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Here's another image from my impromptu Sunday walkabout with my cameras. I happened across this little van and painted fence down a quiet side street in town and thought it'd be a good photo. This was shot with Impossible Projects PX680 V4C test film on an SX70 equipped with an ND pack filter. Lighten/darken was set half way to darken. Film was unshielded out of camera but left for full development in my pocket. Approximate development time 30-40 minutes with a continued shift away from magenta over the next hour or two.
About two weeks ago I was over in the BP building downtown, somewhere around the 32-33 floor, shooting some video for work. I'd been there once before and knew it had some pretty good views of the city so I took along my SX70 to snap a few images before we got started. Of the three I took, I think these two turned out pretty nice.
As I mentioned, both were shot with an SX70 (equipped with an ND Pack Filter). The film type used was the Impossible Project's PX680 V4B. Lighten/darken was turned halfway to darken and the images were left unshielded out of camera, but, were developed face down over the next 30-40 minutes. Once again, this film is not optimized for color like the newest batches of test film. If you'd like an example of that check out this and this.
This weekend I finally got around to taking a couple of shots on the new Impossible Project PX680 V4C test film. In essence, this film is the same as the V4B that I reviewed not to long ago, but, is now optimized for color. And as you can see above, that's absolutely true.
One of the things that people are always saying they love about shooting instant film, and especially Impossible's instant film, is the fact that there is an unpredictability to it. Even with an SX70, your amount of control over exposure is limited and results can often vary quite a bit from what you are expecting. It's these "Happy Mistakes" that so many love and that makes me love this shot in particular. What I thought would be a photo of just the neon sign surrounded by darkness developed into so much more. Unbeknownst to me, my camera metered for and exposed not only the sign but the bright reflection of the window. It almost looks like a double exposure, but, in the end, it's just another of those happy mistakes that can make shooting instant film so much fun.
For those interested, this was shot with an SX70 using an ND pack filter. Lighten darken wheel was set halfway to dark and the film was unshielded out of camera but left to develop away from direct light. Development time still high, 30-40 mins with color shifts over the next hour or so.
Overall, another fantastic film. I can't wait until these opacification films have their public release. There's going to be a flood of amazing instant images out there.
Bud's Barber Shop in Edinboro, PA is today's image for Friday, the final day of 'Roid Week. I was hoping to share a few more film types this week but as luck would have it I haven't got to shoot much else this week. As always, though, I will continue to post all of my instant work here - 'Roid Week was fun, but, it's not the only time us die-hards shoot instant film (or any film for that matter).
This image again was shot with an SX70 using and ND pack filter. The film type is Impossible Project's PX680 V4B test film, and, as great as this film looks the new PX70 V4B opacification test film looks even better. Luckily, I just happened to order 4 packs of it this morning.
Stay tuned for a full write up sometime in the next week or two...
Today's 'Roid Week photo is from a little "Antique" shop in the small town of Cambridge Springs, PA. Unfortunately, this place was mostly filled with junk and a few random produce items scattered about the isles. Still, the sign was pretty nice.
Like yesterday, this image was shot on an SX70 using an ND pack filter using the Impossible Projects PX680 V4B test film. It was left unshielded as it ejected out of camera in full daylight and then left to fully developed in my pocket as I continued to walk about.
This week is the official 2012 'Roid Week. In the spirit of the event, I will likely be posting a new image everyday (except monday) and will also be trying to keep my write-ups for each day shorter than normal. If you'd like some more info on 'Roid Week 2012 you can check out The Flickr Page or read this informative and fun little newsletter that the Impossible Project put out recently.
Today's photo is from this past weekend and it is of the Swings at Waldameer Park in Erie PA. Shot on an SX70 using an ND pack filter this photo was taken using the Impossible Projects PX680 V4B test film and was left unshielded as it ejected out of camera in full daylight and then left to fully developed in my pocket. These swings in particular might look familiar from one of my more popular photos from last year that you can check out here.
That's all for today, but, come back for more instant fun tomorrow.
