Impossible Project PX100 - 4 Photos with Sarah Starr

On Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of shooting with a model I've not worked with before - Sarah Starr. Sarah is a model out of Pittsburgh (though currently in the process of moving to warmer weather) with a long list of credits as a model in both online and print publications. When I saw that she brought along this shirt that read "Keep Calm and Kitty On" I knew that it had to work it's way into one of our looks for the day. 

As I mentioned last week, I want to be sure that throughout my year long Roll-A-Week project I don't stop shooting instant film all together, so, I took this shoot with Sarah as an opportunity to shoot these photos using Impossible Project's PX100 in my SX70 Sonar. This is one of the original batches of the PX100 film and was shot with the lighten/darken wheel one notch towards darken, shielded out of camera, and then left to develop upside down in an ambient temperature of about 65-70 degrees fahrenheit. 

Also... even though I seized this opportunity to shoot some instant film, I of course also shot a roll of film for the Coalesce52 project which is currently being developed. Stay tuned here and over on the Coalesce52 blog for more from this shoot including that roll of Tri-X. Enjoy.

Impossible Project PX100 - Cancun Mexico

When I arrived in Mexico a little over a week ago I still had some of The Impossible Project's PX100 film in my SX70 sonar. This film has always been one of my favorite Impossible films, but, I knew it wasn't the right film type for shooting the bright, colorful landscape around the area we were staying. It was, however, very good for documenting the Resort that we were staying at.

The Iberostar Cancun, which used to be a Hilton until about a year ago, is a huge hotel and conference center with some really beautiful architectural elements to it. Shaped almost like a pyramid, the building is designed with guest rooms only one side of the building, making every room an ocean view room. The eleven floors of the space are cut directly up the center providing a really nice atrium with (i'm sure it's no surprise) a really nice, large bar. The other thing it provides, though, is some really nice lines to the building.

Again, without getting into too much detail about my trip, I will say that this was a really great resort to stay at. I don't have a lot of experience in these things to reference that statement against, but, I will say if you are ever looking into a trip to the Cancun area (or many other places for that matter) you should definitely look into the Iberostar's that are available. I can't say enough about the space, the staff, the food and everything we were provided throughout our stay.

Impossible Project PX100 - More of Coney Island

A few weeks back I started posting some images from my time spent in New York. I realized this morning that I actually have a few more images left to post that I'd nearly forgotten about, and, that doesn't include the rolls of film that I've yet to develop. 

Amongst the images that I have left are these shots from Coney Island. Previously I posted some images from this area that I shot with a Polaroid 250 and some expired Polaroid Polacolor 108. Today's photos, though, were shot with my Polaroid SX70 Sonar using one of my favorite Impossible Project films - PX100 Silver Shade. Unfortunately there aren't many images to share since I was trying to shoot with so many cameras at once, but, hopefully sometime in the near future I can get the rest of my film developed and get those images posted here as well.


Enjoy.

Impossible Project PX100 - A Birds Nest

Just a few short weeks back we noticed that there was a nest up in the corner of the back patio where we grill. I checked it out (without touching or disturbing it) and noticed that there was an egg in there. Since there was an egg, we decided to leave the nest as is and give the egg time to hatch... despite the worried mother's occasional attempted dive bombs when you exited the back door. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, the mother eventually decided not to return to the nest at all. We waited a few days just to make sure, but it appears a lost cause for this little guy.


This is one of those photos that I'd consider to be sad but beautiful. Considering the circumstances it's a sad thing, but the examination of this nest and egg really is a beautiful, natural thing to see up close. After the mother decided not to return for a period of time I placed the nest on a ledge and grabbed my SX70 sonar to take this photo. The film is Impossible Project's PX100, which as I've mentioned before, is one of my favorite films from TIP.


This once, I might have preferred to have some color film loaded so that you could see the great color of the egg in contrast to the nest... but still, I think this monochrome image is just as nice.

Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash - Testing an SX70 Model 3

I've recently been testing a black Polaroid SX70 Model 3 that I picked up a couple months back as a project camera. I planned for this to be my second re-skinning project, but, I wanted to run a pack of film through it first to be sure that everything was functioning properly. Since I was completely unsure of how this camera would function (and because it's been sitting in my fridge a while) I decided to use a pack of old Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash. 


Originally when I got this film it was pretty much like shooting today's PX100, except a bit more contrasty and with orange tones to it instead of black and white. Now, after a long while in the fridge, this film has become very, very contrasty - In most photos, there are almost no mid-tones to be had. On the bright side, I was still able to squeeze a few decent shots out, and, more importantly, I happily discovered that this camera functions just fine.


