200.365 (Origins of an Obsession)

(Wednesday, 19 May 2010) 200 days ago I began my Project365 by taking a photo of an old Kodak camera. To celebrate reaching 200 days, I decided to take a photo of another camera, my first Polaroid (an ImpulseAF). I can’t say for certain, but I think this Project365 led me to take up Polaroid photography. It’s an obsession I’ve come to really love.

PX 600 Silver Shade First Flush from The Impossible Project
Polaroid SLR 680 camera

108.365 (Testing the Colorpack IV)

(Tuesday, February 16, 2010) Two “new” Polaroid cameras arrived in the mail today. Cleaned the Colorpack IV, put some fresh batteries in it, and fired off a test shot with FujiFilm FP-100C. Here’s the positive image, the negative image, and the camera. As soon as I find the proper battery, the other camera—a Land 230—should operable too.

072.365 (The Arrival of the SX-70)

(Monday, January 11, 2010) I purchased a Polaroid SX-70 off eBay on Saturday. It arrived today. I made a couple exposures after opening the package.

069.365 (Polaroid 900)

(Friday, January 8, 2010) I didn’t intend to start a camera collection, but over the past year, I’ve acquired almost two dozen vintage cameras. This is one of Polaroid Land Cameras I’ve added to my collection in the past month. It’s a Model 900. Eventually I’d like to convert it to use medium-format film.

025.365

My muse for today was one of the cameras my parents purchased for me last spring. It’s a Kodak No. 2A Folding Autographic Brownie.

001.365

Today marks the beginning of my attempt at a project 365.

I made my first photographic exposure using a Kodak Instamatic camera when I was five. I thought I'd begin my first project 365 with a similar camera as my subject. This particular Instamatic came in a box of random cameras my parents picked up for me at a yard sale this spring.

Fin

Our friends at the Park Terrace Community United Methodist Church held their annual Good Friday Art Show this afternoon and evening. The theme for this year was “It is Finished”, based upon the lectionary reading for this day: John 18:1-19:42. The above was my submission to the show. Here’s the statement that accompanied it:

“The roll of film in a single lens reflex camera captures for me the essence of what those standing at the base of the cross must have been feeling when Christ uttered those final words: ‘It is finished.’ Like those disciples, someone who has never used an analog camera would not necessarily know what to expect when the final frame is exposed and the film rewound—even if they have been told repeatedly. Perhaps it is the end. Perhaps.

“Yet, those who have taken a completed roll of film to a lab know that through an intensive process something new and glorious comes from it. So it is with Christ—the cross is not the end.”

A Kodak Moment

I used my dyi macro photo studio to capture a few shots of an old Kodak Duaflex IV camera (above), which belonged to my Grandma Williams.

I then tried a couple abstract techniques:


With my camera on the tripod, I increased the exposure time and zoomed in and out with my 18-55mm lens.


I thought it would be cool to take a photo of the Duaflex with something in its view finder. The outlet was the most handy object.