A Sample of Ojai via an SX-70

Got to try out my "new" SX-70 Sonar while we were vacationing in Ojai, CA last weekend. Was quite happy with how it performed. My only complaint is that its a little bit more awkward to travel with compared to the classic manual. Or I just need to find a better bag. I do need to get a neck strap for it though. Nice thing about walking around Ojai is that most things of interest were 5 minutes from our Inn. Easy parking, plenty of food choices and nice variety of shops. For as small of a town as it is, there is quite a bit of interesting things to photograph and be inspired by. If we had stayed an additional day I would have easily gone thru my other pack of film. Up next, Holga shots. Dropped film off at the lab today, probably will have something to see by mid-week. Stay tuned.

          

          

          

Back in Ojai

Back in Ojai, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

Went to the wonderful little town of Ojai, about 90 minutes north of L.A. for a long weekend with my wife. Got a chance to do some wandering, good eating and some picture taking, as well as finally trying out some chocolate type 100 peel apart film. I really like the quality of it. Warm and creamy tones and pretty sharp considering there is some texture to it. More posts coming soon from this trip, I did some SX-70 shots with my "new" SX-70 Sonar and a bunch of Holga shots (still need to get processed).

Polaroid 340 camera, Type 100 Chocolate film, expired.

Polaroid SX-70 Sonar OneStep

SX-70 Sonar, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

Welcome to the family. My "new" Polaroid SX-70 Sonar OneStep. Only shot a couple of tests shots, but so far it seems like I got a good one. Now when the weather gets better I'll be able to actually take it outside.


Test shot from my "new" SX-70 Sonar, so far so good.

Polaroid SX-70 Sonar Onestep, Fade to Black film, approx. 2 hours development.

Signs

Coffe Cup Sign, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

Mels Diner Sign, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

Polaroid SX-70 classic camera, Polaroid Artistic TZ film.

SX-70 Fade to Black

Finally tried out the Fade to Black film from ImpossibleUSA Shop. 1st shot is below. This is some pretty interestingly cool film. Love the tone shift and gradual loss of detail as it darkens, like it's melting almost, but with this beautiful warm chocolately coffee bleed thru. It definitely shifted quickest in the first 6 hours or so, then it seemed to just get more gradually dark. Planning ahead, I just setup my scanner and left it on the glass and just kept scanning it every hour or so for the first 10+ hours, then it sat overnight and I scanned a few more, but with 2 hour gaps. Definitely a greater commitment of my time in order to get all the scans vs waiting and trying one of the wet/dry techniques. I really do like all the versions though and I'm glad I have the option to choose. Either way, doing these in the field might prove to be tricky, unless you're prepared.


SX70 Fade to Black Mosaic, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

Polaroid SX-70 classic camera, Polaroid Fade to Black film. Approximately 24 hours development.



Polaroid SX-70 classic camera, Polaroid/Polapremium Fade to Black film. Approximately 5-1/2 hours development.

So That's How It Works!

This is a pretty cool video that someone over at Polapremium mentioned. All about how the SX-70 works, both film and mechanics. 1972.

Polaroid SX-70 Promotional Film from Ekim on Vimeo.

SX-70

365 2.0/340, originally uploaded by LeandroF.

1st shot with the Polaroid Artistic TZ SX-70 film. Ordered a couple of packs of ATZ and the Fade to Black film from Polapremium during their black friday sale. I really like this film so far. It has such a nice color palette to it. Plus, I'm thrilled that my SX-70 classic original still works! Many many moons ago when I was still an art student and aspiring photographer, I utilized Polaroids (sx-70 and peel apart) here and there, but not a huge amount simply for budget reasons. It was cheaper to roll and process my own black and white film. So I saved my polaroids for certain things. At the time, if you were on a budget, you had to choose. Now today, in the midst of everything digital and being able to shoot as much as one wants, I've had my own analogue film realization which has also led me back to Polaroids. I've become a very selective shooter over the years, even digitally, I usually (not always, but most of the time) know if I've got something I like within the first few shots. This applies to my holga shots and now to my Polaroid shots as well. Seems to suit my shooting style/method. Oh how I've missed this.

Polaroid Fun

Been on the hunt for Polaroid gear lately in anticipation of The-Impossible-Project launch. I already have a SX-70 thats been sitting away in a drawer waiting to be used again. Haven't shot anything with it in about 6 years I think. Hoping it still works, I've had it for about 14 years. I have a few 600 and TimeZero cameras in storage (somewhere). Also have several 100 series pack cameras. Been trying to use my 340 (I have a close up kit that fits it) with some Fuji brand instant film and that has been a pain. First had to get a new battery. Then found film at Amazon for a good price and free shipping if I spend over $25, which means 3 packs, but thought I could get it locally at Samy's Camera, same price as Amazon, but get only one or two packs. Trying to keep the spending down (and didn't feel like waiting for it). : ) Waited in line for 15+ minutes, asked for 2 packs and they tell me its almost $30. Apparently their online price differs from their in store price. Didn't offer a price match (which is strange considering it's the same business), so I said no thanks. Polapremium had a Black Friday sale of their own in the morning and had discounts on their Artistic TZ and Fade to Black SX-70 film. So I ordered 2 packs of each. Great price and easy ordering. Via twitter, they even ensured that it shipped out same day and sent me the tracking number. Didn't even get a blink from the guy at Samy's, looks like I'll be ordering some from Amazon after all. Need to start checking out Freestyle Photo again. I do want to try some of the chocolate peel apart film that Polapremium is offering.

Yesterday, I found a One Step Closeup camera at the local Out of the Closet (kinda like Goodwill or Salvation Army) for $5 and it had what I thought was 3 shots left in it, turns out it had 8 shots (I think)! It counts backwards. Double score! Have no idea how old or how long its been sitting.

This was the first shot, of myself, and got some nice chemical streaking and undeveloped areas in it.

This was the second shot that I took today.