Impossible Gen 2.0 Color 600 Film Test Batch - SX70 Sonar - Polaroid Week 3

Rounding out Polaroid Week, here are three quick snaps from last night. Impossible's Gen 2.0 Color 600 test film, shot in and SX70 Sonar with an ND pack filter. Unshielded out of camera and left upright to watch them develop. The photo at top was taken with the Mint for SX70 Macro Lens. Enjoy.

Impossible Gen 2.0 Color 600 Film Test Batch - SX70 Sonar - Isola

On Sunday I had the chance to work with Isola, a model from the Columbus area who was nice enough to make the drive up to Cleveland for a shoot. We ended up with some wonderful images and I was able to shoot a bunch of different instant film types, including these photos that I shot on the new Generation 2.0 Color 600 film from Impossible. 

This limited edition 600 film is still considered an experimental film with limited release for testing (mostly to Impossible Pioneer members), but, is meant to have a increased sharpness, stability and a faster image emergence. These photos were all unshielded out of camera and left to develop upside down. Initial image emergence was definitely much faster than the previous version of this film (probably within 5-10 mins) while final development fell around 25-30 mins. The faster Image emergence was, in my opinion, very helpful in at least determining proper exposure for continued shooting. 

Color from this test batch appears stable and similar to previous versions -I should note these were actually shot on a green backdrop, so that is not an odd color shift that you are seeing but a true representation with a little over exposure - but, there was a slight, noticeable color shift to the film after an extended (24 hour) period of time.

Overall, I think this film is pretty nice and a good step in the right direction. I'm glad to see that Impossible is continuing to improve upon their formulas and release new batches of film. It'll be exciting to see how the final production run of this film compares when it is released to the masses later in 2014. 

More images from this batch coming soon. Enjoy. 

Expired Polaroid ID Ultraviolet Film - Emily

It's been nearly two months since I've had the chance to post to this blog. Things are pretty busy, I'm shooting a lot of film weekly for my year long roll-a-week project and I've all but neglected shooting instant film or posting to this site at all. That being said, when I do get the chance I try to continue to add some instant film into the mix of my work and do plan to post here more and more after the new  year when my year long project and other blog has come to a close. 

All that aside, here are a few images from my most recent shoot with the always talented Emily Wallace. I've worked with her a few times now and posted some other images of her on this blog earlier in year. These images were all taken with my Polaroid 250 and some expired Polaroid ID UV film. Enjoy.

Expired Polaroid Type 100 Chocolate - Jay Elle

Today's quick post is just a follow up to my previous post to share some of the remaining Polaroid Chocolate that I shot with Jay Elle this past weekend. For more info or to check out the first batch of photos that I posted - Click here.

Enjoy.

Impossible Project PX680 Old Gen - Cleveland

A couple weeks ago I woke up early and wandered around downtown Cleveland for an hour or two before work. I was shooting a roll of Ilford HP5 Plus for my Roll-A-Week project but also was carrying around my SX70 Sonar which was loaded with the remains of a pack of Impossible Project's PX680 Old Gen film. I only ended up taking one instant photo while I was out, but I kind of like the way it turned out. 

It's very possible that I will be posting more instant film in the near future as I was just contacted this morning about testing a new product for a company out of Hong Kong. Very random, I know, but hopefully it works out and I have lots of new and exciting stuff to share in the upcoming weeks/months. Stay tuned for that, and, enjoy. 

Fuji FP-3000B45 Negative & Positive - Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 - Emily Wallace

This past weekend while shooting with Emily I attempted to take a couple of large format Polaroids using my Crown Graphic and some of the Fuji FP-3000B 45 I had loaded into my Polaroid back. Well... I pretty much failed on all accounts when it came to getting a decent exposure. I used up the remaining three sheets of film that were in the pack to no avail. 

There was one photo, though, that I didn't hate. It was overexposed for sure, but I think it was also the culprit of a pesky light leak from not securing my Polaroid back properly. Still, the photo was interesting and so I decided to scan it. Here's what it looked like:

Then, while it was scanning, I noticed that the paper negative (the GOOP) actually had more information in the blown out lower right hand side of the photo. There was a little more detail. Some dynamic range held on. Again, I thought this was interesting and figured maybe I could just scan the negative and invert it. I've done it before with good result, so I thought I'd give it a go. Here's what the negative looked like when I scanned it, flipped it and inverted it:

Well, the negative didn't really work out for me either. When I started to adjust the levels of the image it became apparent that while I had more information for my blown out areas, the details in the face were much better in the positive that I had already scanned. I continued to play around with both, but wasn't really happy with the results of either. 

And that's when I decided to experiment a little to see if there's anything I could do to save this image (don't judge me, this film and all other large format instant films are out of production - you do what you can). What I came up with is something of a pseudo HDR using the positive and negative together. A couple different layers of each, some different levels adjustment layers and some creative masking later I ended up with the image you see at the top of the page (or again below):

Is it everyone's cup of tea? I'd expect not. Is it perfect? I wouldn't want it to be. Either way, from nearly nothing I was able to salvage an image that is very close to a standard paper negative scan that's been inverted with a few tweaks to the levels and contrast. I thought it was interesting, and I like the feel of the final image.

