8mm Forum: Instant Photos

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Topic: Instant Photos

Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted September 28, 2011 06:28 PM

Last year as we were trying to get a photo of my grandaughter with my wife digital camera "I still dont own one" my grandaughter was clicking away back at us with our old Polaroid.

That started me thinking, [Roll Eyes]

what happend to those instant photos. I do remember the film was expensive and the quality was not that great, however they were instant...well almost.

caught with the Digital camera [Smile]

The only remaining instant photo I could find was one of an old Morrie Minor 1950s. I had just cut the rust out and re-painted "old aircraft paint" a present to my better half. Thats me in the background admiring my fantastic paint job. [Big Grin]

Who else can remember those instant Polaroid days?

Graham.

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Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

posted September 28, 2011 06:53 PM

You can still get film for some of the old Polaroid cameras. I think a group of former Polaroid employees bought the plant and continued making the film.

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Pasquale DAlessio
Film God

Posts: 3523
From: Bristol,RI, USA
Registered: May 2010

posted September 28, 2011 06:59 PM

HI Graham

Great to hear from you. I remember those days and the cameras well. I had every new model that came out. I still have some photos somewhere. I love the car. I don't suppose you still have it?

PatD

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Claus Harding
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006

posted September 28, 2011 08:04 PM

We used to have the deluxe model, the SX-70. It wasn't that bad as long as you stored the prints out of sunlight; shelflife of the color tended towards the unpredictable.

On a sidenote, my wife, being from the Middle East, told me of a Western photographer who made quite a living in the region photographing all the royal families in the area back then.

The reason he got the assignments: large-format Polaroid.
They did not want their souls "captured" by having someone walk away with negatives of their likeness, so the Polaroid prints were perfect.

I still have a few of our SX-70 images around here; nice to look at from time to time.

Claus.

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"Why are there shots of deserts in a scene that's supposed to take place in Belgium during the winter?" (Review of 'Battle of the Bulge'.)

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Kirkamus Anderson
Film Handler

Posts: 99
From: hoenberg
Registered: Feb 2011

posted September 28, 2011 08:25 PM

My lady and I shoot a lot with our Fuji instax Mini!
Brand new instant film!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/639489-REG/Fujifilm_15834705_Instax_Mini_7S_Instant.html

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Douglas Meltzer
Moderator

Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 28, 2011 08:46 PM

I still have my Polaroid Swinger. Love that song!

Doug

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I think there's room for just one more film.....

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 28, 2011 10:44 PM

All my wife's Polaroid's from the 1950's have faded to red.
Anyone on the forum ever use the Polavision instant movie system?

Graham,
That is a really great photo of the little girl with the camera. [Smile]

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted September 29, 2011 02:44 PM

Thanks everyone, those links to the Swinger Commercial etc were very interesting. [Smile]

Pat the old Morris is sadly long gone we replaced it with a 1966 Ford Cortina. The car in the garage is a 60s Hillman Imp [Eek!]

When I came out here in 1973 most of the cars on the road were British and to buy a car was expensive so the old stuff hung around for many many years.

Graham.

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Bill Phelps
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1482
From: USA
Registered: Jan 2009

posted September 29, 2011 05:37 PM

I have about 200 polaroids of my family from late 60's thru early 80's and I have been very careful storing them. Last time I looked thru them (year ago) they still looked good. Although on some of them the picture itself was coming apart and the surface was cracking so some are very brittle...colors so far so good.

Bill [Smile]

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Jean-Marc Toussaint
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: France
Registered: Oct 2004

posted September 30, 2011 02:16 AM

Did a lot of work last year with the Fuji Instax, fun results.

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The Grindcave Cinema Website

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Lee Mannering
Film God

Posts: 3216
From: The Projection Box
Registered: Nov 2006

posted September 30, 2011 04:25 AM

Dad was very keen on Polaroid in the 60’s and can remember him pulling out the picture from the camera after taking which had then to be slipped into some sort of metal thing, then put that inside your pocket for heat and then you could peel the paper away from the photo print after a bit. These pictures still look ok but it did seem rather complicated early on. In the 70’s the instant cameras were very evident on film sets for continuity records I seem to recall.

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Jerome Sutter
Film Handler

Posts: 92
From: Bellwood, IL USA
Registered: Dec 2010

posted October 01, 2011 11:46 AM

If you want Polaroid Film, here is the outfit that is now producting it:

theimpossibleproject.com

They now have a office in NY. Good luck.

Jerry

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted October 01, 2011 09:15 PM

My experience with Polaroids is kind of...industrial.

Back when I started out in electronics if you wanted to save a waveform you hung a Polaroid 'scope camera (-Oscilloscope, not Cinemascope!) over the screen and snapped a black and white Polaroid.

It was actually kind of an art: often if you wanted to see a really slow waveform it came down to doing a multiple exposure with the 'scope graticule (graph lines) so the graticule wouldn't overexpose the picture if left on the whole time. The intensity settings to make a good one had to be just right.

Young idiots we were at the time we figured out that if you put the thing over your face you could shoot a self-portrait. Many of our cubicles had them on the bulletin board. They looked better than the copy machine self-portraits and weren't nearly as blinding! (Why they didn't fire us all I'll never know!)

These days when you want to save a waveform you plug a thumb drive into the 'scope and press "Save Display": easier for sure, but the satisfaction in a job well done because of a skill learned is no longer there!

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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