The rest of Polaroid Week. . .

It was such an amazing, inspiring week. There were people that came out of the woodwork, so to speak, and tried their hand at using their old Polaroids and found that they could work magic. There were people who had taken an amazing shot months ago and held onto it to share it during Polaroid Week. And there people like me, running around taking road trips so that they'd have a few new sights to share. Granted, I didn't get that far away from home, but I still wanted to try to share a few new things, some stuff out of my comfort zone. . .
So here are the rest of my submission from Polaroid Week:

at the dock

curious lamb

little lambs

beachcomber's collection

radishes

wading

homestead

view of redcliffs

Desert Willow

This photo of Desert Willow blooms was taken in my front yard. I was using an SX70 camera with The Impossible Projcet's PX70 PUSH! film. This is some of the last of my stash, and I think it was well used on this subject. The flowers are actually a pale pink, and the background was green and orange, but I like the pastel skewed version of reality that PUSH! film provides.

Desert Blooms

Experiments and new growth in my garden:

Parrot Tulip, SX70 camera, PX70 PUSH! film.

Parrot Tulip, Olympus OM-1 Camera, Kodak 200 iso film.

Hyacinths, SX 70 camera, PX 70 PUSH! film.

Magnolia blossom, SX 70 camera, PX 680 First Flush film.

Discovered while hiking:

Giant Four o'clocks, SX 70 camera, PX 680 Beta film

Indoor plants:

Freesia, SX 70 Camera, PX 100 film

Phalaenopsis, otherwise known as a Moth Orchid, 

SX70 camera, PX70 PUSH! film.

Phalaenopsis, SX70 camera, PX680 First Flush film.

Euphorbia Tirucalli, otherwise known as Pencil Cactus.

(Actually a succulent.) Olympus OM-1, Kodak 200iso film.

More of my photos can be found HERE. 

Three Falls

Three Falls, otherwise known as Toquerville Falls is located in Southern Utah near Toquerville. There is a rough 6 miles of  "road" to traverse before reaching the falls, but that doesn't keep people away. It is a popular destination for locals to sunbathe, picnic, or when the conditions are right, do a little cliff jumping. (In fact, that is just what we did two years ago in July.)

We went out there on Memorial Day to see how it looked this time of year. There was a lot of snow-melt flooding going on, so there weren't too many other visitors. The ones who were there left soon after my hubby and I showed up and we were left with a two hour window in which to shoot photos without the occasional random person stumbling into a shot.

It was such a great afternoon-- we had a make-shift picnic on some rock slabs, we took a short hike, and I sketched and took in the sound of water roaring. This is the closest I get to the ocean out here, and I was soaking it up.

I had a few different cameras at work, but only my Polaroids that are ready to share so far. The first three photos show the falls overflowing:

This last photo shows the view looking down river from the falls: 

The color photo was taken on my SX 70 Alpha camera, using PX 680 First Flush film from The Impossible Project. The black and white photos were taken using a Polaroid Swinger camera and expired (May 2007) Polaroid 667 film.

As always, you can see more of my photos HERE.

Valley of Fire

I lugged a bunch of cameras through the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. It was really warm and dry and boy was I ever thankful for the water we'd packed.

The landscapes out there are surreal. The rock changes colors in so many places, and erosion leaves behind some crazy formations. Not only that, but there are petroglyph panels all over the place. My favorite was the "mystical bat woman." 

These first three photos were taken on my SX70 Alpha camera using PX70 PUSH! film (from The Impossible Project). I had a turquoise filter over the lens to cut down on the pink tones that normally come out in bright sunlight. (Not that I don't love that, I was just looking for something a little different.) 

The photo above was my favorite of the SX70 ones of the day. It was super bright in this spot so it helped more of the colors come through. Plus I was really fascinated by this section of rock. (Mouse's Tank trail.)

The next shot was taken on my Spectra System camera, using PZ 600 Silver Shade film (also by The Impossible Project). In the winter I get more black and white shades out of it, but in the heat of Nevada, it develops sepia, with what looks like flames in the sky. 

This last shot was taken just after exiting a small slot canyon. I love how the rock has vertical and horizontal waves carved into it, and how there are these large river stones surrounding it. I would love to see that place with water running through it. I doubt that'll ever happen, but that's what my imagination is for, right? Anyway, the below loveliness is brought to you by my Keystone 60 Second Everflash camera, using Polaroid 100 Chocolate film. (And thanks to my hubby who carried that beast around--it is neither little nor light.)

I realized while looking through these photos that none of them are true color representations of what the Valley of Fire looks like. However, I took a few shots on my other film cameras, and I'll be sharing those when I get them developed. Or if you're impatient, you can check it out yourself. It is for sure a place worth visiting if you are ever in the area. 