Maybe this will be helpful to someone else as well. Enjoy, and feel free to leave your own thoughts on this process in the comments below.

Expired Polaroid ID Ultraviolet Film - Polaroid Land 250 - Hillary

I realize that recently I haven't been posting a lot of instant photos - something that I used to do pretty regularly. One of the big reasons behind that is simply that I've haven't been shooting as much instant film recently as I've been so focused on shooting my film for my Roll-A-Week project. I know that in order to get through my roll each week I must dedicate a good deal of my shooting to using the roll of film for that week, otherwise, I will get distracted, start shooting with 4 different cameras, 6 different films and my phone. To that end, I've really limited the number of cameras and film types that I've been carrying with me when I go out to shoot.

Shooting instant film though, is one of my favorite photographic formats and something that I don't plant to stop doing anytime soon. While I may not be shooting quite as much of it this year, I will definitely be making a conscious effort to continue to use it regularly enough that I have a few extra photos to share here on the the blog. 

Today's photo is from a shoot I did this past weekend with Hillary, a model from Cleveland's Taxi MGMT. This is actually the only instant photo that I took through the entire session, but, I think it came out pretty well. The film is expired Polaroid ID UV and it was shot using a Polaroid Land 250. More images from this set, shot on 35mm Ilford 3200, will be coming soon over on the Coalesce52 Blog as part of my Week 9 post.

Enjoy. 

Fuji FP-3000B45 - Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 - Portraits With Ciarra

As I promised yesterday, here are the other two large format images that I shot with Ciarra this past weekend. Makeup for these shots, like the previous image, was done by Jason Kelly. The camera used was a Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 press camera Fuji FP3000B45 instant film. Full view is recommended on these guys.

If you'd like to see more of my work with Ciarra (this look and others) keep an eye out over on the Coalesce52 blog for my Week 6 images - A roll of Kodak Tri-x that I shot throughout this shoot with Ciarra. Those images should be posted sometime in the next day or two.

Expired Polaroid ID Ultraviolet Film - Polaroid Land 250 - First Photo of 2013

Now that the holidays are over, lets get back to the photos. Today, I have my very first image of 2013 which I captured on the first day of the year. Really, I couldn't think of a nicer way to spend New Years Day than I did - driving through the beautiful, snowy Cleveland metro parks with a car full of cameras, film and good company. This photo is really the only instant photo that I took along the way (I'm sure you'll see some TMax from my Canon down the road), but, if it's any indication as to how the rest of photos will look throughout this year... I'll take it. 

For those interested in the details - this photo was taken with my Polaroid 250 using some original Polaroid ID Ultraviolet film that expired in 2008. Similar to Polaroid 669 this is a Polacolor peel-a-part pack film with an ISO of 80, but, was originally used for making identification badges and therefore has an ultraviolet coating that essentially "watermarks" the photo with the word Polaroid. This of course isn't really a problem as you can only see the UV coating when you hold the photo at an angle under direct light.

I should point out that I was lucky enough to get quite a bit of this film for Christmas this year, so, you will likely be seeing more and more photos with this film type throughout the year. My younger brother happened upon a box of this in a store room at work and was able to get me a few packs... somewhere around 120 shots worth. 

Check back soon for some more and until then... Happy New Year and thanks for continuing to read though my blog.

Impossible Project PX100 - Hillary

Just a quick post today of some photos taken recently with Hillary (a model you've seen here before) on some Impossible Project PX 100 (a film you've seen here before). All of these shots were taken with an SX70 Sonar, available light (which was slim) and a tripod. I did nearly forget the proper protocol for shielding these out of camera due to how much of the Color Protection film I've been shooting lately, but, luckily I remembered at the last minute. Enjoy.

Expired Polaroid Image Softone - Polaroid Spectra - Ashley

After a nice long Thanksgiving weekend I'm back with a couple images from an impromptu shoot that I ended up doing this past Friday. Ashley is a model that I have shot with many times before (you can find multiple images of her throughout this blog) and someone that I always end up getting good images with. This particular time we were focused much more on simple, natural digital images that could possibly be used on comp cards, but, I did manage to sneak in a few photos using this expired Polaroid Image film.

All shot (obviously) with a Polaroid Spectra, these images were taken with available light, a reflector and no flash. I've had this film sitting around for a while now in my fridge (it was purchased from the Impossible Project's website some time ago) and finally decided that I may as well pull it out and try to put it to good use. I didn't end up shooting a whole pack, but, the ones I did shoot I think came out pretty well. Also, If you are interested in this film and have a spectra I do believe there is still some stock available through the Impossible Project for the time being. I highly recommend it if you've never shot with it before. 

Expired Polaroid Type 664 - Land 250 - Cassie

Following up on yesterday's post with Cassie, today I have some expired Polaroid 664 that I shot with her using my Polaroid Land 250. I've been slowly working my way through this pack of film and have been quite happy with the results of it. These shots were taken on the East bank of the Flats in a little area known as settlers landing. Despite the chilly morning we toughed it out long enough to get some great digital shots and a these two quick Polaroids. Enjoy.