I've been shooting these Impossible Project films for some time now. My first shots in fact, were on their PX70 First Flush, which I believe was their very first publicly available "Color Shade" film - though Color was really one of the main things missing from the film. I mention all of this because I'm still consistently amazed with how far this company's film has come in, really, what is less than two years time.
Above is another example of the new PX680 Test Film V4b with the new and improved opacification molecules. I shot this in mid-afternoon shade on my back patio after pulling all of these fine items together from around the house. Again, because of the new opacification layer, this shot was left un-sheilded as it ejected out of camera and then was left sitting face-up in indoor lighting throughout the development process. This film, which is considered 'not optimized for color', has the capability to capture some really beautiful colors. My findings thus far are that lighter, brighter colors will inevitably blow out or expose as a brown/cream color, but, that darker, saturated colors will render just fine.
As I noted in my initial review of this film (which you can read in it's entirety here) this films development time seems to be longer than previous film versions - my original estimate of a full development being around 30 minutes. I'm starting to notice though, that the "full" development of this film might be taking even longer than that. If I had to equate it to something I would put it in a similar category with PX70 PUSH film in that it appears to be fully developed in about 30 minutes time, but, the color tones and contrast will continue to shift over the next few hours (if not longer). An example of this can be seen below (full view available for best comparison):
This shot is one that I took walking into work one morning last week. I waited for what seemed to be the full development time of about 30 minutes before scanning this image. I pulled it up to crop and resize for the web and decided it wasn't a shot I really liked, so, I set it aside and didn't end up posting it. Later in the week I revisited the photo while scanning the earlier image in today's post only to notice that the image seemed to have changed. The color had shifted away from an overly reddish/magenta tone and the contrast of the image had increased slightly. The whites were now truly white, and , the highlights were more developed if not a touch more overexposed.
This might not seem like a big deal to many, but, I've always attempted to scan my Impossible film as soon as possible after development to try and beat the unattractive color shift that many of the early versions of the film were known for. Now, it appears that waiting it out can actually give you better results in the end - even if it means just waiting a few hours longer than normal.
I feel like now is a good time to note that it may seem like a small freedom to not worry about shielding your images anymore, but, I must say that it has really been fun shooting this first pack of Test Film. Granted, I've become pretty used to, and efficient, at shielding my images over the past two years, but, it is definitely a nice change of pace to forget about the shield and concentrate on making the image. This is especially true when it comes to walking the streets shooting things as they naturally occur before you.
I hope to have more examples of this film and a few other instant stocks to post next week for Polaroid Week 2012. So, as always, keep an eye out for that.
Being an Impossible Pioneer means that every so often I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to test new Impossible Project film batches before their mass release to the general public. The batch that I was most recently able to get my hands on contains what I think might be the most exciting news from the Impossible Project since their very first release of a viable instant integral film product - the return of an effective opacification layer.
If you are not overly familiar with instant films, Polaroid, or, the Impossible Project you might be thinking... "huh?" Well, in short, one of the most highly criticized aspects of the Impossible films has been their extreme sensitivity to light immediately out of camera, a problem the original Polaroids solved with a chemical layer called an opacification layer. Basically, the opacification layer was one that shielded the image from light upon ejecting from the camera and then later faded into and remained a clear substance that no longer had any bearing on the appearance of the image. When Impossible took over the reigns of instant film industry many of the chemical components required to make the film just weren't available anymore. Including, as you may have guessed, one of the main ingredients used to create the opacification layer. Well... Naysayers beware, you are about to change your tune.
Once again the Impossible factory team has done the impossible and created an entirely new opacification system that they are claiming to be as strong as the original Polaroid material. Now, for the first time, you can shoot without worrying about shielding your images as they eject from the camera. No more special shades, extra long frog tongues, boxes hanging off the front of your camera, or, even shooting with your camera upside-down... just aim, shoot and enjoy instant film they way it was meant to be enjoyed.
