Summer is coming here in North America, and with it comes increased temperature and more sunlight.  The IMPOSSIBLE Project has made some great advancements with their Color Protection generation of Color Shade film, but there are some things to consider now that it’s getting to be summer, even with those advancements.  Follow me as I take you across the heat filled, sun drenched back roads through Joshua Tree National Park to Arizona, and hopefully you will find some tricks and tips to help you get the shots when the heat is on.

*NOTE*:  The pictures taken in this series were in VERY high heat, well above 100 F.  You probably won’t have these worries with your IMPOSSIBLE shots, but it illustrates that you CAN shoot in almost any environment and still get great quality from this film.  And yes, that’s 104 F at 5:25PM…HOT!

The Route

We have started exploring all the different routes and back roads to get to Arizona instead of the boring Interstate Highways.  This time we planned a route that would take us through Joshua Tree National Park and then hook back up to Highway 62.  We also decided to take a side-route that took us across Parker Dam before heading into Lake Havasu.  Check out the route here:

View Larger Map

One of the reasons we take these back routes is to try to get great photos along the way.  This time I wanted to just shoot IMPOSSIBLE film on the trip.  I picked my Polaroid Spectra AF and Polaroid SX-70 Time Zero Autofocus Model 2 as the Polaroid cameras of choice.  Why?  The forecast for the weekend was summer-like bright days with highs above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and both of these cameras were outfitted with IMPOSSIBLE Project Frog-Tongues.  I had luckily just gotten my frog-tongue for the folding SX-70, so I didn’t have to use the “darkslide over the rollers” technique any more and was anxious to see how well it worked in the field.

Packing (for the) Heat on the Cheap

We were taking our 4 dogs in our Toyota Tundra pickup so I knew I would have to pack some of the film and supplies into a suitcase for travel and have it in the bed of the truck.  Concerned about heat, I got my small roll-on case and used my tried and trusted method for keeping my IMPOSSIBLE film safe from heat and cold on trips.  I took one of my pillows from my bed and laid it in the case, then put all of my film and my SX-70 and Clip-It filter holder (in a Bento box for protection) and then put my hoodie sweatshirt on top of that and closed up the bag.  Not only did it protect my cameras and accessories from bumps in the road, the pillow acts as great insulation from the heat. It’s easy and cheap, and once you get to your destination you have your pillow for sleeping. I don’t know about you, but having your own pillow is sweet refuge from being away from home.

I found that I only had enough room to have one camera out while we were on the road, so I chose the Spectra AF as it is almost bullet-proof in design.  Closed up, it travels well and since I paid about $10 for it I wasn’t worried about any scuffs or scrapes like I do with my SX-70’s.  I popped in a pack of PZ680 CP film and stowed the camera in the door storage next to the driver’s seat and was ready to shoot at a moments notice.

Joshua Tree National Park

Our first stop in this trip was in Joshua Tree National Park.  We were about 15 miles away from the famous trees after driving for about an hour when we needed to stop to let the dogs out.  There seemed to be some cool shots, so I grabbed the Spectra and walked around with the dogs.

I wasn’t too worried about the bright light as I had my frog-tongue, but I was about the heat the moment I stepped out of the truck. I figured if I found a shot I would take it, but use the oh-so-useful feature of the Spectra, the ability to hold down the shutter button to not eject the film, and eject it back in the truck where it was a bit cooler.  I also had brought along a bag that I can put a blue ice pack in, so I figured I was set.  I set up my first shot and held the shutter button down and flipped the self-timer switch so it wouldn’t eject and wondered if I would find another shot.  I did, and then realized that I had packed my bag and cooler and it was in the back of the truck.  I knew the moment wouldn’t last with the shot I had set up, so I ejected the first one and did the only thing I could do and stuck it in my back pocket.  

I figured it was doomed.  I snapped my second shot and quickly got back to the truck to deposit both of them to the coolness.

I tossed the first shot into the glove compartment which was still cool.  Thinking the coolness was perfect, I ejected the second shot, thinking all was well.

I went back out but didn’t find any other shots, so we packed up the dogs and headed back out on the road.  After 30 minutes of the A/C blasting, I decided to take a look at my shots.

Shot #1

Shot #2

I was actually surprised at how well the first shot came out.  It didn’t have the blues that I wanted, as they are the first thing that goes when IMPOSSIBLE film gets too hot, but in that heat and then in my even hotter back pocket, it held up well.