Impossible Project PX680 Test Film V4C and... Digital (Gasp!)

Today I have the last of my instant photos from my recent shoot with Hillary. This shot was taken on Impossible Projects PX 680 V4c Test film with an ND pack filter using my trusty SX70. Ligthen/Darken wheel was set about half way to darken, and, the photo was left unshielded out of camera but developed in my pocket away from any light source. Temps were pretty chilly this day so I tried to keep this photo warm, but, I think that may be partially responsible for the blown highlights.

To make up for the partially blown exposure (and because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want) today I'm also sharing some of the digital images from this location. I know it's become a rarity on this site for me to post anything digital, but, I do still shoot digital and see no reason not to share that part of my work here on occasion as well. So, enjoy.

Expired Polaroid Type 57 - Graflex Crown Graphic

This past weekend was the first time in a long time that I got the chance to work with a new model. Hillary was nice enough to drive down from the Erie, PA area Saturday for a shoot. We shot a couple looks that morning with a variety of cameras and a few different film types. Down the road I hope to post a few images from my Mamiya 645j that I had loaded with Rollei Retro 100, and, perhaps an image or two from my Polaroid 250 using some original Polaroid 664.

Today's image, however, is more of a celebration for me personally as I've finally put to use once more my 4x5 Crown Graphic. It's a been a little frustrating to not have this camera out in recent weeks as it's become one of my favorite camera's to use, but, the disappearance of the readily available Fuji 4x5 instant films definitely cut into how often it sees the light of day. So finally, from my slowly dwindling supply of expired Polaroid Type 57, here's a new large format image. Despite the grainy, temperamental nature of this expired film, I really do enjoy using it and trying to get decent results from it. 

Maybe one of these day's I'll finally get around to developing some of the sheet film I've shot over the last couple months... or even start shooting more sheet film in place of the instant film supply I do have. At the very least, I could again shoot some large format color images...

Impossible Project PX680 and PX70 Test Film - Fall Images and 8 Exposures

This past weekend was wrapped up in the changing of the seasons. We drove down to my parents for a visit and then enjoyed the lovely fall weather with a trip to the apple orchard for some apples, pumpkins, gourds and all things fall. I took along my SX 70 and SX 70 sonar loaded with the Impossible Projects PX 680 V4C and PX 70 V4B respectively to snap a couple fall themed images. These are just a few of my favorites from the selection.

At top and above, some images shot on the SX70 with PX 680 V4C - lighten/darken set halfway to darken, unshielded out of camera and developed in my jacket pocket. Below, an image from my SX 70 Sonar using the Impossible Project PX 70 V4B - lighten/darken again halfway to darken, unshielded out of camera and left to develop in my jacket pocket.

And finally, to wrap up this quick post, I'm very excited to be featured on the Impossible Project's blog. Every so often they feature different photographers with their "8 Exposures" question and answer series and just yesterday my responses and 8 photos were published. There's a little preview image of their homepage and blog post below, but, if you'd like to read the entire post and look through the photos featured (including an instant portrait of yours truly) you can jump over to their page with this link.

Impossible Project PX70 Test Film V4B - Now available to everyone!

Yesterday marked the official release of the new Impossible Project PX 680 and PX 70 films with new color protection formula. What's that mean? It means a brilliant new opacification layer that lets you shoot 8 beautiful photos without the worry of shielding the images out of camera like the Impossible films of the past. I've been posting images from the test batches of this film for a  couple of weeks now and must say that these new batches of film have made me fall in love with the Impossible project all over again. Not only does the film produce high quality images like we've come to expect from Impossible, but, now it's easier than ever to shoot. If you've not yet shot Impossible's film and you've been thinking about doing so... Now is the time.

These images were both shot while walking around town one day using an SX70 sonar and the new Impossible PX 70 color shade film. Lighten darken wheel was set about half way to darken and the images were left unshielded out of camera. After being ejected the images were left for full development in my pocket over about 30-40 mins. Feel free to go back through my last couple posts to see a few more (if not better) examples of the new Impossible films that have just been released.

If you're already sold and interested in buying some film for yourself jump directly on over to their store HERE.

Impossible Project PX680 Test Film V4C - Yellow Van

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.

Impossible Project PX680 Test Film V4B - Cleveland From Above

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.

Impossible Project PX680 Test Film V4C - Lakewood Barber Shop and Happy Mistakes

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.

Impossible Project PX70 Test Film V4B - Hybrid Fruit

I guess I like to shoot fruit these days. I know it's cliched, but it's available and looks fantastic on this film. I took this one a couple of days ago on the new Impossible Project PX70 V4B using an SX70 sonar. Lighten/darken wheel set half way to darken. Natural window light. Left unshielded out of camera and developed unshielded right side up. Seriously loving this film.

If you're curious as to what these little guys are... the answer would be Plouts. Though they are also known as Apriplums or Plumcots. As you've probably guessed, this strange hybrid fruit is a cross between a Plum and an Apricot. The whole concept of hybrid fruits is a little odd to me, but, I have to admit that these Plouts are pretty tasty.