forever and always

I once heard a fellow instant photographer say it would be cheaper to smoke crack and collect diamonds than to shoot instant film. where is the lie? I spot no lie. an exaggeration maybe, but nary a lie.

still, I come back to instant film, again and again. I order a pack or two when I can afford it, load up the the SX-70 and shoot when it feels right. twice a year, in the spring and fall, I share my favorites in the beloved, long-running polaroid week pool over on ye olde flickr. submissions are limited to two polaroids per day, which means I put thought into what I choose to share. reader, I have grown to love this ritual.

above polaroids were submissions for fall polaroid week 2021, new orleans and portland strongly represented here, years 2017 and 2021, respectively. 

the truth is that I'd rather have polaroids than all the diamonds in the world.

82//365

once

I spent a good chunk of time poring over howard finster's polaroids at paradise garden, his hand-writing in pencil on each and every one. banjos and wooden angels and abraham lincoln and students painting, colorado fields as seen from the window of an airplane-- or 'plain', as howard wrote it.

something about howard finster with a polaroid camera made me smile.

25//365

once

I took a trio of middle school kids to shoot polaroids at a local doughnut shop.

in another life, I taught for an after school program in portland, oregon. while my digital photography class was wildly popular, my instant photography class was not. three girls signed up (one of which, admittedly, was my own daughter), as opposed to the fifteen that enrolled for the digital. I think I can now openly admit just how much I favored this little polaroid group, impromptu doughnut shop photo shoot merely exhibit A in a long line of damning evidence. 

we went through at least five boxes of pack film that day, consumed at least a dozen doughnuts. when we finally finished, our table was a spectacular mess of peel-apart photographs and empty milk cartons.

I was in love with the idea of a future that included a few kids with a heart for the past.

330/365

thirteen polaroids I loved from fall polaroid week:

one (home surfaces, michelle gd)
two (untitled, kari)
three (which way from here, jenna gersbach-king)
four (untitled, clare marie bailey)
five (sneaker waves and monoliths, ben innocent)
six (c, ouen)
seven (untitled, andy jenkins)
eight (untitled, meredith wilson)
nine (back flip, maija karisma)
ten (outback at dusk, susan)
eleven (washing you, kevin o'donnell)
twelve (untitled, mari-ann curtis)
thirteen (point reyes, heather polley)

(more favorites here, forever I love polaroid week, forever and ever, amen)

329/365

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

drove up to the top of black rock mountain at sunset
twas cold and windy 
stood at the edge, marveled 
for a second, we were quiet
ezra, especially

(november 21, 2017)

(friday's polaroid-- the last poalroid-- for the last day of fall polaroid week)

328/365

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

sunlight hit the kitchen window around eleven am
and the bottles practically sang
and outside, leaves fell
and it was cold enough to wear a sweater
and it finally felt like october

(october 22, 2019)

(thursday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

327/365

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid: 

walked the streets of our old portland neighborhood
walked by our old house on 64th avenue
walked along the ridge with mt. hood in the distance
made our way to ava's old school, found a side door that was open
wandered the halls, found our way to old classrooms
had feelings
had all the feelings
HAD SO MANY FEELINGS

(august 14, 2018)

(wednesday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

326/365

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

drank coffee in the morning with light pouring in
felt the whole of the day ahead of us, giddy at the prospect
spent hours at the chicago art institute, meandering and meandering and meandering
walked out the side entrance at closing time, completely dazed
looked up and spied the tiny people
was quite taken with the tiny people
but did not think the scene was right for instant film
took the polaroid anyway

(october 22, 2018)

(tuesday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

325/365

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

needed a photograph of ava for a piece I was writing for uppercase about lockets
shot in the backyard in late afternoon
blew through a whole pack of expired 600 in minutes
and I remember how good that felt
and I remember how good the air felt too-- clear and true
and I remember thinking, in just one month she will graduate
and I remember thinking, in just one month everything will change

(april 24, 2018)

(monday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

324/365

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

was on my way from sante fe to albuquerque with tracy and lisa to catch a flight back home
decided to take the turquoise trail in a rented car to see what we could see
wanted to stop along the way at least a hundred times
must have taken at least a hundred photos of the sky
listen, I could not stop taking photos of the sky
when we stopped for gas one last time, I got out of the car, promptly took this polaroid
on the flight home to atlanta, I could not stop looking at it
nothing beats a polaroid sky, I thought
nothing

(october 8, 2018)

(sunday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

208/365

three things I always bring on the road with me:

my favorite cotton beach blanket 
empty bonne maman jars 
instant film 

spring polaroid week

I've been participating in polaroid week for eleven years now. eleven years. which I find quite hard to believe. forever grateful for the inspiration and encouragement this community has provided over the years and will now say what I always say: polaroid week over on flickr feels like the last true bastion of authentic internet community. 

(above polaroids were some of my offerings to the group this past week)

145/365

currently inspired by:

serious prismatics
a library on a bicycle
zadie smith on alvin ailey
old fashioned street photography
old family photographs painted as large scale murals
polaroid week favorites
easter sunday joy

116/365

songs that are doing it for me today:

peach fuzz (KMD)
ok, meet me underwater (jay som)
beating myself up (cuckoolander)

(thank you for that last one, tracy)

110/365

things to do this spring:

open windows
hoard orange jelly beans
read books under exploding trees 
walk down streets in unknown neighborhoods
color easter eggs til fingers are sufficiently stained
defend marshmallow peeps
defend defend defend
buy records
pick strawberries
steam asparagus
shoot polaroids
share polaroids
pack up car
get out of town
plant things
plant things
I WILL PLANT THINGS

21/365

things I love about winter:

the light
the dark
the quiet
the cold
the cozy

(happy solstice, happy first day of winter)

three polaroids

three polaroids

untitled

a list of possible titles for possible posts for this month of nablopomo november:

I Was That Mother Once

The Power Of The Stevies (Wonder, Knicks)

Let's All Move To Albuquerque

Books, Books Will Save Us

293 Sufjan Songs, Ranked

So My Kid Has A Writer In Him Fighting To Get Out

On Broken Kitchen Sink Pipes And Rage And The Unexpected Healing Power Of Clear Packing Tape

On Words That Are So Overused I Don't Even Know What They Mean Anymore

On Loving Cats That Will Lick The Dorito Dust Off Your Fingertips

They Can't All Be Beautifully Written Pieces, They Just Can't

On Coming Around To Cooking, Finally

On Lovingly Cultivating A Record Collection That Makes You Feel Alive Every Single Day

On The Belief That This Blog Is like The Little Cabin In The Woods I Come Back To Every Year

girls on film

new orleans with friends, october 2016. new orleans with friends, I highly recommend it. 

(along with a polaroid land 250 and some fuji FP-3000b, if you can swing it)

(more nola to come, more more more)