My disappointment was in my second shot with my dog Sydney hanging out in the shade of the Yucca.  Why no blue?  I thought I had done everything correct, and then it hit me.  The camera.  When I ejected the shot the relatively cool glove compartment wasn’t cool enough to compensate for how hot the black Spectra AF camera was.  It has better color than the first shot, but it still wasn’t what I wanted from this film.

Parker Dam at its Hottest

As we headed across highway 62 the temperature continued to climb, hovering around 104 F. We passed by the Rice Shoe Fence that I had shot at Thanksgiving, and headed to Parker, California and the Parker Dam.  Having learned that it was important in this extreme heat to keep the camera cool as well as the film, I stopped the truck and prepared my next shot.  I ran across the blacktop and tried to compose my shot as quickly as I could. I ran back to the truck after taking my shot and cooled the camera by holding it close to the A/C vent as we headed a little closer to the dam. In the couple of minutes it took to drive closer, the camera cooled and I ejected it and put the shot in the glove compartment to develop.

I jumped out again composed and took another shot and dripping with sweat, I climbed in and repeated the process.  I hoped that cooling the camera would be the missing element in these extreme conditions.

And it was.

Shot #3

Shot #4

The lesson learned from these shots is that if you are going to be out in the field, you have to remember that the camera gets hot too.  And inside your camera is your film and it will get warm as well.  If you can, take the time to bring the camera back down to a reasonable temperature.  If you can’t wait to cool down the camera, then make sure you have an extra cool area to develop the film in those first key moments of development.

The Frog-Tongue is Amazing - shooting In Havasu

But the good news is that most of the time you won’t be in these extreme 100+ degree temperatures.  And the even better news.  The IMPOSSIBLE Frog-Tongue does an AMAZING job at protecting the film from the extreme light.

Here is a shot in Lake Havasu, near my wife’s parents house with my SX-70 with my Clip-It Filter attachment with a red filter.  In 105 degree weather IMPOSSIBLE Silter Shade turns a very sepia color, which I was actually trying to get, but I want to point out that I took this shot, it ejected and I walked for about 3 minutes in the bright sunlight with only the new SX-70 Frog-Tongue protecting it.  As you can see, it did a spectacular job.  The SX-70 might not have the ability to pause ejection, but you can guarantee your shots won’t be ruined by the sun if you use it.  And remember, this is Silver Shade which doesn’t have the same light protection that Color Shade has.

Shot #5

After we unpacked, I got out my bag and cooling gel and had no trouble shooting in the heat.  This one was mid-day and once again in 100+ degree weather, but the extra cooling helped keep everything in check.

Shot #6

Shot #7

On our way back to California we paused to let the dogs out in the middle of nowhere and the heat was just incredible.  We were out for a little bit as the dogs were exploring, so everything including my camera was pretty warm.  I let the camera cool for quite awhile before ejecting, but my final shot turned out just as I wanted it.

Shot  #8

Lessons Learned and What I Would Change

I know what some of you are thinking.  Why should you go through all this trouble to get a shot?  Why shouldn’t the film just handle the heat better?  As we all know IMPOSSIBLE has made great strides in their film development, but I think we often forget that even in it’s heyday, Polaroid film was designed to be developed around 70-80F, and Fuj’s Instax film today maxes out at 104F.  This is extreme heat we are talking about.  So, what would I do differently, and what worked well?

The IMPOSSIBLE Project’s Frog-Tongues are just downright amazing.  Get them.  Get them for every camera and you can shoot in the brightest light you can find.  The SX-70 version seemed too good to be true when I first saw it, but it works perfectly even in the brightest conditions.

If you are going to be shooting in extreme conditions, I recommend using a Spectra as it can be delayed in ejecting the film.  I absolutely love this feature and the durability and the low-cost of them make them easy and carefree to shoot with.  If you are out shooting in the heat, just remember that the camera gets hot as well.  Either use a bag with some sort of cooling agent or delay your ejection until you can get to a cooler place.

You may not have to adjust to the extreme temperatures that I experienced, but if you just take notice of the change in light and temperatures from spring into summer, and use a frog-tongue, you will be rewarded with great summer IMPOSSIBLE shots.

As always, check out my latest on my Flickr stream.

I have been using my Clip-It filter system for a week or so now, and I’m loving it.  It’s taken the guess work out of using filters for IMPOSSIBLE Silver Shade Black and White film for my SX-70 and it’s opened up a whole new look to my Instant work.

As you may have seen in my previous post, the yellow filter works great and just rounds out PX100 UV+ film to give it a great look without going crazy.  But what about going a little crazy? How about using a 3 stop altering red filter?

Red filters are most notably used to make very contrasty images and dark skies and clouds.  It is often called the “cloud filter” because of this.

