Dusting Off The Instant Cameras

I got used to now seeing the two polaroid cameras thick with dust.  They sit on the desk in the living room where I charge my computer.

The last time I ran out of film for the Instax I never got around to ordering more.  And I never really figured out how to use the Lomo’Instant.

Jon bought both cameras for me a few years ago.  First, the Instax then when he saw the Lomo’Instant on sale he got it because it has more options, more settings.

Yesterday I got fed up with the mess on my desk.  I put things away and threw things out, recycling what I could (including a biodegradable iPhone case that doesn’t fit my iPhone.  That went in the compost).

Then I looked into the lenses of the polaroids.  Two eyes staring back at me.

I dusted them off and put the Instax back promising to buy more film.  I cleaned off the Lomo’Instant and put in new batteries and a film cartridge.

Somehow the camera wasn’t as complicated to use as I remembered.  I did some experimenting with the settings and light.

What I love about polaroids is that they are not the crisp ultra-real photos that the iPhone takes. They evoke another time or an in-between time.  That space between reality and what I see.

Some of the photos I took didn’t come out at all.  And I was reminded that when taking a picture up close, that centering an image in the viewfinder doesn’t mean it will be centered in the photo.

These two were my favorite polaroids.  One, a scene taken outside the other a single object taken in the dining room.  I did a little editing on my computer to bring out some of the color and lighten them a bit.  For me, that’s just a part of the creative process.

You can see more of the polaroids I took when I first got the cameras on Pinterest.  Just click here.