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Welcome back to Viewfinder, our ongoing series in which we chronicle interesting projects people are working on that incorporate Impossible film. This week, we bring you photos of Psych Fest, as seen through the eyes of our good friend and excellent photographer James Joiner…

I knew from the moment I de-planed in Austin and felt warm, dry Texas air envelop me (at nine PM) that this was going to be a good weekend.

I was back in Texas for Psych Fest, an annual celebration of Psychedelic music hosted by locals The Black Angels. I say back because I had just been here a few weeks ago for the absolute madness that was South By Southwest, seven days of bourbon for breakfast and sleep being something that happened only when your face splashed forward into an empty tray of nachos while one of over ten thousand bands serenaded you at five in the morning.

No matter what happened, Psych Fest was going to be a vacation in comparison. This time around I was on assignment for a trifecta of magazines, paired with two different writers and armed with a backpack of Impossible film (thanks, Annie at Impossible!), my trusty SLR 680 and its digital counterpart.

After what would be my last good night of sleep for the duration and possibly more breakfast tacos than is technically healthy, Thursday was a mellow day spent prepping and bouncing between festival pre-parties, with the highlight being a wine tasting with rock n’ roll winemaker Charles Smith, who heartily drank beer and regaled us with stories of his wilder days. I should note that anyone who believes those “wilder days” are in the past is sadly mistaken, the man is nothing short of a force of nature.

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Welcome back to another edition of Dr. Love’s Tips, where Impossible USA’s camera resource manager Frank Love provides you with insight that allows you to get the best out of your Polaroid camera and Impossible film. This week: Viewfinder dysfunction…

Have you ever had the viewfinder on your SX-70 or SLR 680 suddenly go kind of…limp?

It’s ok, it can happen to 1 out of every 5 instant film shooters.

Symptoms can show themselves as:
1. a viewfinder that won’t fully close or open
2. what appears to be a black viewfinder when looking into it (see also: Mirror, Mirror blog post)
3. a small piece of metal sticking out the side of the skirt around the VF.

This can often be a simple issue in which the spring that hooks onto the mirror within the VF has come off the little bit of plastic on the mirror that it grabs to. So long as the piece of the mirror hasn’t broken, here’s a simple fix to put the spring back in place.

Welcome back to Dr. Love’s Tips! This week, Impossible USA’s Camera Resource Manager Frank Love discusses the SLR 680…

For any of you who happen to own an SLR 680, you know it is a beautifully well-crafted work of art of instant electronic machinery….it also tends to produce more ‘divots’ or [‘undeveloped patches’] than your friend’s SX-70 camera.

You may be wondering…why?

The simple answer here is the one thing in the ejection process that changes from the older SX-70 cameras to the SLR 680 and 690 model folding cameras, that is the rollers.

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Hello again, Instapals! Welcome back to 8 Exposures, our ongoing instant film Q&A series. This week, we bring you our good friend, Dallas photographer Justin Goode…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A Mamiya RB67 w/ an instant back, Polaroid Automatic 100, Spectra AF, Sonar SX-70 and a SLR 680.

2) Why do you like instant photography?

The whole process is special. You expose a frame, which is then pushed through rollers, smearing developer goop across a negative. A chemical reaction takes place and voila, an image materializes. That is tangibility at its finest. Within minutes you have a work of art in your hands. I like that, because of its analog nature, outside variables can shape the final outcome of the image. Another bonus of instant photography is the connection people have with the film. It’s incredibly nostalgic. Most, if not every person I’ve shot using instant film, smile & exclaim something about how neat, cool, awesome, amazing, unique it is. I couldn’t agree more. It’s all of that and then some.

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Hello friends, and welcome back to 8 Exposures, our instant film Q&A series! This week, we’re happy to bring you London photographer Cyrus Mahboubian…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

I’ve collected an unhealthy number of Polaroid cameras in my time and I’ve used most of them, apart from the very early models. My favourite is the original SX-70, but the one I use most often is an SLR 690. It was made in the 80s, based on the SX-70 design and it’s a wonderful camera.

2) Why do you like instant photography?

I like it instinctively, I’ve been hooked since I shot my first Polaroid and watched as the image appeared. Whenever I try to explain it in words, it always comes back to two things: the tangible nature of the prints and their singularity. For those reasons the photographs are more than just photographs, they’re objects. I also like the integrity of instant photography; once you’ve shot the image, there’s nothing more, you can’t edit it – actually that will make you a better photographer. Today everything is digital, but it’s hard to connect with digital images – the vast majority exist only on computer drives and will never be printed. It’s sad. Instant photography is the remedy.

