two photographs

picture of a camera not taking a picture of an absurdist triptych, I & II
2010

Soft Surf

and then, at the foot of the bed, about a hundred yards from shore, the waves started crashing

Vintage Future

I picked up my Polaroid camera, the Spirit 600, from the repair shop a couple weeks ago and found myself at the most recognized sculpture in Chicago. So I snapped a pic. Click.

@thegratefulone

Out With The Huh?

Haven't posted a Polaroid picture in a while. This is from the Fall of 2002, taken in a friends dorm room at Southern Illinois University. I am on the left, wooking it out: though you can't tell, those pants have patchwork running along the sides and I wasn't wearing shoes, never did. I had a great time during the 4 months I was enrolled there. Ah, so many memories of not remembering anything.

Delivery! from, The Impossible Project

A tiny box of awesomeness was sitting on my front porch this morning. In it, a ten pack of Polaroid 600 film from The Impossible Project. Super stoked, except that I still need to bring the Spirit into the shop for a quick 1-2. Maybe that's what I'll do today. The film came with a Polaroid Magazine CD as well; it's all in German. 

The back of the package reads,

THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT proudly presents carefully saved, stored and tested Polaroid film in a very limited Special Edition, designed by Paul Giambarba, who created the iconic look of Polaroid from 1957 to 1977.

This package has passed all tests and can be enjoyed until 12/2010 and beyond. Meanwhile THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT will continue to define and develop a new instant film to be introduced in early 2010. 

Tomorrow, The Impossible Shop will in fact start selling that film, their very own monochrome instant film, in two different versions, PX 100 and PX 600. This film is for users of the Polaroid SX-70 camera. You can read more about the film here. New color film should be available this summer.

There has been a lot of news coverage since The Impossible Press Event, held in New York City on Monday, some of which you can find here.

Take more pictures!

@thegratefulone

Impossible Press Event Held Today!

The Impossible Project held their long anticipated press event today in New York City, publicly announcing their plans of instant photography world domination.

The first two Impossible Films were announced, going on sale March 25th at The Impossible Shop. They are PX100 Silver Shade / First Flush and PX600 Silver Shade / First Flush. The film will be available at premium photography stores soon. Color film will be available this summer. They will continue to sell the rest of their stock of classic Polaroid film as well.

If you're interested in reading more about the film, check out the press releases from their new website, which went live today. 

The Impossible Project's Space, a shop and gallery, is opening in New York City on April 30th. 

A huge day for the future of instant photography. Can't wait to buy a pack of new color film. Cheers! to The Impossible Project and all the hard work they are doing. 

@thegratefulone

Polaroid 600 Film Still On Sale

Polaroid 600 film is still on sale at The Impossible Store. You won't find it cheaper anywhere else right now. Check post below this one for links to Amazon and Ebay store listings.

Hurry while supply lasts! This limited sale ends Monday, March 15th, at Noon.

The film they are selling is Polaroid 600 Giambarba. A description taken from The Impossible website:

•Ultimate stock of today's most popular and meanwhile hard-to-get Polaroid film. High-speed, high definition and fantastic quality. Limited edition designed by Paul Giambarba.

Cheers! And Have A Great Weekend! Take Lots of Pictures!

The Impossible Shop Fixes Bugs

600 Film Available

After a rough start to a promising weekend of discounted Polaroid film, the Impossible Project has fixed the bugs that were halting the sale of their Polaroid 600 film. 

But act quickly! This is a limited supply and the discounted price of $19 a pack, which is the cheapest on the internet, only applies to orders of 5 or less packs. Otherwise it's $22 a pack, which is still ridiculously cheaper than Amazon or Ebay. 

Take advantage of this great offer and be grateful. 

Cheers! from @thegratefulone

The Impossible Shop "Sells Out" Overnight?

So, I posted last night about a live countdown for Polaroid 600 film going on sale today. It was around midnight last night when I posted and it was set to go on sale today around seven in the morning.

Well, their website is listing that the 600 film is already sold out.

But whoever tweets for Impossible under the handle @ImpossibleUSA is responding to frantic 600 devotees by saying that there is still lots of film available. Hmmm....

These tweets are from about 40 minutes ago (~10 am central time)

• my inventory list shows lots of film left - I'm looking into it. will let you know asap :) 43 minutes ago via web

• I just tried adding 600 film to my cart and didn't have a problem, can you try again and let me know what happens?

 So, I'm trying to figure this one out, and I will keep this blog posted as necessary.

And The Sale Begins! Live Countdown at the Impossible Shop

It finally happens! After weeks of stalling, The Impossible Project (formerly PolaPremium) has opened up the doors for their 600 film in stock.

There is a live countdown on their shops website right now!

Cheers!

*though I still need to get my Spirit 600 fixed. Shutter button why won't you shutter!

**you can follow The Impossible Project on Twitter @ImpossibleUSA

Polaroid Camera Down

The Spirit 600.... down! So, I was just about to take the most epic photo ever the other day, pressed in the shutter button, and... nothing. Tried again, nothing. Again, nothing. Again, nothing.

Any suggestions out there?

I think I need to take it into the shop.

