Polaroid Challange 2015 /9

Okay this was an awesome month because whilst at cash converters (an Aussie pawn shop) I bought an instax mini 8 for $35 bucks :) I was umming and ahhing if I really needed it (definitely didn't need it) but the pink colour managed to push my decision making into a very happy - YES! I am still waiting for film to arrive and a few other fun bits and bobs but in the meantime here is a polaroid photo of my new baby!

I like the iguana skin this month, although I'm sure there is a photo out there better suited to the boarder :p Next month I'll hopefully have an instax and a Polaroid to get to share with you guys!! Weeeeee!

Things I learned this month:

* I aimed to have the instax centred, so I can say if you have a polaroid 636 (and I imagine for a lot of other Polaroids out there) the view finder isn't matched to the shutter! That was a pretty - duh moment for me, picking up my camera now and seeing how obvious this is :p  In the future I'll try to make sure I compose my image slightly to the left!

This post is part of the Polaroid Challenge 2015, you can see my past photos here and read more about getting involved here by the lovely peeps at The Cat you and Us

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Polaroid Challenge 2015 /8

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So this was a fun/different month because I have a new polaroid and new film - Woohoo!! Whilst thrifting I came across another polaroid for cheap with a built in flash, something I have secretly been craving. Although my other camera has flash potential it required disposable bulbs (annoying!) Whilst this new camera is simply powered by the film itself :) Okay that was my justification for buying yet another Polaroid + doesn't it look cool :p

Now it wasn't all roses this month - I still had one photo left in my other camera. I read online you can do a switcheroo but something must of gone wrong when I tried because I got this lovely shot...

Oops! I ordered more film online, I actually ordered some black & white film and a pack of coloured film with the skins border. There are 8 photos per pack and each photo has a different skin frame. It's fun because I have no idea which photo is going to pop out next! I kind of like the random pairing of the snake skin with Gremlin :) I'm also going to say the impossible film does not get accurate colours and definitely has a blue tinge (yup, something to be aware of!).

I've got my black and white film sitting in the fridge but I'm wondering if I should load up my other camera with it so I can swap between colour and black & white for the remainder of the year? My only fear is then I'll have two packs loaded and sitting in cameras for months with the potential for both films to go bad and then I'll have to properly cry :p Any advice polaroid experts???

This post is part of the Polaroid Challenge 2015, you can see my past photos here and read more about getting involved here by the lovely peeps at The Cat you and Us

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Polaroid Challenge 2015/7

We're over the halfway mark with this challenge and I'm honestly not sure if I've learned a lot or very little :p If I haven't said already, my camera of choice, aka the one I felt was going to work the best out of my collection is an Amigo 610 - a very simple no bells and whistle Polaroid camera. I was thinking about how to improve my photo quality and I was looking at my camera and started to wonder if it was capable of more.  Some internet research later I found the slide bar on front was a "lighten/darker control" most likely to change shutter speed, but who knows what numbers. Since I wanted to take a photo of Gremlin for this month's challenge and he was lying on our front porch on a rather overcast day, I thought I'd try out the "Light" setting by moving the slider to the far right.

I honestly think this helped the photo so much in terms of exposure. I also made sure to quickly put the shot up against my shirt as the film exited the camera and then into a dark place for processing. I didn't time how long it took to fully develop but it was well over an hour - I even went to the shops in the meanwhile!

Now let's talk about this crazy blur!

Moving the slider to the right (the light side!) came with the cost of a slower shutter that I didn't compensate for. This could be avoided by holding the camera extra still or resting it upon something + asking your models to hold there pose or just shooting still things! I shall remember for next time!

I'm also going to put the very blue tones down to the film source and possibly also for being in my camera now for 7 months. I do keep my camera in a lunch cooler bag but I think film is always the best when stored correctly (even refrigerated) and not left in your camera. When this film's runs out, I think I'll go with a pack of the black and white to avoid the whole colour issue!

I'm kind of excited for next month now and to see if I can actually take a good photo - well what's a good photo anyway?

This post is part of the Polaroid Challenge 2015, you can see my past photos here and read more about getting involved here by the lovely peeps at The Cat you and Us blog! 

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