Month: November 2008

Limited stocks of out-of-print Polaroid films from PolaPremium available NOW

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

PolaPremium just launched their web store with a bunch of out-of-print Polaroid films. Of particular interest are 600 B&W, Artistic TZ, Type 80 Chocolate, and Type 55 Pos/Neg, as well as straight 600, Spectra, a number of peel-apart/pack films, books, vintage cameras, and accessories.

The 600 B&W seems particularly interesting… if you look at the sample shots, the tonal range is almost ambrotype-ish, where the brightest highlights are still quite dark. It’s going fast: the site listed 311 packs in stock when I looked a few hours ago (immediately after the store went live), and it’s already down to 224, so grab it NOW if you want some.

Yes, it’s expensive. And it ships from Europe, so those of us in the States get hit ($25 flat rate) on shipping for a change. But it’s the good stuff, and I’d be surprised if this didn’t do very well, despite the cost, once again casting favorable light on Polaroid’s unique products and horrible light on their business and marketing decisions.

PolaPremium: apparently big instant film news coming in 3.1 hours

Nicolai Grossman 2 Comments

Some big news in instant film is apparently happening in about 3.1 hours, according to the PolaPremium web site, which for now teases us with a countdown timer and the text, "The New Home of Instant Photography".

It appears that there will be new instant films from unsaleable.com, the folks who did SX-70 Blend, indicated both by the rumor mill, and the fact that their site is now just a link to PolaPremium, titled "Transfer in Progress…"

As someone who laments the loss of Polaroid integral films on a daily basis, I’m waiting with baited breath!

Check PolaPremium.com and the PolaPremium group on Flickr to see what happens.

Fuji brings Instax integral instant film to the US

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According to this press release, Fuji is finally bringing their integral instant film (sorta similar to Polaroid 600 and Spectra) to the US. Here’s the meat of it:

"In recent months, as availability of instant film has dwindled, we’ve received inquiries from customers in a range of markets here in the U.S. including health care, law enforcement, insurance, real estate, and others, who really need to continue using a traditional instant film solution" said Christian Fridholm, vice president of marketing, consumables, Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A. "We believe that people familiar with instant photography, but who are new to the Fujifilm Instax brand, will be impressed with the intuitive design of the Instax 200, and will be especially pleased with the vivid colors and bright whites delivered by our Instax Instant Color Film."

The Instax 200 and Instax Instant Color Film will begin shipping in late December and will be available for purchase through Fujifilm’s professional dealer network. MSRP for the Instax 200 is $69.99 and a 20-pack of Instax Instant Color Film is $28.99.

…

The Fujifilm Instax System offers an appealing alternative to previous users of Polaroid cameras utilizing Polaroid Type 600 Films…

$28.99 for 20 shots is on the high side, but I’ve seen it cheaper online from several Canadian resellers.

For more info, check out Fujifilm USA’s Instax web page and Instax system PDF data sheet.

Thomas Graichen’s “An der Grenze des Lichts” (“The Liminality of Light”) exhibition, Berlin, DE

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Thomas Graichen is having a show of mostly pinhole and long-exposure photography as part of the 3rd European Month of Photography Berlin. He writes:

If you are in or near Berlin (Germany), I would like to invite you to my second solo exhibition called “An der Grenze des Lichts” (“The Liminality of Light”), which is a part of the 3rd European Month of Photography Berlin. The exhibition is spread across two locations in Berlin: the Galerie RS21 Berlin and the Babylon Berlin Mitte. Most of the images were created using pinhole cameras and/or long time exposures.

The first part of the exhibition will open on saturday 8th of november [2008] at 7pm at Galerie RS21 Berlin and the second part on tuesday 11th of november at 6pm at Babylon Berlin Mitte. More information about the exhibition and some sample images can be found here and at the pages of the 3rd European Month of Photography Berlin (see also here
and here)

Both Graichen’s work and the Month of Photography in general look very interesting, so if you’re near Berlin, check it out! You can see more of Graichen’s work at his web site, meer-berlin.org.

Photographs © copyright Thomas Graichen. Used with permission.

Pinhole photography workshop with Even Reece, Manukau, NZ

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Don’t miss this great opportunity to take a pinhole workshop with Dr. Evan Reece at Te Tuhi in Manukau City, Aotearoa/NZ. I’ve followed Reece’s work for some time on f295, and it’s excellent.

The nature of pinhole photography, with its hand made cameras, lies more in serendipity than automated control. In this workshop we will explore the traditional and contemporary pinhole artists. Students will make a 35mm panorama camera as well as others constructed from everyday objects.

Weekend workshop: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November [2008] 10am – 4pm | $150
For further information and to enroll contact 577 0138 or email enquires@tetuhi.org.nz.