I was going through some old photos recently, and came across this one I had always liked. It was from the first roll I ever shot through my old 1950s Toyocaflex TLR 120 camera while I was out walking around in the fall of 2011 to give it a test. I was down in SoDo near the port, and happened to be walking past an old favorite dive bar near where I used to work called Hooverville. So I pretended to take a shot of the glowing neon sign while this (probably) tough biker guy enjoyed himself a cigarette. Although, he didn’t seem to care one way or the other.
Yes, this is a picture of a polaroid of a Polaroid also taking a polaroid of the Polaroid which took the polaroid that you are currently looking at. It’s also a picture of a very talented designer by the name of Kinsey Gross. Check her out!
Scientists still haven't gotten to the bottom of whether or not bears actually shit in the woods, but if they do, I’m pretty sure they look like this whilst doing so.
WARNING – MATURE CONTENT: You may not know this, but I’ve been known to surprise a friend or two on the toilet with camera in hand. In this first edition, we feature Mr. Lucas P. Will. If you haven’t already closed your browser and restarted your machine, you will notice Lucas was not shy about being on the porcelain stage. When in fact he actually posed for this photo-op after I busted in the door. And as we can see, he has no reason to be shy.
Unfortunately, this mature content warning is placed well below the photo, so it may not have done much good. I’ll have to consult our legal department and reevaluate the situation. I hope this hasn’t caused any distress to sensitive eyes.
While visiting Cannon Beach, OR over the summer, I took these three shots of Haystack Rock, then somehow forgot about them. And being that you only get twelve images out of a single roll of 120 film, you’d think that would be pretty hard to do. Well I did, so now I’m trying to right my wrong and give these photos some recognition. Enjoy!
In my book, anything that’s described as a monolith is pretty cool. And anything that appeared in the movie The Goonies, is also pretty cool. Therefore, Haystack Rock is pretty cool. Take that Arthur Fonzarelli.
You may notice the title to this photo is Haystack Rock Holga No.3. Yes, that is indeed the world famous Haystack Rock near the coastal town of Cannon Beach, OR. And it was indeed taken through the plastic lens of a Holga medium format camera on Kodak Professional 120 Portra 400VC film. But, “No.3” you say? “Where are the other two?” Well, tune in tomorrow you’ll find out.
As for this photo, if you look closely you’ll notice little purple-ish red specks in the sky. Those are actually kites, and there were a ton of people flying them up and down the beach. Never before did I feel such a strong urge to buy, rent or build a kite, or even attach a sting to a seagull. Anything to make use of the constant winds coming off the mighty Pacific.
Did you know you can take pictures through a peephole? Well you can. And you should. It’s the perfect poor-man’s fisheye lens. Plus, if you want some really unflattering portraits of yourself, it works great for that, too.
As promised, here are some more images captured through that magical plastic lens of the Holga. These exposures come to us from a few locations from around the Pacific Northwest. Namely the Oregon coast, beautiful downtown Portland, OR and finally the remote beaches of Olympic National Park, along the Washington coast.
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of shooting with my Holga. Its pure simplicity can’t be beat, and the beauty of film can't be denied. The more popular digital photography gets, the more rewarding it is to shoot film. So with that in mind, hopefully it won’t be long until I can expose a few more rolls and post some more.
This here is the world famous Snoqualmie Falls, near Snoqualmie, WA. They even have their own special brand of pancake mix. You should experience both.
Keep an eye out for more Polaroids. After I round up enough, I’ll start to add them into the Photography page. But for now, please be patient. Or go check out Robert Whitman’s portfolio. Specifically under the “8os My Livingroom” and “Eryn Brenie” sections. You’ll find enough Polaroid goodness to quench your instant-film thirst there. Also be sure to check out his other work. He’s the guy who shot everything for that awesome Canadian Club “Damn Right Your Dad Drank It” campaign that’s been running over the past year and some. Or maybe it’s been two already.
But this also brings up the topic on how awesome photographers are. Not just what they do as a profession, but who they are as people. And the test of a good photographer is how much cooler they are than the average human. They’ve traveled to the deepest corners of the world, slept with more models than they can remember and met more celebrities than most celebrities. If you take a stroll through Mr. Whitman’s work, you can tell that guy has lived a life worth capturing on film and has plenty of stories worth listening to. And having that kind of person behind a camera has to make for better images. At least that’s my philosophy anyway.
For instance, Whitman has photos like this, whereas I have a few shots of an kitchen appliance.
For those that claim llamas aren’t majestic, clearly have never met Llamosus, King of the Llamas. When he isn’t seen posing atop sunny hillsides and scenic overlooks, Llamosus can be found freeing animals trapped in petting zoos and spitting all on those within a fourteen foot radius who spread injustice within the animal kingdom.
In a world run by mega-corporations, we cannot police ourselves. We need the watchful eye of God-like llama. Someone who without fear, can turn wrong into right, night into day and bring hope to those who have none.
So the next time you’re taking a stroll though a steep canyon or standing beneath a picturesque waterfall, don’t be surprised if you see a mighty llama gazing down upon you. And if you look real close, you just might see that hoofed hero is none other than… Llamosus.
Real Polaroids can never be replaced by some .99¢ iPhone app. But the way things are moving lately, it’s really quite a shame when you think about it. There’s a certain joy you get hearing an old Polaroid camera come alive with that buzzing sound as it spits out your newly exposed picture. No app can capture that. Also, now that 600 film is hard to come by, every picture you take is special. One of a kind. Real. Nobody out there is stockpiling, then rationing how many pictures they take on their iPhone. And sure being able to shoot without care is nice for somethings, but it definitely cheapens the experience.
Perhaps the saddest part in all this is that Polaroid themselves is part of the problem. They’re a company that for decades has made their own product obsolete, just to force people to buy a new camera that uses different film because they think they’ll make more money. Unfortunately, their constant short-term thinking will probably be the thing that finally kills them one day.
Moments after this photo was taken, this happened.
He will be missed. The good news is the car accident actually knocked some of the dirt off his windshield, so if he happened to open his eyes there’s a chance he possibly could have seen the road.
There should be a caption contest for this shot. I keep thinking about being a fly on the wall to a fly or something, but I’m not sure that even makes sense. Either way, hopefully they used protection because the last thing the world needs is more house flies.
Perspective is an amazing thing. Taken at Clear Lake in Mt. Hood National Forest, OR.
Back in September I was lucky enough to receive a medium format Holga for my birthday. Now after a few months of toying around, I finally finished shooting a roll and got it developed. It was fun shooting with such a simple camera (and not just through a lame point-n-shoot) and it got me back into using film. You might as well make the most out of your trip to get it developed, right?
The real story here should be about how difficult it is to get film developed these days. In only a few short years of digital photography taking over, photofinishers have taken quite the hit. Many places have gone out of business and have also resorted to sending film out to a central processing center in a far away land. Thinking about it just makes me sad.
Luckily, there are a few good places left. I ended up taking mine to Moon Photo Lab in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. The owner Bob Mullins, even stayed 15 minuted after they closed just so I could pick up my order after I got off work. He’s a hell of a guy and he’ll definitely get more of my business in the future.