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Hello, friends. Welcome back to 8 Exposures, our popular instant film Q&A series. This week, we’re happy to bring you long-time Impossible supporter and wonderful photographer, Italy’s own Andrea Palei…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

I started shooting instant film with the “Polaroid 1000 red button” of my dad. I am passionate and I bought an original SX-70 (my favourite camera), from there I became insane, and I started collecting as many instant cameras as possible. I often use original SX-70 and SLR 680. And sometimes the Spectra and Colorpack II.

2) Why do you like instant photography?

It’s magical. The thing I love most about the instant photography is the unpredictability of the outcome, and the possibility to “touch” the photo and see it “born” slowly under my eyes. Those are things that fascinate me again like the first time.

3) What is your earliest memory of instant film?

The very first memory: I was a child and my father was taking polaroids at the beach and birthday parties.

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Welcome back to 8 Exposures, our popular instant film Q&A series. This week, we are happy to bring you Australian designer and photographer Amanda Mason…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

I primarily use my folding SX-70 original and an SLR 680. If I was onboard a sinking ship and had to start throwing all my cameras overboard, I would go down with these two. I think they are design masterpieces capable of producing simply lovely images.

2) Why do you like instant photography?

I adore the dreamlike nature of the film. All instant film creates a nostalgic, other-worldly, soft toned patina. It is a dreamy little world that I want to live in all the time. Everytime I shoot instant film I am drawn into another dimension straight away. Everytime I see an instant photograph I feel like I am looking at a memory. Of course having the photograph in your hands in a matter of minutes is quite nice too.

3) What is your earliest memory of instant film?

My earliest memory of instant film is my grandmothers Polaroid camera. As kids we were absolutely fascinated by integral film, the magic of it all. She used that camera as her everyday camera, we still have those Polaroids in our family album. I bought my first Polaroid camera when I was 16.

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Welcome back to 8 Exposures, kiddies. This week, our instant film Q&A series focuses on Fernanda Montoro…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

The camera I love and use the most is the Polaroid SX-70. That’s the dream camera for me, the camera that has become the extension of my eyes. I often use a Polaroid 600 SE and Polaroid Spectra too. My little Polaroid camera collection also includes an SLR 680, a Mio, a couple of Miniportraits. And, of course, many SX-70s! I like to have them handy and to play with them from time to time, depending on the mood.

2) Why do you like instant photography?

I like absolutely everything about it!: Being able to watch the past become picture, in front of my eyes. Those whirring mechanical sounds that instant cameras make. Its distinctive painterly qualities, texture, saturation, ‘imperfections’. I even enjoy the limitation of having a limited number of shots! (Makes me respect the medium, compose more carefully, try my best in every frame). Also, thanks to instant photography I started to look at photography in a more serious way.

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Welcome back to 8 Exposures, friends. This week in our popular instant film Q&A series, we’re happy to bring you California photographer Micaela Go…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

Recently, I’ve been using an SLR 680 I’ve borrowed from a friend (I’ve gone through 3 already), but I also use my SX-70, ProPack and have picked up a Minolta Instant Pro and hope to use it more often.

2) Why do you like instant photography?

Right before all those little compact digital cameras became so ubiquitous, I picked up my first SLR 680. I loved it because it was instant – I could take a photo and have something tangible in my hands within seconds, then see the actual image within minutes. Now, Impossible Project film adds so many more qualities to instant photography that I love. I’m drawn to the unpredictability of the film, and every image is unique. The novelty of having this one image and it being the only one of its kind is remarkable. There’s also the aspect of how ephemeral the images are; watching each exposure develop and seeing how it continues to change after days, weeks, and months is something I find rather exciting.

3) What is your earliest memory of instant film?

I was probably around 12 years old when I found my dad’s old One Step (with film in it!) and I took it with me everywhere. I took pictures of my friends and family mostly (not much has changed since then).

It’s time for another edition of Dr. Love’s Tips, where Impossible USA’s Camera Resource Manager Frank Love provides you with advice on how to get the most out of your Polaroid camera and Impossible film. This week: Shooting Checklist.

Yo, Camera Checklist, one-two, what is this?

Thanks to our Flickr thread looking for suggestions, we got a topic request for a ‘Shooting Checklist’. In effect, something people can use to make sure they have everything set before shooting. I think when it comes to being prepared, there’s more than one ‘list’, there’s the checklist for when you leave the house, and then there’s the checklist you have for every time you take a shot.

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Welcome back to 8 Exposures, our instant film Q&A series. This week, we bring you California-based Laura Alice Watt…

Q1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A: The workhorse is my trusty SLR 680, looking a bit worse for wear these days as it’s usually my travel Polaroid. It’s kept company by a tan SX-70 (such an elegant creation!), a Spectra and an Automatic 250, plus packfilm camera backs for the Hasselblad and, most recently, Crown Graphic. Plenty of fine cams to choose from!

Q2) Why do you like instant photography?

