Friday, May 09, 2008

The SX-70 with 600 film

So obviously the ancient Time Zero film had some issues. I followed the advice on the Polaroid website and used 600 film with some minor modifications, namely some removal of nubs. The website said you should alter the camera, but this camera is bitchin' and I have no desire to ruin its mojo. Anyhoo, I decided just to put the exposure as low as it would go and take my chances. Fellow SX-70 users did not seemed pleased with the results of using 600 film, but I thought the pictures turned out kind of cool although I have no basis of comparison because the Time Zero photos I took were warped (see previous post). The following pictures were taken in fairly low light because the faster film tends to overexpose easily. The one I took outside shows some overexposure due to the sunlight, but still, I think it turned out okay.







































Thursday, May 08, 2008

Fun with the SX-70

So lately I have been taking pictures with this ...















... and I love it. The only bummer is that the film I have been using is 10 years old. The results being these ...



















and



















You may be asking why I didn't buy new film, film where the WHOLE picture will develop. I'll tell you why - because Polaroid stopped making film for these cameras two years ago. In fact, Polaroid will stop producing instant film in 2009, thereby guaranteeing that future generations will have no clue when Andre 3000 sings "shake it like a Polaroid picture." Their reaction will be similar to mine when my grandma looked up in the sky and said, "Oh, a dirigible" and I said, "where is it, behind the blimp?"

The whole Polaroid thing really upsets me, especially because my biggest fear is that one day film will cease to exist and I love taking pictures the old fashioned way. I love digital photography as well because I can instantly delete all my crap pictures and no evidence will remain to haunt me. However, one big draw with film is being able to develop the film and print print pictures. I think that process is so much fun. It is almost as exciting for me as that time I discovered the "off menu" Jamba Juice. So anyway because my brain just went on strike I will finish this post with an ode to old school film. Below are pictures my grandparents took of Hoover Dam back in the day. Enjoy!