thought the effect was kind of interesting, even if I lost the picture.
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