Polaroid 100 Chocolate - Ashley

I bought a couple packs of Polaroid 100 Chocolate from the Impossible Project a few months ago.This is another of the peel-a-part films, but it was actually produced by Polaroid before they stopped making instant films. This is left over stock, so it's been expired since April of 2009.


As you can see, the film still holds up thanks to proper storage over the years. I've been holding on to this film since I got it, waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before I took it out. Peel-a-part films development time before peeling is dependent on the ambient temperature, and considering this isn't being made anymore I wanted to be sure it wasn't wasted.

So, we finally got a bit of decent weather, and I set up a shoot last minute with Ashely, whom I've shot with before. These were all taken in morning light, about 8:30-9:30. There's a bit of an issue with the contrast, but overall for my first time shooting the Chocolate I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I still have two packs left, and I think I will definitely be getting a couple more before they're sold out entirely.

Photograph Info:

Location: Edgewater Beach & The Flats, Cleveland OH

Camera: Polaroid Land 250

Film: Polaroid Type 100 Chocolate/Exp 2009

Fuji FP-3000B - North Pier Lighthouse

Recently I've been shooting with the Fuji-3000B using my Polaroid 250. I love the photos that I have been getting from this film and the flexibility that a 3000 ISO instant film provides. This is just one of the Fuji peel-a-part films, but it is definitely my favorite. It is also one of the few films left that leaves a paper negative, which can then be scanned and used to make prints from. I'll post an example of one of the negatives in a later post.

These photos, again, are from one of my recent weekend trips up to Erie. This lighthouse, located on the north pier of Presque Isle, is one that I have taken photos of many times before,  but it's the first time that I have shot it since I started using instant films. Oddly enough, these photos were actually taken around 4 in the afternoon, even though they happen to look a little like  evening/night shots.

You'll notice these photos are filled with flaws if you look at them fullsize, but I don't think it detracts from the look at all. Because we were out walking Presque Isle for a while, and I wanted to try and salvage the negative from these photos, I waited to peel them until we were somewhere I could let them dry. The additional time probably added to the darkness of the photos, and also caused them to stick to the negative when I did peel them, leaving some odd marks. There was also a problem with the first photo out of this pack, and in fixing it I obviously had some light leak in as well. But, again, it's these strange occurrences and problems are what make instant photography fun for me. Now a days people spend hours in post trying to emulate these kinds of errors and effects... I love seeing it happen naturally.

Impossible Project PX70 PUSH & PX600 - Travels

I have a tendency to always want to get off the highway and take photos of the things I see. For one reason or another, it's never really seems to be an option. Every now and again, though, while you are driving by yourself you can manage to lose a little time and take a photo or two along the way. Here is one of those rare opportunities. 

This old school motel is one I found just off the exit in North Kingsville, Ohio on my way east. I was technically supposed to be stopping for gas, but I really couldn't pass up the motel without stopping. Unfortunately, just as I pulled in it started to rain, and the wind began to kick up. I only had one shot of the Impossible PUSH in my SX70 at the time, so I ended up shooting this through the windshield of my truck as the rain started coming down. In the end, it worked out alright considering it was still a bit chilly... I just threw the photo on top of the defrost vents, turned the heat up, and jumped back on the highway.

This second photo isn't right off the highway, but still one that I took along my way a week prior. It was actually on the way home from Niagara Falls NY (which I will post photos of later), and it was one of those rare Sunday afternoons in April that we actually had nice weather. Not wanting to completely waste the sun on driving, we stopped in Erie and ended up along the bay front for the afternoon. I'm not even sure what this building is, but I liked the look of it and ended up with this photo... one of my favorites from the bay front.

Impossible Project PX70 PUSH & PX 680 - Presque Isle, Erie PA

I know. It's been over a month since I last posted some photos here, but I'm back. I've actually been here most of the time. I've just been extremely busy with on thing or another and haven't been able to update as often as usual. On the bright side, my past three weekends have been spent out of town in different places, which means that I have had plenty of opportunities for photos. I actually have a stack of about 30 decent shots to share over the upcoming posts.


I have had the same four cameras with me each trip... a Polaroid SX70, Polaroid One Step, Polaroid 250 and an old Mamiya 645. So, almost all of my photos have been some type of instant photography, except the medium format. The films that I've carried with me are Impossible's PX70 Push, PX680, PX600 Silver Shade, and the Fuji FP100c, 100b, and 3000b. The medium format has just been loaded up with some Kodak BW400cn.


The most recent trip, was up to Erie, PA this past weekend. I was only there for a day, but was able to shoot quite a few photos around the Presque Isle area. The photo at the top of this post (shot on PX70 Push) is from Sara's & Sally's, a pair of classic 1950s diners, which you can find at the gateway to Presque Isle state park. We stopped here for lunch (Erie's own Smith's hotdogs) and afterward I wandered about and took a few photos. The two images below are also from Sara's & Sally's... (the first PX70 Push, the second PX 680)

After lunch, we headed out onto Presque Isle for a couple hours and were lucky enough to have great weather. Presque Isle is somewhere I've been going since I was a kid, so I love to go back and walk around the beaches and take photos along the way. What you see below is the last two shots from my first test pack of Impossible's new PX680. I've definitely had my share of problems with the first pack, but I think it is mainly that I picked up some light exposure along the way and have been shooting with a cheaper One Step in light of not having an ND filter for my SX70 yet. The photos that have come out, though, are really great. There is a ton of color in this film, and the fact that it isn't effected as much by post shot light exposure and temperature is a huge plus. The light leaks and mistakes that have shown up in these photos don't really bother me though... I don't shoot instant photography to get perfect photos.