Well, on a rare chance, we were supposed to get some rain and that brings clouds.  If you don’t live in Southern California then you might not know that we rarely get clouds.  And when we do, they usually aren’t the big puffy storm clouds that I grew up with in Kansas and Colorado.  But we were going to get some clouds!

When I noticed the clouds rolling in I grabbed the camera and snapped on the Clip-It with a red filter in place.  The clouds weren’t cooperating too much  but I really wanted to see how it handled clouds.  So, I took the best opportunity I could find and took this one:

As you can see, it definitely increases contrast.  The clouds didn’t have a ton of definition, but I was actually surprised at how much this filter brought out in them.  And the best thing?  I didn’t have to compensate at all for this shot.  A red filter has a 3 stop affect on exposure, and with the red filter over the electric eye it handled it perfectly!

Later in the day the clouds were breaking up a bit and I saw a brief opportunity to get some sky and more defined clouds, so I tried a quick composition with my house in shadow.

After that I decided to shoot something more my style with the red filter. Red filters darken greens and blues and lighten reds and yellows, so I knew these little white, yellow and purple flowers would just POP off the film. 

I find it very exciting to be able to push IMPOSSIBLE’s already awesome PX100 film to get unique looks that you can only get with filters.  And having a lightweight, easy to use accessory, makes it even better in my opinion.  

The Clip-It worked great, snapping on and off with ease and since it’s very light, you don’t even notice it on your camera, well, other than everything being red in the viewfinder that is.

As always, check out my latest on Flickr.

I’ve always wanted to try an Fujifilm Instax 210, but never could justify the cost of one, even when I found them under $50.  Well, I every once in a while watch them on ebay and sometimes just put in feeler bids to see where they are at.

I did that a week or so ago on an “untested” 210 for $1.99.  I was kind of surprised when i got the ebay notice that I had won it for the $1.99.

Well, it arrived today and after work, and taking a break from working on things with the Clip-It, I decided to see if it worked.  I added batteries and noticed that it has all the little springs on the top, even though you have to load the AA’s alternating.  I wondered if that was the issue on the “untested” status.

It wasn’t…it didn’t power on.  Booo.  Well, I’ve never seen the inside of an Instax so I decide to take it apart.

I don’t really recommend people do this.  It’s not hard, but the Instax isn’t the most robustly built camera.  It’s all plastic and not fun to take apart.

I had the back off, the front off and I had my mult-imeter out and was tracing power through the camera.  It was getting power all the way to right before the red power button.  Hmmm, I decided to take the circuit board off the left hand side where the power button is and that’s when I saw it on the bottom of the circuit board…a little switch.  I took my tiny screwdriver and held the switch on and pressed the power…and it TURNED ON!  

That’s when I noticed on the door flap that there was a little tab of plastic that had broken off.  Apparently in a pristine 210 there is a little tab that, when you close the back of the camera, flips the switch and let’s you power on the camera.  I am guessing this is so that you don’t turn on the camera with the back open.  But in my case, it was broken off.  That is it…a tiny little piece of plastic and it rendered the camera useless.

Well, I got some card stock and wedged it into the slot, “permanently” flipping the switch on.

Here’s a shot inside the back of the camera with it all back together. The pink circle is the broken tab and the white circle is the slot that houses the switch with my cardboard hack in it.

If taking the camera apart was fun, putting it back together was even more fun.  The eyepiece ended up being the biggest problem, but I finally got it back together and now I have a working Instax 210!  Not bad for $1.99!  Oh, and it had the original box AND the close-up lens!

But now I have to buy some film…uh oh, this could get expensive…

Well, I gotta get back to working on getting the “Clip It” to market…but I thought this would be a good tip for others who find Instax 210’s that “won’t power on”.

It’s amazing how life takes you down a path. You close doors, open others, and then sometimes, a few years later, the old door gets opened in a new way.

Back in my day, there weren’t many colleges that had 3D animation as part of a curriculum, and even fewer that had it as part of a BFA program.  I sought out and went to Bowling Green State University in Ohio just for this reason.  I got my BFA, went out into the world and made 3D my career.  As my career went further, I did 3D less and less.  I got burnt out and my fascinations turned to other things like photography.  I guess my thinking was…why make pictures from my imagination when God has placed such beautiful things around me?  Or as Maynard James Keenan wrote in the Tool song, Right In Two:

 ”Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here.”

So, I embraced photography and it has opened my eyes to the world.  But as I started shooting more IMPOSSIBLE Project stuff, I noticed there weren’t too many accessories for it.  I wanted to use filters for my black and white work like I do in my Black and White film photography.  I started putting IMPOSSIBLE film in other cameras to get this, but I missed shooting my SX-70.

