Instant grazie-fication...

13 Dec

I can't remember exactly where I saw my first Polaroid being taken, which camera it was taken with or the resulting image that gradually appeared before my eyes... but I was perhaps 9 years old and I had never seen anything so magical in all my life. It captured my imagination like nothing else and one thing I do remember was asking my parents, many times, whether we could get one. The answer was always no. I think expense was the main reason but my Dad having a darkroom in the attic had something to do with it I'm sure. He probably didn't see it as 'real' photography. I must ask him at Christmas - right after I've taken one of him in his silly paper hat. : )

Anyway, the memories gradually faded (just like a Polaroid... *boom tish*) and I made do with my pink 'Le Clic' camera... yes, you know the one.

Over a year ago I got my first Polaroid camera - a Spectra model - for £25 on eBay. Not a thing of beauty, granted, and very impractical to carry around in its (suit)case but I love the landscape style Polaroid images you get and the film is readily available from The Impossible Project.

However the camera I really wanted was the one I first saw on the blog of the very inspirational and extremely lovely Susannah Conway - or perhaps in the book she co-wrote - Instant Love (if you are interested in Polaroid photography - you need this book in your life). That camera is the SX-70. And here is mine.

Beautiful isn't she? *sigh*

So... on my recent trip to Venice with 30 other female photographers (full blog post to follow) I packed this little beauty up along with 3 packs of film and headed off on my first SX-70 adventure.

Here are the results. Way beyond my expectations for my first time using the camera. Sure there are a few duds and I have about 6 that were a total fail but the fact that I got these and still have 6 frames left to take on the last film makes me very happy indeed.

NB: If you should find yourself on a plane without an envelope or anything to put your Polaroid photos in... I can recommend a Monarch airlines sick bag. They are thankfully plain white. : )

And if you were in Venice at the end of November and saw a grown woman wide-eyed, grinning like a fool and carrying a little white paper bag... well, that was me.... 9-year-old me, just in an older shell.