Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2010
Didn’t get to take too many photos for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day unfortunately but this one was taken with a Daylab Polaroid Pinhole camera.
Posted on April 30th, 2010 no comments
Cardinal Lounge and Coffee Shop
Posted on April 10th, 2010 no comments
Swingle Meat Co.
Posted on April 7th, 2010 no comments
Haircuts $10
Posted on April 6th, 2010 no comments
Polaroid Automatic 230 Overview
Over the past few days I have been posting some Polaroid photos taken with a Polaroid Automatic 230 Land Camera. For those of you not familiar with older Polaroid cameras, I thought I’d explain exactly what this camera is.
The Polaroid Automatic 230 Land Camera is a folding pack camera in the “200 series” available from 1967 to 1969. It has a plastic body with a 114mm f/8.8 glass lens. The camera use 100 series peel apart pack film which is 3 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ in size. The actual image size is 2 7/8″ x 3 3/4″ centered on the frame.
The shutter is electronic with speeds from 10 seconds – 1/1200. There is a dial on the lens for exposure compensation of -1 stop to +2 stops.
Focusing is achieved by using a rangefinder that is separate from the viewfinder. The viewfinder assembly is on a hinge that allows for it to be folded down when storing the camera inside its case.
To focus, a lever attached to the bellows is moved left or right and there is a pictogram indicating which way to move for closer focus (a man) or infinity (a man standing in front of a mountain).
Film speed is chosen using a dial under the lens. The available speeds are 75, 150, 300 and 3000. So if a film such as 672 (ISO 400) is used, some exposure compensation is required. The yellow button under the lens assembly is the “scene selector” which adjusts the aperture.
Recommendations for which scene to use are listed on the top of the lens assembly for each of the film speeds and a yellow square shows the currently selected scene.
Numbered buttons indicate the sequence for taking a shot. Step 1 is focus and step 2 is press the shutter.
Step 3 is reset the shutter for the next shot. In reality, this is done before step 1 of course.
Finally step 4 is remove the film from the camera by pulling on the paper tab.
Examples Shots
Links
The Land List
Option8 Polaroid FAQ
Posted on March 22nd, 2010 8 comments
Trees and Benches
Posted on March 6th, 2010 1 comment
Polaroid Film
The Impossible Project are holding a press event in New York on March 22nd and hopefully they will announce some new integral film to feed our SX-70s.
Unfortunately, they won’t be releasing any pack film but I still have a small stash of various films left.
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Posted on March 5th, 2010 no comments
Arches
Posted on March 5th, 2010 no comments
The Backwards Peel
This week I learned a new way to peel Polaroid pack film from a video posted by Moominsean on his blog Moominstuff. Maybe everyone peels this way but I never knew about it.
What I like about this method is that there is less chance for the goo to go all over the print and also, you are have a nice paper border which can be removed if you want but can also be left intact for a nice effect.
You also get a nice clean paper negative which can be scanned and used to make more prints.
Here is my first effort shot on 672 film and peeled using this method . (Thanks to Sassy, my ever patient model).
You can see Moominsean’s video on his blog, Moominstuff.
Posted on December 24th, 2009 no comments
Fade to What The ?
Got an email today from Polapremium advertising a new film which among other things states
Everyone at the Polapremium headquarters is excited!…We did not want to release this treasure before we knew exactly what it does, how it reacts and what can be done with it. So we have tested it for a long time now and are finally ready to launch this jewel. Curious?
Sounds good yes? I don’t know about you but I am exited. Tell me more while I look for my credit card.
Strikingly special about this unique film is that shortly after taking the photo the picture drifts through different phases of light bluish greens through darker brownish reds, slowly collecting more and more unusual textures and streaks before it turns to blackness.
light bluish greens…yum….darker brownish reds……OK… My credit card number is……wait…it turns to WHAT????
before it turns to blackness.
Hmmm…must have read that wrong. Let’s continue.
It is almost as if TIME tears at the picture’s existence in FAST FORWARD.
Within 12 hrs the film reaches an incredibly beautiful darkness.
Within 24 hrs the picture turns to BLACK.The precious moment of time becomes a VISUAL SECRET.
Visual secrets, beautiful darkness, turns to black……whaooo!!!! Turns to black?
OK. If I am reading this correctly, the film will go black and you will have no photograph within 24 hours. Are Polapremium taking the piss????? I am pretty sure something that turns to black 24 hours after you expose it to light is not the definition of a “jewel”.
But…
Reading on further, PP go on to list some techniques on how to make the photo permanent and this is where it starts to sound pretty interesting. First of all, there are a couple of methods where you can peel off the positive from the negative which looks like it will stop the development process.
There is also a “solar” technique where you let the photo sit in the sun for a few weeks and an image will reappear.
And I have to admit, from the photos in the email, the results from the peel apart and the solar techniques look excellent.
But sill, this is obviously sub standard film that was either unfinished when the Polaroid plant closed or fished out of the trash can at the back of the factory. Or maybe, this film is from a not so successful experiment by the Impossible Project.
Either way, I think it is funny to read the email with all the marketing speak (Someone just got their diploma from the Lomographic Institute of Marketing). But if you feel like experimenting (and I will admit I am tempted myself), check out the link below.
Link: http://www.polapremium.com/shop/film/sx70/fi_sx70_1_1009_fade