me and my polaroid...

As much as I post photos of myself in reflections and such, I really don't like photos of me. I just think their are more interesting people/things to photograph. Plus, being the photographer in the family means that most of the time I am behind the camera. That is definitely where I am most comfortable. Things changed when Tyler picked up photography…

Now there are two of us constantly taking pictures when we get together. As a photographer, it is rewarding when you get a photo taken of yourself that you REALLY like. This would be one of those photos. Thanks Tyler for the superb photograph...

everyday black and white...

Here are a couple of more Hasselblad shots from my first roll. Not the most creative shots, but definitely keepers. As crazy as it may seem, I bought the Hasselblad to take everyday black and white shots around the house so that I could develop them myself and I only had to shoot 12 shots before the roll was finished. Both of these photos were taken on Kodak Tri-X 400 film shot at ISO 400. The first one was taken outside on a cold/windy day last weekend. The shutter speed on the second one was 1/15 so I tried to keep it as steady as possible while I shot. It probably needed 1-2 more stops of light to bring in some of the detail. The Polaroid Big Shot camera got a little lost in the shadows...

the Land Rover...

Came home tonight and parked my Land Rover in the street for a minute.  When I was walking up the drive, I decided to go grab a camera and tripod to take a few pictures.  Remember, I will take pictures of anything.  My biggest problem is stopping at one...  I took one with the Leica M8, one with the Olympus EP2, one with the Polaroid 100 and one with the Polaroid 250.  Lots of pictures, different edits on the digital and different films on the analog...

SX70 in Seattle...

Back in November I expanded my camera collection to include a few Polaroid cameras.  Since that time, my interest in shooting with the Polaroid has increased even more than my collection has grown.  Seems that I can't quit taking the pictures (or buying the film from The Impossible Project).  On this trip to Seattle, I took two Polaroid cameras (SX70 and 250 Pack Film) and my Leica M8.  The M8 was a last minute add because I chickened out on only taking Polaroid cameras.  However, most of my pictures were taken with the SX70.  Honestly, I got a few amazing shots with this camera that I never could have taken with any other camera.  The only down side is that the SX70 got me a full pat down by a TSA agent (that is a separate item to blog on later).  

I should have the Polaroids up by the end of the week on my instant film blog.  In the mean time, I used the Leica to document the travels of the SX70 (the Leica of the Polaroid world)...

my polaroid project...

So Tyler (tylertyndell.blogspot.com) bought a Polaroid camera at a garage sale last week.  We both were so excited to try something so basic that we bought some PX 600 Silver Shade film from the-impossible-project.com.  Thought it would be as easy as it was when I was a kid when we used to get Polaroid film for Christmas morning or on our birthday.  Took my first picture this morning and figured out something right away.  It is not easy getting a good picture with the film that is available now.  This is actually a good thing.  It has challenged me to think about what I am taking a picture of and how much light I really need to avoid overexposing the image.  The camera has a flash that always fires.  This has proved to be a challenge for the 600 ISO film.  It is hard to not overexpose the entire picture, but it is near impossible (no pun intended) to do the same for the subject that is near the camera.  The second picture is a prime example.  It wasn't as easy as just taking the picture and shaking it until it finished developing (you are not suppose to shake it at all).  Had to immediately cover the picture and protect it from any light and place it in the original box for 10 minutes to let it finish developing.  Over the course of the day, I took the remaining 7 pictures (8 total).  With every picture all I could think about was how much each one cost ($3.00 each).  I guess learning something new is not free.  I have two more cartridges left.  Can't wait to get them in the camera and "learn" some more.  However, more than anything, this makes me appreciate the pictures from my Leica M8...


**update**  see additional polaroids at my latest blog by clicking the "instant photos" link in My Other Blogs above.