A: There’s of course the relatively-instant gratification (compared to regular film, not digital) of seeing them develop, and the sheer tangibility of a pola, that it’s both an image and an object; for me, the biggest allure is the way these cameras and films “see.” Light glows differently through instant film than through any other kind, there’s just nothing else like it—all those Pola-Droid apps are sad, sad imitations at best—real instant film provides a unique and characteristic view of the world, a way of seeing the subject that directly enhances and contributes to its beauty or intrigue. And I like that sense of interaction, not only between photographer and subject but also through the distinctive medium of the film—and of course the serendipity.

Q3) What is your earliest memory of instant film?

A: I’m perhaps a bit unusual among instant photographers, in that I don’t have any nostalgic memories of polaroids from the past; both of...Read All

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Hello, Impossibles! Welcome back to 8 Exposures, our instant film Q&A series. This entry brings you photographic Frenchman Thomas Krauss…

Q1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A: From the moment I fell for instantaneous photographs I‘ve tried different ones, but mostly those that use 600 film. The very first one, the trigger, the Archduke of Austria, was the fruit of an exchange for a Holga. Lately I’ve mostly been using an SLR 680, a 690, and an instant Type 100 back for my 4×5 camera.

Q2) Why do you like instant photography?

A: I honestly don’t know, my banker is after me. My wife and him agree so much in restraining my buying frenzy that I’m beginning to think there’s something between them…My photographs lack perfection. I don’t master any of the parameters at shooting…

Q3) What is your earliest memory of instant film?

A: The one and only time during my childhood when I used a Polaroid was for Manu’s birthday. Manu was the little fair-haired boy who lived opposite us. (Since then he has grown and moved).
The boy I’ve always known.
The boy I cycled with.
The boy I watched the Tour de France with – the boy who made me hate the Tour de France.
The boy I played Monopoly with – the boy who made me hate Monopoly…So maybe he’s the one who made me hate birthdays and love Polaroid!

Q4) What’s your favorite Impossible film type?

A: Meat is my hobby-horse. The colour of meat. I’ve...Read All

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Welcome back to 8 Exposures, our instant film Q&A series! This week, we bring you polaroid portrait wizard Luciano Noble…

Q1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A: I use two Polaroid cameras, a Polaroid SLR 680 and an SX-70. I’ve got loads in my apartment, but they’re decorative more than anything else. I’ve gone through my packfilm period, my simple Polaroid period, used a Big Shot for a bit. But there’s just nothing like the SX-70 and its kin that fits me better, the amount of control I like, the quality I require, the form factor, hell, even the little noises the motors make in the SLR 680, that there is music to my ears.

Q2) Why do you like instant photography?

A: I love it because it’s utterly unique. Unique in the pictures that are created, in the interactions using such strange cameras creates between you and your subject, unique in the palette, in the creation of a physical artifact. I’ve been using Polaroid since 1996, it’s been with me for, well, for the majority of my life. Polaroid is responsible for my love of photography.

And it’s not really about film, it’s about Instant film. It’s about having it immediately, about creating this little piece of work that you made mere moments ago, and having it in your hands, showing the person you photographed what you saw, that this picture right here is how I see you.

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Hello from Impossible! Dr. Love is back with another informative post in which he revisits the importance of shielding your images…

“Some people have asked some follow up questions to our Opacification post, and as the days are getting longer, we wanted to help stress the use of Impossible Films on those bright sunny summer days.

To simply summarize the main point from the opacification post, Impossible films are still sensitive to light in the first moments out of the camera. This is because the protective layer within the film that is there to protect the film can’t yet block out enough light in many situations that it needs an outside aide.

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This week, Impossible USA’s Camera Resource Manager Frank Love explains the importance of caring for your camera’s rollers…

The all important rollers, and why you need to keep them clean. The rollers in your camera are a vital and often overlooked part of instant photography. The condition of the rollers will directly affect any image that comes from your camera.

The rollers that are on every Polaroid Camera, however old or new it is, large or small, one film type or another, they are what make the ‘magic’ of instant film possible. The rollers are what the film passes through to initiate the development of the film and print. Every piece of instant film from Polaroid to Impossible, of all sizes, has two main components that make it all work…

The Polaroid SLR 680 camera was first introduced in 1982, and was the only SLR ever produced for 600-series film*. It utilizes the same sonar autofocus technology as the 100-speed SX-70 Time Zero Autofocus models but also features a built-in electronic flash. The flash reflector even tilts to accommodate focal distance.

The SLR 680 sports a 4-element 116mm f/8 glass lens with a minimum focal length of 10.4 inches. It has an aperture range from f/8- f/22. Manual focus is possible via an override switch above the focusing wheel. The camera features a socket for a remote shutter release and also has a tripod socket and lugs for a neck strap.