Keep an eye out for the future re-skin of this camera... but in the meantime, here are some of the other Orange Flash photo successes. 

Impossible Project PX100 Test Film - Oil Can's and Seagulls

Just some quick shots with some of Impossible Projects PX 100 Silver Shade film. I took this top one in the office's comp room with available window light using an SX-70. This is technically test film, as I bought a bunch of it when it became available originally, but I think it might be my last pack. Either way, I think this might be my favorite film from Impossible thus far (it's tough to choose though between this and the PX 600 Black Frame). Nearly every photo I take with this film comes out beautifully, and, I can only imagine it's just going to continue to get better.


And, for the road, here's another on the PX 100 that I took while out on a walk a few weeks back. I was walking out by the lake and the Seagulls were flying everywhere. I only had one shot left in the pack but wanted to try and get an image of just one bird on a blank sky. I had to completely guess at a focus point and try to time it just right - it's not the best shot in the world, but there's something about it I like. It reminds me of that day, the weather, and the quiet walk along the water... really, isn't that what this stuff's all about?

Impossible Project PX100 Test Film - Photos with Bridget

As promised in my previous post I am back to share some more photos of Bridget. This time on Impossible Project's PX100 test film. Being the first shoot that I've had in a while where I was able to work outside due to an unseasonably warm spring, these were shot in a couple different locations around the Cleveland area. The first two from the lower beach/breakers around Edgewater park, and, the second two from a random little alleyway downtown behind the Halle building.

These were both shot using an original model SX-70. Temperature outside was somewhere near 55-60 degrees f - and just to be safe I did keep these in a pocket to be sure it was warm enough for development. The alleyway that I took the next two in was a little darker, so, without a tripod the slightly longer exposure time did give me a bit of motion blur and a softer image.

And finally, just for good measure, I like to remind people sometimes that I do in fact still shoot digitally on a semi regular basis. This is especially true when I am shooting fashion and portrait work for mine or someone else's portfolio. So, below are two of the images that I recently finished from the above alley set. Enjoy.

Impossible Project PX100 Test Film - Lunch and a Pack of Impossible

After yesterday's lunch time outing with my camera and a few shots of PX 680 Gold Frame, I thought it would be fun to spend today's lunch break walking the city with an entire pack of Impossible's PX 100 test film. The idea was to shoot the entire pack in (approximately) the hour that I have for lunch and then return to the office to scan, crop and post all 8 images. It's kind of like my own little 8 Exposures, except, the 8 images in this post are from a single outing and single pack of film. 

I was of course aware when I went out that not all 8 of my photos would be perfect, but, they would be an honest 8 exposures - which is why I have decided to post all of them here whether I like them or not. Either way, it was a fun little exercise and something I think I will likely do again. Perhaps the next time Impossible releases a new film.

Without further ado, here are my 8 photos presented in the order they were taken. Enjoy!

1. Key Tower

2. The Osborn

3. Building Lines

4. Crossing Reflection

5. Saxaphone Player w/ Leg

6. Restaurant Window

7. W St Clair

8. Downtown RTA

Impossible Project PX100 Test Film & An Upcoming Workshop

As I mentioned before my lengthy winter break, my last shoot with Ashley resulted in the use of multiple different instant films. I only ended up taking two shots with my SX70 and the Impossible Projects PX100 Test film I had loaded in it, but I just so happen to like both of them.

Now onto a completely unrelated topic - For anyone who reads this blog, is interested in learning more about shooting with Impossible Project's films, and is semi-local to the Cleveland, Ohio area... I have good news. Aperture Photography & Variety, one of the few Impossible Project partner stores in the US, will be hosting their first Impossible Project workshop on Saturday, February 4th from 1pm - 3:30 pm.


The workshop, run by Aperture owner and photographer Scott Meivogel and myself, will focus on working with Impossible film and vintage Polaroid cameras. We will discuss everything from the basics up through our own personal tips and tricks, and, the final part of the workshop will be spent photographing two live models which almost guarantees you will walk away with a few great photos.


Registration is $39.99 and includes a pack of Impossible film. If you need a loaner camera, we'll hook you up with that as well but please try to let us know in advance. Registration can be completed by calling 216.574.8977, or by purchasing on Aperture's website.


This event will be a great time, and, if you've been considering taking up instant photography with the new Impossible films then this is your opportunity. Hope to see you there!