Taylor Creek

I hike the Taylor Creek Trail with a couple of friends yesterday. It is found in the Kolob section of Zion National Park. The trail is an easy hike with a bunch of creek crossings, two historic cabins, and at the end of it, there's a double arch alcove. The first photo is from the alcove looking back towards the trail home. I took it on my SX70 Alpha camera using The Impossible Project's PX70 PUSH! film. For this photo I used a turquoise filter and had the lighten/darken wheel in the middle. I like that some blue came out, but that the photo retained some hazy pink tones.

This next photo is of a grove of Juniper trees growing along side the trail right by one of the historic cabins. It was taken in the same conditions as the shot above, except the wheel was set all the way to lighten. A lot more green tones came out in this photograph, which I thought was really pretty great.

I adore the new film that The Impossible Project came out with, but I have really learned to love playing with the PUSH! film. I'll admit it--initially it wasn't my favorite. I'd gotten used to First Flush (how it worked, its color palette) and it took me a while to really take advantage of what PUSH! had to offer, but I think the challenge of PUSH! is what endeared it to me. While the day will soon come when I'll finish my stash of PUSH!, I'll be grateful for the things I've learned from it. It really did help me push myself to try new things (like development temperatures, filters, lighting  settings, etc).

Ridiculously lucky

So earlier this month Jon and I had the great luck to be able to visit my folks in Texas. We ran about taking photos of all kinds of things we don't have around here and just enjoyed ourselves. On our last full day there, we all drove out to Galveston and wandered around taking photos of downtown before heading out to the beach. That is one big thing that I miss living in my landlocked desert. I was so grateful to have that day though. And now I have photos to remind me of that wonderful day spent in saltwater and sand.

I am still waiting to get some of my film back, but I do have Polaroids of that day to share:

Sand dunes captured by my Polaroid Spectra camera. Softtone film.

More sand dunes as seen through my SX70 Alpha camera. PX70 PUSH! film.

These next two shots are ones that I feel really lucky to have caught. I mean, who doesn't have a few shots (or fifty) of seagulls flying overhead? I remember some pretty lame shots of birds half cut out of the frame when I was a kid. Then the digital age came around and you could snap a few hundred photos and either keep the ones you liked or Photoshop them to make them into something cool. But these shots? They are straight out of a Polaroid camera--no photo manipulation is involved. This is where the luck comes into play.

The first is overexposed because it flew right away from my black box (where I put my film the second it comes out of the camera to keep it from getting overexposed). Normally I hate it when my shots get overexposed--they get all washed-out and boring. But not in this case. You still can tell what's going on and I think that the pink adds to the dream-like effect. Plus, just check out the way the birds posed for me while flying:

Geometry in flight.

Seagulls captured on my SX70 Alpha camera, PX70 PUSH! film.

The second photo has a more flowing geometry. It is much more organic. But again, I lucked out-- it isn't too busy and I caught several birds completely in the frame and focused. Did I mention that this camera doesn't have auto-focus? I had to dial it in and capture it while the gulls were busy doing their thing. 

Lavender Gulls

More seagulls, this time in a more loose pattern. 

SX70 Alpha camera, PX70 PUSH! film. 

Please stop by to check out my Flickr photos if you have a moment. 

Flickering leaves

I just had to get a photo that really demonstrates how well the new 680 film by The Impossible Project captures blue skies.

This photo was taken on my SX70 with PUSH! film a while back.

I love the effect, don't get me wrong. But magenta is not the color that the sky was that day. And the mountains the background were not purple.

But look at the sky in this next shot:

Blue. Yes, indeed. It just may have made my heart skip a beat to see it fully developed.

Something new

Beta 680 film from The Impossible Project. Their film just gets better and better.
I used my SX70 camera with an ND filter for these shots, taken in the backyard:

Compare the above tulip with this one, taken five minutes before, on the PUSH! film:

I'm not sure what caused the fogging at the bottom of the frame, but just look at the difference in color.

Things are growing around here

We've been at work trying to get our little garden to grow. I've been in charge of the flowers and starting seedlings.
This is what we've got so far:

Hyacinths. SX70 Camera, PX70 PUSH! film.

Tomato starts. SX70 Camera, PX70 PUSH! film.

Nasturtium. Olympus OM-1, Lucky film 200iso.

More desert snow

Here are some Polaroid photos of Cedar Mountain covered in a generous coating of snow--

Polaroid Spectra Camera, Softtone film.

Polaroid sx70 camera, film from The Impossible Project-- px70 PUSH!

Three of the same

I got to witness a muted sunset on a winter's day in Zion National Park. It was so nice I had to let all of my cameras have a turn.

Keystone 60Second Everflash camera. Polaroid Chocolate film.

SX70, PX70 PUSH! film.

Polaroid Spectra camera, PZ UV+ film.