Slow Photography #39 Passion for Polaroid
I have a passion for Polaroid.
Photographing with an SX-70 Alpha and the Polaroid 180 cameras, these images were made from instant prints. First, manipulated Time-ZERO SX-70 film was a beautiful way to slow the process. How is it an example of slow photography?
Glad you asked.
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| Slow Down SX-70 Time Zero Manipulation, Jimages |
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| Clown and Polaroid Print, Jimages |
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| The Scream, Jimages |
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| Curiosity is a Creative Gift. Jimages. |
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| Girls who Play in Plaid, Jimages |
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| Sliding with my Brother, Jimages |
After an SX-70 print came out of the camera, it can be altered over a couple of days. This is done gradually. The idea is to match technique with subject. In 1976, I began doing SX-70 manipulations with my first SX-70 Instant Folding Alpha-1 Land Camera in Denver. The kids and clown above were photographed in Denver's parks, and the highway workers on Interstate I-70 in Colorado.
Then, I added a Polaroid 180 camera. Folks who see it often ask:
"Is that an old Polaroid, or a new digital look-a-like?"
"I thought you couldn't get film for that anymore."
"You mean you get a print from that thing?
When you photograph with a Polaroid 180 pack camera, you always get good questions. Kids are especially curious when they see a picture emerge from an old metal camera after 90 seconds.
I exposed some FujiFilm FP-100C Polaroid this past weekend, June 2014, on Ocracoke Island at the music festival, and took a series of three prints to make a pano of the finale.
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| Finale of the Ocrafolk Music Festival 2014, Jim Austin Jimages. |
This color film is Fuji FP-100C. It costs $8.50 for a 10 pack on Amazon. Fujifilm FP-100C is a "peel-apart-type" instant color daylight film. It has fine grain and a rich range of tones and color.
Several companies make these instant films. Fuji makes FP-3000b, a black and white instant pack film. They also make FP-100c, a color film. A new Kickstarter project will soon bring back Type 55, a black and white pack film for 4" x 5" cameras.
Load a plastic pack of 10 into your pack camera, then shoot, pull out the film, and count off 90 seconds as the developer meets the emulsion. Then, you peel apart the backing. Easy as magic.
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| Chaz Misenheimer, Magician, Ocrafolk Music Festival, scanned from original Fujifilm FP100C. |
OK, so why do this? Well. everyone loves getting a print of themselves.
When I photograph an event, such as the Ocrafolk Festival, I give away the original prints. After Chaz the magician got the picture above, he wrote to say thanks, adding that he has always wanted to look like that. The passion and power of instant cameras is the ways they make photograhic images tangible, touchable and accessible.
We forget images on our drives, but we cherish prints. Prints become touchstones and memories. Watching an instant print evolve, in the digital age, is a memorable experience. Each print is a unique object.
Slow Photography is part of this joy. It takes time to learn the camera, know how to meter your exposure, and understand how to load, clean, and use the camera. The more time you spend, the greater the reward.
Jim
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