Impossible Project PX100 Test Film - Photos & Features

Here are a couple more shots on the new Impossible Project PX 100 Silver Shade UV+. I took these just last night after work since I still had four shots left in my camera. Just a couple photos of cameras, books, etc. that I have sitting around my place.

Again, this film really does have some great dynamic range to it. Just like my first shots with this film, I also notice how sharp it can be, and how well it can handle shallow depth of field. Also like my first couple photos, these were taken with the lighten/darken wheel about two notches towards darken as the new PX 100 seems to shoot a bit fast. You'll also notice a bit of blur in these, but I was shooting handheld and lighting with nothing more than a pole lamp.


If you want to check this film out yourself, the Impossible Project just announced its official release today. You can read a little more about it on their newsletter (which I might just happen to have a photo in) and you can also find it as the featured deal of today's Impossible Advent Calendar.

Thanks once again to Impossible for selecting one of my photos to use in their newsletters, and of course for producing yet another great new instant film. I can't wait to see what's next!

Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash - More of Chicago

Here are a few more of the Impossible PX 100 Orange Flash images that I took while in Chicago. You'll notice quite a bit of difference in some of the images in respect to how much of the orange is coming through.

These two top images were taken the last day downtown, which happened to be one of the nicer days. It was a little warmer out than the previous couple days, and that brought up a little more of the orange color in the photos. Below,  are two of the images I took on the first day in Chicago... which happened to be pretty cold and slightly rainy at points. You can see the orange is less, and, I noticed with these that for quite a while they took on a strange look right out of camera. They looked like solarized images, all of the darks were bright blue as if they were not developing. What I thought was a waste of a frame, though, ended up continuing to develop over time and came out closer to a black and white image.

And finally, just to wrap up with the Orange flash images from this trip, here are two more  from the architectural boat tour... including the Willis Tower, which, some of you might still refer to as the Sears Tower.

Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash - Marina City

Here are the first two images from this past weekends trip to Chicago. Both are of Marina City, two towers that take up an entire Chicago city block. I've always loved the look of these buildings and it was very cool to stand there and see them in person after having seen them in so many movies, TV shows, album covers, etc.

Both images were taken with my Polaroid SX 70 Sonar and the Impossible Project PX 100 Orange Flash, which, I get wildly different results from every time I shoot depending on available light, temperature and the amount of time the film has been loaded in the camera. The top image was taken from the opposite bank of the river, and the second taken from a boat during a Chicago architectural tour (which if you've never done, I highly recommend as a great way to see the city.) 


More from this trip soon, including some sepia, black frame and sooner or later my 35mm scans...

Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash - U.S. 26

Just a few orange flash shots from this past weekend. I didn't get a ton of shooting in, but I got a few decent shots. These three were all taken with an SX70 Sonar and Impossible's PX100 Orange flash along U.S. Route 26 in Fairview, PA., just outside of Erie.

The top two are what looked to have been an old school house at some point, but oddly enough he awning actually say's something about it being a floral shop. The one below is from one of the many, many fascinating motels that surround Erie.

More updates coming soon. I'll be off to Chicago this weekend for the first time to attend a wedding. Considering I've never been there I'll be taking quite a few cameras and look forward to updating upon my return.

Impossible Project PX100 - Orange at Night

I've been exceptionally busy with work lately and haven't had time to update as I would like to. I have some great photos to post from my Labor Day weekend, but I haven't had time to get all the images resized and the post written yet.


So, instead, I will quickly share this photo. This is the Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash that I recently got, and the first of the shots that I've taken with it. For those who don't know, here's how Impossible describes this film: 


"Experimental, alternate chemical components were used in this limited production batch of PX 100 Silver Shade film creating unexpected characteristics. The color of these images will be orangish/brownish and light sensitivity is very low resulting in rather dark tones"


Low light sensitivity with rather dark tones.... so of course, I figured why not shoot at night. Well, really, that's the only time that I had free and I couldn't wait any long to take a few photos. I wasn't sure that I would even get any results at night, but I think this turned out alright all things considered. Definitely orangish in tone, but pretty well exposed. 


I think these limited, experimental runs are great. I love the odd results, the unknown aspects of the film and the fact that I can get great deals on multiple packs. Keep on keeeping on Impossible Project.

Photograph Info:

Location: Cleveland Ohio 

Camera: Polaroid SX70 Sonar

Film: Impossible Project PX100 Orange Flash