Monday, January 11, 2010

New Friends & New Adventures

Well, it's a new year...and for me, a new year equals new cameras! Hooray! But that's not the only exciting new thing happening around here... My sweetie just moved to Phoenix, AZ. Another hooray! A new desert-y area to explore with Nathan! Anyways, let's talk cameras. The two latest editions to my ever-growing eclectic camera family are a Polaroid Land Camera 103 and a Keystone 60 Second Everflash.

The Keystone 60 Second Everflash is one beast of a camera:


Let's just say... it's not the prettiest camera I own. It's basically a copycat Polaroid camera. I had never heard of Keystone Flash before until photographer Sean Rohde introduced me to it in his blog about it here. I was intrigued. I found one cheap off of eBay and took it to the desert to try it out:


It's pretty nice! I like it. It's different. I think it's going to become a regular in my camera rotation. My other new toy is a Polaroid Land Camera 103. Another Land Camera you ask? Yes, I know I know. I have a bunch. What makes this one so different? Well, I bought it from a old Camera Store that's going out of business up in LA for $20. It was brand new. I figured what the hey, what's one more camera, right? I put some new batteries in and took it with me to AZ to help my boyfriend move.
The first few images turned out like CRAP. I had everything set up right but the Polaroids were extremely unexposed and so dark you could barely make anything out of them. I was frustrated. Did I get a lemon? I had one shot left of a pack of expired ID-UV film and I figured it'd be worth it to test the light meter out. I cranked it all the way to lighten and aimed, this is what I got:


Quite possibly one of my favorite Polaroids ever! Look at the vignetting! I've never been able to get such vignetting out of any of my Land Cameras. Here's some more Polaroids from my time in AZ with my 103:



I'm absolutely in love... I love the colors and feel the 103 gives to the Polaroid. Can't wait to explore AZ some more with it! I already have my next trip planned and it's just a few weeks away!