8 Dollars : 2 Pictures. #'s 4 & 5

Took two polaroids today. Numbers four and five. I found myself in the North suburbs of Chicago, near Northbrook, and came across Techny Towers on my way to a field to take pictures. I parked my car and walked about 100 yards away from the entrance, crouched down, and snapped this shot.

 

The second shot was taken about thirty minutes later at the entrance to Chippilee woods in Northbrook, Illinois, at the corners of Grant and Lee. 

The moon is visible in the upper left hand corner of the photo and the tiny snow covered monument in the lower right is an original cornerstone from the civil war era Fort Dearborn, from Chicago.

And It's Official! Updated Today: PolaPremium Becomes Impossible!

PolaPremium Becomes Impossible!

 "As the last quantities of carefully stored original Polaroid films are currently melting like snow in the sun, it is about time to introduce a new chapter of analog Instant Photography. To begin with, please make yourself comfortable at our new Impossible shop and update your bookmarks. In the meantime, we are preparing everything for the Impossible."

-from http://www.the-impossible-project.com

New Upgrades to PolaPremium

PolaPremium and The Impossible Project seemed to have officially merged today. The websites, which were once entirely separate sites, have gone through some upgrades and now are almost one in the same. In fact, when you Google "The Impossible Project" and go to their website they now have a link that takes you to the Impossible Store, which in essence was PolaPremium. When you Google "PolaPremium" it takes you directly to the same site as well, The Impossible Store, which you can find here: The Impossible Store.

But they still haven't restocked their 600 film! I only have 7 photos left!

Though according to them, their warehouses are restocked:

Our US warehouse is now FULLY restocked and the Impossible shop totals will be updated later today. Thanks for your patience! #polaroid about 13 hours ago (via Twitter)

And @ImpossibleUSA is still taking questions. When I asked if they were restocking the 600 soon, which has been out of stock for a while now, they promptly replied,

@thegratefulone we have 5,000 packs in our warehouse :) just waiting for the website to be updated later today. about 14 hours ago

So we're all patiently waiting for our 600 film. Can't complain though; this company and the project is a fantastic endeavour.

New Vintage: Polaroid Photo #3

It was snowing outside earlier tonight. Snowing like mad. I ran outside into the middle of my street, a quiet, wooded side street in a North side neighborhood of Chicago, and snapped a polaroid. I went outside knowing that the street lamps wouldn't provide enough light for the Spirit 600 to capture the snow falling, the lit sky, the bare limbs of crackling trees, but I needed to make sure.

And sure enough. But, as this guy would tell you, there is no such thing as a wasted polaroid. So, here is number three.

Cost: Four dollars 

Location: Lakeview, Chicago 

Time: 6:30pm, 2/22/10

Weather: Heavy, wet snow. 32* F

Update on Polapremium

Still haven't restocked their 600 film yet.

According to their twitter account, @ImpossibleUSA, the film got held up at customs but should be in stock soon.

#toogoodtobetrue?

http://www.polapremium.com/shop/film/600

New Polaroid Camera and The Impossible Project

So, a few days ago I found a really cool looking, vintage Polaroid camera, pictured here, on craigslist. I called the woman, she was very nice, she mentioned the camera had been in her closet for twenty years. I drove there, tried it, it worked, paid her, and left.

I get home and go online to find where to buy more film for the camera. It is a Spirit 600 Polaroid Camera, circa 1983, I believe. Much to my chagrin, within minutes of tearing open the film package that came with it and snapping off a couple photos, I find out that Polaroid discontinued production of all classic Polaroid film, including shutting down the factories where the film was made. This happened in 2008.

Apparently, because of this, there was a mad rush on Polaroid film, and when I went to Amazon to search for film, prices ranged from forty dollars to one hundred dollars, and that was for one pack of ten shots.
I look down at my two "test" shots that were still developing in front of me. Five dollars for a picture of my brother on the couch. Five dollars for a picture of our backyard from the sun room. Hmph.

So, like everyone, I went online to rant and vent. On twitter, I complained:

just read that Polaroid stopped making 600 film. so for 1 pack of film, that has 10 shots in it, amazon charges $39.99 (at the lowest) 5:50 PM Feb 15th
4 dollars a photo! 5:52 PM Feb 15th
make every picture count 5:56 PM Feb 15th

One hour later, someone noticed my complaints, and responded:

@ImpossibleUSA to @thegratefulone: we sell 600 film for $21/pack on our retail site (polapremium.com) it'll be fully restocked by the end of the week. 6:56 PM Feb 15th
ImpossibleUSA to @thegratefulone: p.s. we're also making NEW 600 film. B&W will be out in the spring and color in the summer :) 6:57 PM Feb 15th

How awesome. A group called The Impossible Project and a company called PolaPremium had bought almost all of the remaining Polaroid film and were not only selling it much cheaper than people on Amazon and Ebay, but were also in the process of making new film. Amazing.
So, this is all leading up to a point. I am going to start dedicating part of this blog, The Perpetual Log, to infinite awesomeness of Polaroid pictures. Since they still right now cost around four to five dollars a photo, I am backing them up digitally, and will post them as they happen. Probably one a week.

Here are the first two.

Here are a the links to the sites described above:

• http://www.polapremium.com
• http://www.the-impossible-project.com/2009
• http://twitter.com/ImpossibleUSA

Cheers!