The SLR 680 is compatible with any of the Impossible Project 600-series film, including PX 680 Color Shade First Flush film and PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ Black Frame film

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Hello, friends! We hereby present you with another entry in our instant film Q & A series, 8 Exposures. This week, we profiled California photographer Kristen Perman…

1) Q: What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A: My favorite camera is my SLR 680. I actually have two of them, both in a delicate state from being dropped. I also love my Spectra camera, gifted to me by a good friend, who found it by her apartment dumpster in Philly. It’s clear, so you can see all the inner workings and it has proven to be a great conversation starter.

2) Q: Why do you like instant photography?

A: Instant photography taught me how to frame a photo and of course, to slow down. I’ve learned that the first shot is always the best, even if that first shot is not the best or your favorite.

3) Q: What is your earliest memory of instant film?

A: We always had a Polaroid camera around. There are random family photos throughout my childhood proving its existence even though I don’t remember it much.

The good doctor.

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We put out the question to you all about what kinds of tips you all would like to hear. One topic we heard several times was about cleaning and maintenance of your folding SX-70 and SLR 680 cameras.

There are a few simple things you can do to help keep your cameras running well and looking good. Now not to sound like a broken record, but I again cannot stress keeping your rollers clean. You can refer back to our Door swapping post about how to get the door off your camera to make cleaning easier and safer. Then you can go back to our first video with Dave about cleaning rollers for how to do this.

After that you can keep the inside of your camera clean with a can of compressed air or an air blower some of you may have for keeping lenses clean which can help keep dust out of the film compartment of the camera (more after the jump!).

The good doctor.

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Door Swapping: Or, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Frankenroid…

Several of you have asked about swapping the doors on either your SX-70s or SLR 680s. Some of you either have rollers issues, or in response to the undeveloped patch, are looking to put the door of an older SX-70 onto the body of a 680 in order to help reduce the appearance of the ‘patch’ (SX-70s generally have tighter rollers).

In order to take the door off your camera, first you open your camera, then open the door itself and hold the camera in your right hand with the front facing your left. Make sure you don’t have a pack of film inside! With your left index finger, find the hinge of the door that is furthest from you and apply pressure on the hinge towards yourself. While doing this, pull that side of the door outward…

(More after the jump!)

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Hello, Impossibles! We’re back with another warm and fuzzy entry in our 8 Exposures series. This week, we highlighted NY-based Graphic and Web Designer Dan Meade…

1) Q: What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A: All of them! No, really…I have this thing where I have to try everything. I probably have at least one of every style and format of Polaroid camera, from Spectra and peel-apart cameras to 500 and even I-Zone!

I really enjoy my SLR cameras (several SX-70s and an SLR680) most, but I’ve also built a few home-made cameras including instant pinhole cameras and a custom rubber-coated “Holga-roid.” I also just got a Crown Graphic, which is just fascinating when used with instant film.

2) Q: Why do you like instant photography?

A: I was initially drawn to instant photography for the nostalgia.

However, I quickly became hooked on the “instant gratification” and the unpredictable nature of instant photos.

(More after the jump!)

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Hi again, 8 Exposures fanatics! We’re happy to bring you a special Sunday entry in our series. This episode, the star of 8 Exposures is Seattle-based designer, project manager and mom Brooke Castro…

1) Q: What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

A: I have 12 Polaroid cameras (there is no such thing as too many cameras, right?), but the ones I use most are my SLR 680 SE, SX-70, and a Polaroid ColorPack II.

2) Q: Why do you like instant photography?

A: I love that it has proved time and time again that the most beautiful or interesting photos aren’t always the ones you planned for or expected.

3) Q: What is your earliest memory of instant film?

A: When I was really young, my grandfather used to take family photos with a Polaroid camera. I can remember waiting, anxious for him to peel back the film and show my cousins and me the photo. (That Polaroid ColorPack II that I mentioned above? That was my grandpa’s camera.)

(More after the jump!)

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Welcome to another thrilling episode of 8 Exposures, our new interview series highlighting interesting people using Impossible film. This week we talked with Oregon-based instant film magicians His & Hers (Dave Tuttle and Whitney Johnson)…

1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?

Hers: Between the two of us, we have a lot of cameras. We actually have an entire closet devoted to cameras, accessories and film.

His: The cameras are in various working conditions, of course. I think we probably have only 30-40 total. There are more than a few that could probably stand to be donated for parts.

Hers: Ha! Only 30 or 40.

His: Yeah, it is a bit ridiculous considering we really only use the same ones over and over again.

Hers: I love my SLR 680. It has a tiny hole in the bellows that I have to tape every few months, a burn mark on the sonar from where I attempted to dislodge a piece of stuck straw with a lighter (note to others: this is not a good idea) and the entire top cover melted off on a Caribbean cruise (seriously), but it still works like a champ. It is the best $75 I’ve ever spent.

(More after the jump!)