I have a buddy (another 3D guy) that had an idea and he made it a reality by 3D printing it from Shapeways and it has taken off.  His PoiseCam came into being only because of 3D printing.  That got me thinking…what if I could make a filter holder for the SX-70 and brush off my 3D modeling skills and put them to use again for making something real?

And that’s what I did.  I will blog more about the beginnings, the tools I used (all FREE!!) and the steps I took in later blogs, but for now I just want to share something that, not too long ago, was a thought…a sketch…a dream.  

It’s my first working prototype of the Clip-It for SX-70, 3D printed at Shapeways.com.  It’s a filter attachment that simply clips on the front of any SX-70 and you can slide in filters.  Yellow filters, ND filters, Orange Filters, Red, Blue and others.  Here it is:

It has a yellow filter that just slides into it and a yellow filter over the electronic eye that the SX-70 uses to make exposure.  The cool thing is, you can take all of that off and put in other filters, use the filter over the eye, or not.

I’ve gone through a few prototypes and learned a lot.  There is about a 2 week turnaround from Shapeways and their quality is really good.  But it does mean that I have two weeks to wait to test out my ideas.  But this time, it all worked out!  I even had some early feedback from some AWESOME IMPOSSIBLE shooters based on a screen grab of my model, and now it’s here.  A big thanks to everyone that told me what they wanted in this kind of product, it’s really helped expand what it does.

So, how does it work?

Well, for this example I put in a yellow filter and slapped in some PX100 UV+ in my Polaroid SX-70 Time Zero Autofocus Model 2 and made a sexy black and white shooting machine.

Since you can remove both filters, I wanted to shoot a shot with just the yellow filter over the lens.  Since a yellow filter needs to be compensated 1 stop, I just slid my light/dark wheel over two notches (or 1 stop) and took this shot.

The chairs are a light blue in real life, so the yellow filter brightens them up and the spare bits of grass really stand out over the dirt and the overall image is a bit more contrasy than a standard PX100 shot.

Yellow filters also help with skin tones.  I usually try to grace these pages with photos of my wife and my muse, but she was busy when I was going around doing test shots, so I just used my hand to show how softer skin tones get, but yet keep the contrast of the wrinkles in my hand.  Once again I put the light/dark wheel 2 notches to light.

Having shown that the filter does indeed work on its own, I wanted to make sure you could slide on the “stalk” and cover the electronic eye to get the camera viewing the exposure the same as the lens.  I set my exposure dead center and took the following shot.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the first results.  It’s so easy to clip it on and off and shoot with. Having the option to cover the electronic eye makes shooting black and white so easy.  But if you just wanted to shoot 600 or 680 film, you could just slip in an ND filter and not cover the eye.  It’s exactly what I’ve been wanting.

And I’m happy I put the hood on it too. I initially put it on because I wanted to protect the filter, but then I evolved it into a true hood and I am glad I did.  Even if I didn’t have a filter in, I have kept the Clip-It on, just to avoid sun flare.

There are MANY MANY steps still to take, but having a working prototype that I can actually use is just downright amazing to me.  I am glad there are places like Shapeways that can help people bring their dreams to reality.

More to come soon, but for now, I can’t wait to go out and shoot some clouds! 

As always, check out my latest on my Flickr page.

I’ve posted the positive of my first Type 55 shot, and I finally got a chance to scan in the negative.  I used the Epson 700 scanner and at first I just taped the negative to the glass, but I got a lot of Newton Rings in the center of the image.  So, what I ended up doing is scanning one on the glass for the edges, and then carefully putting the negative in the 4 X 5 holder and scanning the center and then combing them in Photoshop.

And yes, just like the title says, I scanned it in at a 120 Megapixel equivalent resolution, just to see what the negative had.  And it has A LOT.

Here is a 1 to 1 crop at 120MP.

As you can see in this section, it’s got an amazing level of detail, and a beautiful slight grain to the image at 120MP.

It is really sad that in this digital age, you can still be amazed by a process that was invented in 1961.  Why this ever went away completely baffles me.  That’s why it’s imperative to show your support for 4 X 5 by supporting New55 in their task to re-imagine this amazing product.

And you should also start shooting 4 X 5 more too.  It’s a great way to get into Large Format photography and it’s not that expensive.  I’ve found that the Film Photography Project has some cool X-Ray film that is very reasonable and I will be testing some soon, so be on the lookout!

As always, you can see all my latest in my Flickr feed.