Now, I think it is important to first note when looking at these photos that this is a production batch focused on opacification. This film has not been optimized for color and shouldn't be judged on that alone. What it should be judge on is it's exposure and ability to hold a decent tonal range despite the fact that these images were in no way shielded as they ejected from the camera. In my opinion, considering where Impossible started, these photos show ground breaking evidence in the development of their product and this is exactly the breakthrough the company needed to sway the masses who doubted the product based on it's difficulty to shoot.
Both of these images were shot using an SX-70 with an ND filter. The lighten/darken wheel was pushed one notch towards darken. The images were exposed to direct light out of camera. The first image was shot outside in full sun and after a few seconds dropped into my camera bag to develop as it's still not wise to leave the image in direct sunlight throughout the development process. The second image was shot indoors with available light (which explains the handheld blur) and left out to develop face-up. Both images, I think, turned out quite well.
If I had to make a complaint about this film - and really that is a stretch considering the breakthroughs we're talking about in a product that has been around but two years - it would have to be the development time of this film. I've timed the full development process on this film to be about 30 minutes, which, is probably the longest of all the Impossible films. Really, the time itself doesn't effect me as much as how well the opacification layer blocks the image and my ability to see if I've gotten a proper exposure. The opacification layer itself turns a very dark blue (almost black) that seems to last anywhere from 15-20 minutes before it begins to fade. With earlier versions of the Impossible films I got used to checking exposure throughout the development process and was able to tell very early on if I over or underexposed my image. Now... I generally can't tell until it's likely I've already left the scene of the image.
Again, and I can't say this enough, that is such a minor complaint and a problem that I will happily deal with as the trade off for not having to shield my images anymore. I'm very excited about this film and can't wait to see what Impossible is able to come up with next.
More from this batch coming soon.
Finally. The official release date of the new Impossible Project PX 680 Color Shade Cool film. In a very clandestine, ninja like way the Impossible Project has kept this film tightly under wraps - even us Pioneer's who were able to pick up a few test packs a month early haven't been allowed to post or discuss this new film publicly. I know there has been a bit of grumbling about that, which I understand if for no other reason than it's hard to sit on good photos for so long, but, in the long run it's a decision I fully support.
Through a private flickr group all of the test photographers have been able to upload their content and discuss the in's and out's of this new film - ultimately giving Impossible the feedback they need to continue to make successful advances. I also think that in the long run it gives them invaluable information that they can provide along with the release of their new film - like tips for shooting or known issues - which is better for their company and customer service. Now you will get the full skinny from the company itself, a reliable source who's taken time to gather the information, which should help you avoid a snap decision on a new product based on a single blog or flickr review - like this one.
My initial thoughts on this film are that it is not for the faint of heart nor the inexperienced. Beautiful, colorful results are entirely possible with this film - watch flickr over the next couple of days and you will see that - however, achieving those results can be a bit difficult. This film is extremely light sensitive out of camera. Temperature before, during and after are imperative to the color and tones of your final development - as opposed to nearly all predecessors I'm hearing that cooler is better than warmer once you've made your exposure - and consistency seems to be more difficult to achieve across an entire pack.
That being said... when you shoot this film right, it is really right. The colors sometimes look just like a pack of old Polaroid 600. The development times are on the longer end, consistent with most of the Impossible color films. I shot packs with two different SX-70's and a box style 600. The top photo on this page is with the 600, the other two are from my SX-70 sonar with an ND filter. In my (limited) experience with this film I received the best results using the ND filter and setting my lighten/darken wheel 2/3 towards dark as a starting point.
Overall I think this is a good film and a step in the right direction. The colors get better and better with ever release, and, once the opacifier improves I think this film will be outstanding. I've personally had some difficulty with this film and getting the results I want, but, I have seen some really beautiful images on flickr already, and, I have a tendency to be overly critical of my own photos.
If I were to make one recommendation about this film it would be this - if you are a novice, meaning you haven't been shooting Impossible's films since the beginning, start with something a little more forgiving. The PX 100 Silver Shade is one of my favorites and I think it's one of the most beautiful films that has been released. If you want color, try out the PX 70 Color Shade. Work your way up to this film. Practice. With a little patience you will fall in love with all of these films and you will develop a unique way to get the best results from each.
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