Polacon 4!

Happy Thanksgiving, gentle readers in the US, and Happy Thursday for everyone else.

This year, I’m thankful for so much, but for purposes of this blog entry, I’m thankful for the Instant Film Society and Polacon.

I love the Polacon… Last weekend in September, every year, opening night at the State Fair, early morning photowalks in downtown Denton, workshops, activities, lectures, and all kinds of things all day Saturday and much of Sunday… I wish I could make it to all of it, last through all of it, participate and be present for more of it. Alas, I am who I am, and my social skills and self confidence are lacking, at best.

So here are some Instant pictures from the 2019 Polacon, and a Cyanotype too! I lasted longer than in previous years, but felt just as out of place and nervous as ever. There’s no good reason to feel that way, but I do anyway, and I don’t know how to get past it. More socialization would help, but I’m over 40, have no friends or anyone with whom I socialize with any regularity or consistency, and I’m not sure where to even start building or rebuilding any of that. Oh well. Enough pity partying, on to the pictures.

I shot 3 packs of film and started a fourth: 1 each of Instax Monochrome, Instax Color, Polaroid Originals Color 600, plus 3 frames of Polaroid Originals Black & White 600.

I shot the Instax Monochrome with the LC-Anstax (the LC-A with Instant Back). Exposures were way off, due to my complete failure to check how the exposures were going and adjust ISO accordingly, so I got one wildly overexposed frame and 19 mostly underexposed frames. What a waste, huh.

First up, the Instax Monochrome:

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Next up, the Instax Color:

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I like that Private entry one… I’ll probably use that in the future.

The pack of Color 600 from the Impulse SE came out beautifully exposed and lovely. I really love this camera and appreciate the results I get from it and Impossible Project and Polaroid Originals film. Good times.

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I wrapped up with a half pack of Black&White 600. Shot 3 frames, of which two are here.

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In that picture on the right, you might notice a contact printing frame for some cyanotypes… Jen Brimage gave a Cyanotype workshop as part of 2019’s Polacon, and I managed to hang out long enough to participate. Even had some pleasant interaction with a few other participants. Good times, and I came home with a nice cyanotype of my own…

Kinda makes me want to do some more of that… This came out of a kit, and the paper was thin and the Cyanotype emulsion old. With fresh chemicals and decent paper, the possibilities are intriguing.

But who am I kidding. I haven’t had much interest in photography at all since the early Spring of 2019. I’ve tried to kickstart it a few times, to no avail.

Perhaps these quick blog entries will do something… we’ll see.

Keep an eye out for 2020’s Polacon 5, last weekend of September. It promises to be way fun, and I hope to participate even more than I did in 2017, 2018 or 2019.