Pixiq

Hi! I’m Rob, from robnunnphoto.com, and Damien has been kind enough to let me share with you my new-found love of instant photography. Enjoy!

“Polaroid is dead. Long Live Polaroid!”

The rallying cry needs to go out once again. Instant photography has an opportunity to become popular once more. It may be a re-branded Fujifilm Instax Mini, but the new Polaroid 300 is readily available (with film!) in US stores nation-wide, and unless we use it, we’ll loose it!

Back when I was a kid (many years ago) we never had a Polaroid, just 110 cameras, then a Chinese “Peafowl” SLR when we lived in Hong Kong. I think one of my cousins parents used to have a Polaroid, and I recall them taking some family shots, then we all stood around marvelling at the magic as the image developed in front of our eyes.

As an adult I used a Polaroid 600 to take photo’s of the kids, but it got put in the attic once digital arrived, and consigned to the charity box when we had a clear out. The argument that the Polaroid film was too expensive always won out against the joy of having an instant print.

Fast forward a few years and I’m getting back into photography. I moved from a Fujifilm S5700 Bridge / Superzoom, to a Canon 350d dSLR. All the time I’m picking up film cameras and lenses from our local car-boot sales, so 35mm is part of my arsenal too, but strangely I never even considered instant photography. Then I started listening to the Film Photography Podcast with Michael Rasso and the boys. To say the least, Mike is a Polaroid enthusiast, and it drives the other presenters crazy with the amount of time he spends talking about it, but I got the bug and started hunting down Instant Cameras at our local car-boot sales.

I had done my research and knew that Polaroid no longer made the 600 film or SX70 for older cameras, so the only way I could shoot with one of those would have been by buying expired film or film from the Impossible Project. Impossible is an amazing company that are re-manufacturing Polaroid Film, but it’s a little expensive for me at the moment, so instead I decided to look for Fujifilm Instax Cameras.

The Fujifilm Instax Instant Cameras have been around for a couple of decades, and have only been readily available in Europe and Japan – but they still make the cameras, and the film, so it’s definitely a format that’s alive and kicking. Instax cameras come in two sizes – Instax Wide, which is similar to Polaroid 600, and Instax Mini, where the photographs are credit-card sized. Instax Wide Models are the 100, 200 and 210, whereas the “Mini’s” have numerous models, but they all use the same film – and are the same as the new Polaroid 300.

Luckily for me I picked up a Fujifilm Instax Mini 7 at a local car-boot sale, with film, for a fiver. Although it looks like a Toy Camera, I loved it as soon as I loaded it up and started taking photographs. It wasn’t just the act of pressing the shutter button and seeing the photo pop out of the top, it was looking at the expression on my son’s face as he watched the image appear in front of his eyes. Oliver is 12, so he’s too young to remember the Polaroid 600 we had, so the Instax Mini was like magic.

Shooting with the Mini 7 (the same as the new Polaroid 300) is a real family experience. We all took photos of each other, with each other, and had used up ten instant photos (the amount you get in a pack) in no time, but I hadn’t had so much fun taking photographs in ages. The next time we were out shopping I popped into our local camera store and bought a twin-pack of Instax Mini Film for £15 – well worth it.

My experience with Instant Photography has been great – it’s a fun, frivolous way of taking images that is far-removed from the dSLR experience. People seem to enjoy having “Polaroids” taken of them, and the instant photos you get are little pieces of magic!

The title of this post was “Top Ten Reasons Why You Need An Instant Camera”, so I guess I better include them, but hopefully you’re convinced already!

1) People love having “Polaroid’s” taken of themselves, and keeping the photo’s. Polaroid 300 and Fujifilm Instax Mini especially so because the credit-sized photos are incredibly cute. Your kids won’t shy away when you point your Instant Camera at them!

2) The Instant Photography Process is Magical. Trust me, if you show someone a Polaroid / Fujifilm developing in front of them, their eyes will widen in amazement. Now that’s turning people onto photography!

3) Instant Photography is Liberating. Far too often we’re obsessed with the “quality” of our photos – buying expensive bodies and lenses to produce tack-sharp photographs at incredible resolutions. We spend hours in post-processing removing noise and sharpening our images. With instant, it’s one press of the shutter and you’re done. The print is in front of you, it’s unique and a one-off. And it’s there!

4) Instant Photography can be as challenging as you make it. Great photographs are about great light and interesting subjects, so why not set up your studio lights, slave-strobes and back-drops just as you would with a dSLR shoot, to see what you can come up with.

5) A Print In The Hand Is Worth A Thousand On The Net. Seriously though – passing round photographs between friends and family is great, but why not take it to the next level. You’re out with a client, say an engagement shoot, fire off a pack of Instant Film as you’re doing the digitals and they will be seriously impressed. Instax Mini or Polaroid 300 photos will fit into a mans wallet or a woman’s purse / hand-bag – they can share and covet them straight away. An Instant Photograph can be just as good as any other if you understand their limitations and play to their strengths.

6) Explore Your Creativity With Impossible Film. You can grab a cheap Polaroid 600 or SX-70 camera from a thrift store or eBay for a few dollars, then head on over to the Impossible Project and pick up some of their new Polaroid Film. Colour or Black and White, these are experimental emulsions that offer an infinity of possibilities. Be part of something special!

7) Polaroid 300 / Instax Mini Film Is Cheaper Than You’d Think! Check out eBay and look for the merchants that sell in bulk – you can get it down to about 50p (80cents) a shot.

The Original SX-70 Polaroid Camera Is A Work Of Art. Seriously – it’s a crying shame that Polaroid stopped making this folding masterpiece, but buy one second-hand, grab some Impossible Film, and breathe new life into one.

9) Unless We Use ‘Em, We’ll Lose ‘Em. This goes for the new Polaroid 300, Fujifilm Instax and Impossible Project Film. If nobody buys this stuff, it’ll disappear forever, and we don’t want that, do we?

10) Instant Photography Is Fun And Brings People Together! How much of your photography do you do by yourself, probably to the annoyance of your spouse and kids? With an instant camera you can enjoy your hobby with everybody, and have a great laugh doing so!

Further Reading

Moominstuff – Great for Polaroid Mods.

The Film Photography Podcast – Listen and Laugh!

The Impossible Project – Polaroid Film!

The Impossible Project Flickr Group.

The New Polaroid 300 at Polaroid.com

Fujifilm Instax Mini at Fujifilm.com

Instax Group On Flickr

Your Thoughts?

Do you want to have a go at Instant Photography, or perhaps you’re already doing it? Do Polaroid and Fujifilm have any future making instant products? Why is instant photography so addictive? Please post your comments below!