Polaroid 100 camera packs

Wow... I knew it had been a really long time since I posted anything... but two years! I never promised frequency, but this is way too long time! 

Anyway, these days I have been a lot more active in terms of taking photos. And now even video! (Not very good at it yet, but hey, you've gotta start somewhere). 

Connecting both topics, I have published my very first video in youtube. Does it make me a vlogger? Doubt it! But at least it was a step, in terms of exposing myself and my video making skills. 

What was the occasion? A crisis.

Crises are sometimes great motivation...

My Polaroid 360 camera (type 100) got completely stuck when a white tab broke with the image still inside. Since we could not find much information on how to fix it or even how the film packs actually work, we decided to make a short video explaining it. I hope it helps someone out there!

Now you know the inner works of Polaroid Land camera film packs and how to save a problematic pack, where the white tab has ripped off.

Here you have the link to the video:

Polaroid wedding - Berta and Paco

Preparing for delivery the pictures from another wedding, I found these polaroids that I took from the marriage of Berta and Paco. Berta and I are friends from our very early childhood, and her wedding day was very special to me. Needless to say that the newlyweds looked astonishing! Such a beautiful happy couple!!



A stuck Polaroid, in the middle of a wedding project

This is one more Polaroid lessons learned post: 

1. Never do an important project with only one Polaroid camera, especially if at the time you do not have internet access - The camera may break or get stuck

2. Always bring with you (or do not throw away, like I did) an empty cartridge and a dark slide - You may need it for testing and resetting

3. If your film packs are not fresh, forget it - Plan in advance, the risk is too high

Last weekend two good friends of mine got married, and I wanted to take some pictures of them and some of the guests as a special project, which was supposed to turn into a special wedding gift for the couple.

Stress and lack of light stories behind, I managed to take some very good pictures of the couple. I will post those in a separate post once I return to Denmark after my vacation. However, I did not manage to get a single decent picture of the guests.

First, I did not have more fresh packs of B&W film. S***! The pictures did not have any contrast, and had development path marks (i.e., vertical stripes) , which I hate so much -especially when I am not trying to get artistic!-.

Secondly (and finally), when I immediately changed the pack, the mirror of my SX-70 got stuck. The first image had a weird black line at the bottom. Then the mirror got stuck up, meaning I could only see "black" through the viewfinder. Another symptom was that the camera did not close properly, as you can see below. 

I have seen many Polaroid problems before, but never this one, so I thought the camera had broken down. Without internet connection on my phone and as the lighting conditions started being poor, I stopped trying for the day. Besides, I had thrown away the older empty pack, because our table started looking quite messy!

Once at home, after googling the problem a bit, and being already ready to perform an open heart surgery on my camera, I learned that this is quite a typical problem that has an easy fix. I share here the links to the pages that helped me so much, in case you want to know more about it:

Basically, after 5 min of troubleshooting (meaning, I removed the pack, put a empty one, and tried shutting a bit), my camera was up and running again. Although unfortunately, the magical and beautiful wedding moment has long passed. Oh, Polaroid life! ;)


First experiments with Impossible Color SX-70 Generation 2.0 film

A few weeks ago I got hold of a few packs of the new Impossible Color SX-70 Generation 2.0 film, as part of the Pioneer program. Life is busy and days pass fast, so it has taken me a while to finally try it.

Overall, I think the film does make a difference. Not only develops faster and you do not need to cover it, but the colors are more sharp. And the most important for me, the transitions between color shades and between highlights and shadows are much more smooth. 

That being said, my favourite SX-70 camera does seem to overexpose the pictures. I have known from the beginning, but I have been unable to determine whether it is the film that is not accurate, or the camera behaves funny when it comes to measure the light. The fix is easy: turn the exposure wheel a little bit towards the black part, but as this was an experiment, I decided to leave it in neutral. Therefore, I suspect my second pack will be richer in color and expression, when the images are better exposed. 

Here the results:

Portrait of Hjalte, who nicely and patiently came with me around Copenhagen trying to find a few good spots to photograph. The picture is a little over-exposed, like the other two portraits in the series. I am sure that by adjusting the camera, the images will me much more rich in color and transitions.

Georgios and Vangelis were visiting Denmark that day, so of course I took the opportunity to take a few portraits of them.

I love how these two images pair up. They are not perfect, but to my eyes they are just fantastic.

Postcards from the USA

Last week I travelled to the US for work. Luckily not everything is hard labor, there is always room for fun. Teams and colleagues are simply great. 

This time I brought my SX-70 and a couple of Impossible Film Packs again, which got to see the day light at two occasions. First, on a wonderful spring Sunday in Saint Louis, trying to be as much touristy as possible. And then during a break from our workshops in the Frankinton office. 

First stop: Saint Louis

One of my favourite places in Saint Louis is, no doubt, the Arch. Designed in the 40's and built in the 60's to celebrate the westward expansion of the United States, it is an astonishing monument that feels so modern that it could have been built today. And I can not stop looking at it. We walked around it, and we walked under it, admiring it from the Mississippi river, from the city center, and from the fresh and comforting grass. The shape, its hight, its light yet very grounded construction..

If I think about it, it is probably one of my favourite monuments in the world. If you visit Saint Louis, plan for some time in the area, and look at it as the light of the day and the city changes. If you can, take one of the tiny capsule-elevators all the claustrophobic way up to the top, and enjoy the view!

Second stop: Frankinton

Going from Saint Louis to Raleigh is somehow a big change that creeps up on you. Not only the landscape changes, but also the constructions. From stone and coloured glass, to more traditional wooden buildings. Even the typography and style of business signs! 

Sadly, we did not have much spare time to hang around. But I managed to capture a sibling picture of a polaroid I took three years ago, during my first trip to our main American site. Which one is the new one and which one is the old one?



When your Polaroid camera leaves you in the lurch

This is one of the greatest fears you may have as a Polaroid photographer. You feel it in the air. You know it can happen, that is a risk, that, most likely, it will happen one day. Your camera suddenly lets you down. 

There are several ways this may materialize. Most commonly, the pack gets stuck when you have no chance to fix it, or when you do not have other pack. For instance, you are using Fuji Instant film in a Polaroid 100 type machine, and when you are pulling your frame out... the tab tears off. If you are lucky or see it coming, you may still have a little piece of paper that can help you save the moment, carefully. Otherwise, find a dark place, open the back, and reinstall the pack. Usually after wasting one or two frames. Similarly, you may be unlucky to get an "sticky" Impossible film pack -although I must say it has not happened to me in a really long time-.

Another classic in my list is simply plainly when you camera dies in action. This is such a painful situation that is hard to describe how it feels. But yes, it does occur, without previous warning.

But today, it was something I have never seen before. The chemicals were so old in an expired Polaroid Sepia pack, that only the negative and part of the tab came out. Yep. Leaving the positive, the rest of the tab, and an interesting amount of crap behind. That is, inside the camera. 

I promise I would have been mad if it wasn't because I found it fascinating. And again, I did not expect it. I did not even know this could happen. I was lucky enough to get problems with the last frame of the pack. But that was a pack that gave me 8 perfect images, one commonly half dry, and just at the end, the bitter one!

Mysteries of Polaroid life.

Today, only the negative and part of the tab came out while taking a picture with old expired Polaroid Sepia film. The positive remained inside the camera, together with dry chemicals made powder. Never seen this before.

Today, only the negative and part of the tab came out while taking a picture with old expired Polaroid Sepia film. The positive remained inside the camera, together with dry chemicals made powder. Never seen this before.