Tech Tuesday - Polaroid 230

I am a technology junkie.  I'll admit it.  When I see a new gadget or gizmo that can do something I've never seen before, I'm usually impressed.  What's even more impressive is to see something you've never seen before from a camera that's 40 years old.

My first experience with a Polaroid camera that used pack film was while I was assisting Rachael Grace Photography while she photographed a wedding. Rachael does wedding photography a little differently. In addition to digital, she uses lots of film, including Polaroid pack film.

I had never seen or used Polaroid pack film. My previous experience with Polaroids was limited to my SX-70. I still haven't gotten stellar results from it (although that is kind of the point, I suppose), so my hopes for her Polaroid 420 were not high.

The way pack film works, you take a photo which exposes the film. You then pull the film through some rollers, which spreads a developer over the film. You wait a few minutes, peel off the photo from the exposed film and you have a photo.

When she shot her first photo, she handed it to me to time and then peel. After 2 minutes, I peeled the photo away from the paper with tempered expectations. What I saw when I peeled away that photo just amazed me! It had color and lots of it! The colors were correct! It was actually a good photo!

I knew I had to get one for myself, so I came straight home, tracked one down and before long I was taking photos with my own Polaroid pack film camera. There was a bit of an experimental period and a learning curve. Some photos came out very dark while others came out looking great. Eventually, though, I got it right (or at least pretty close).

I can't wait to start using this camera with some of my clients. It's not entirely predictable and isn't perfect, but that's part of what makes it so fun to use. If you've got one of these and are interested in learning more about the camera, keep an eye out for a follow up blog post where I'll go over a few tricks I've learned that helped me get better photos.

This was taken in full sun in downtown Denver.

Even in the shade with a longer exposure you can get good results.

This was taken with my new Polaroid 350 with a close-up lens attachment.