Hey You! Universe!

Sometime around the middle of August last year I wrote this post, I'd been tying disposable cameras to various tree's and telegraphs poles for about 6 months and I had a hankering to take it to the next level, so with thanks to a dude called Matt we put a question to the universe. We were seeking random strangers to sign their name up to receiving a camera, but not just any camera a disposable Lomo camera....

To cut a long story short about 100 people were assigned to 8 different cameras which in turn were assigned 8 different colors (12 people p/camera) the deal was you took your two photos and passed the camera on to the random stranger below you on the list. The camera's were sent out Sept 10 last year, some were lost to the postal system forever, some made it home and I'm currently waiting two more cameras to make their way back from the UK and the USA before I get them all developed.

It's been 7 long months since i sent the first camera out and i must admit sometimes i forget they are floating about in the universe until today when i got this photo above emailed to me by a lovely stranger called Rodney who resides in Maine, USA... He has just received the camera and it has only 4 more people to get to before it begins its journey back home... I cant wait to see all the results... stay tuned for your own sneak peak... and a BIG THANK YOU to all those who have been involved.

More from Max

Max Wagner takes photos like life should be. See his latest above and here... or type his name into the search bar above to discover a plethora of stories, interviews and examples of his work.

Instant Film is back in business

In case you haven't heard the good news yet instant film is back baby.... no time to write a long post click here for more info and to place your orders people... life is good again! woo!

Polaroid Grid Film...

No no.. its not a typo apparently there is such a thing as Polaroid grid film! According to this website its your average SX-70 film with a pre exposed grid (letters across the top and numbers down the side) on each picture.

I thought this here little grid device was created for artists to recreate there subjects via drawing and painting etc but turns out this film had a much more clinical use... insurance men use it to document claims and shit like that... I don't know about you but my insurance man is not the Polaroid carrying type!

According to the writer of this blog Polaroid Grid film is as rare as hens teeth, so you can imagine how stoked he was to be given a packet by his assistant... Check out the results above or right here...

Analogue love

Attention all Sydney Siders.

There is a exhibition about to hit town aptly titled "Analogue" which celebrates medium format film photography – a collection of traditionally enlarged Black and White images taken with vintage and toy cameras by three Australian based fine art photographers. (Melissa Ramirez, Dax Pointon and Stuart Frossell)

The Joy kicks of March 26 at the National Grid Gallery, click here for more details

How to load 600 film into your SX70 Polaroid

Loading 600 film into a Polaroid SX-70 from dotsara on Vimeo

I published this post a while ago, nearly a year in fact but it is still one of the most googled questions and the page that scores the most hits on my blog, You guys sure love a good how to! According to some of the comments below the link is now broken so ive pasted a vido above... This is one of two ways you can sneak a pack of 600 film into your SX70 you can find out the other way here

Read my original post below....

I just got a new sonar SX70, when I say new i mean old... I just converted it to take 6oo and thought Id re-post this for anyone who wants to do the same!

Lets not kid ourselves these be tough financial times we are in and none of us can afford to be battling it out on EBay with some random stranger that goes by the name of *cutesy__mcboo82* for 1 teeny tiny pack of SX-70 film... before you know it the clocks struck midnight and your sitting bleary eyed at your desk, staring blankly at your laptop ,wondering just how exactly you got stuck in a bidding war that ended up with you paying $98 for 10 shots of SX-70 while *cutesy__mcboo82* gets of Scot free!

With this in mind allow me to offer a alternative... Click here to be taken to the Polaroid Website, while keeping in mind we hate them for taking away our beloved film, they have at least been kind enough to offer step by step instructions on how to adapt your SX-70 camera to take 600 Film.

Yashica Electro 35

Some sweet results from a Yashica Electro 35 camera here. Enjoy

The Disposable Memory Project

The good people at DMP are leaving disposable cameras around the world. People are picking them up, taking a few photos and passing them on, eventually returning home - so they can tell their stories... and let me tell you the stories are fabulous.

Camera 114 for example Left at Santa Barbara Museum of Art, State St and found and was finished by someone called Jenna.... Camera 159 has been all the way to the south pole and back and the photos are truly amazing.

This project cant grow with out your help so click here to find out more

serendipitousness

This photo here is the very definition of a fortunate accident... It was the first shot that came out of my Polaroid EE66 using a pack of Fuji FP 100 film... I've been meaning to test this camera for a while... turns out it doesn't work too well seeing as the photo above was of my boyfriend Ben... But i love it anyway, the colors and the burnt edges, I want to put it in a little frame and give it a nice home on my bookshelf....

Lomo release slide film on medium Format!

Yay! Finally slide film on medium format has come to Lomography.com.... hooo-freakn-ray people, this is good news for those of us who dig looking at life through a plastic lens.

Place your orders here

She's a Rainbow

There is a not so little group floating around cyber space called Female Photographers of Etsy and they have just released their very first book - congrats girls... its a beautiful collaboration, check out some pages above or read more here (or make a purchase here)

A Californian Surf Photographer with style

...and a rather stylish website I might add. See more here. Not bad for a younger side of 20 something... Yay generation Y!

So much to see, so little time to see it...

So In preparation for some kind of world adventure otherwise known as life Ive been reading this book at the moment called 500 places to see before they disappear... There is the usual line up of pyramids and temples in there but they also have obscure chapters like "10 classic movie palaces" to see before they fall victim to urban sprawl and a rather large wrecking ball!

Most of these theatres were built in the 20's and reside around the Florida /California parts of America (although the Capri theatre in South Australia and the Coronet theatre in London also crack a mention) These theatres sound amazing, one in particular caught my attention, the Egyptian theatre in Hollywood California... What a amazing place, opened in 1922 and proceeded to host premiere after premiere until 1968, it was closed in 1992 and damaged in the 94 Northbridge earthquake and sat destitute until it was restored in the late 1990's!

Whats this have to do with photography you ask? Well this book has made me realise not only how much there is to see in the world (and take photos of) but how sad it is that it could one day all be gone, or how so much has already come so close to being reduced to ruble before generations get to really appreciate their beauty while looking through a plastic lens... there are just some amazing photos out there waiting to be taken and i just hope they are not demolished before i get there!

NYC Polaroid Project

Back in 2003 a fellow named Andrew moved to NYC, I know what your thinking who gives a rats arse, 1000's of people move to New York every day but Andrew had to good sense to take his parents Polaroid camera with him... Every tiny part of New York was new and interesting to Andrew and it really shows through in his Polaroids. Through Andrews eyes everything is beautiful... even a grubby street sign, check out the amazing Polaroids here.

Taking Pictures With a Disposable Camera

So disposable cameras aren't all point and shoot, sure you can wing it and hope for the best, its a whole lot of fun that way, but with any camera, knowing the in's and outs, the tips and tricks can only improve your chances of nailing that perfect photo.... Click here to learn more...

Some inspiration...

Just a taste of some beautiful photos from a travelling photographer here...

A differnet kind of film.... same kind of art

So you all know who Banksy is of course... random street artist, all kinds of wonderful at what he does... well, he may not take Polaroids, and he may not use film, but he sure is making one... check out the preview above, sit back and enjoy the man who breaks all the rules in a world of plenty...

Some beautiful halves...

Ive raved about the golden half here, here and here, its my favorite camera in my collection at the moment as its small and light weight enough to take where ever i gosh darn please....

Its nice to see someone else has jumped on the half frame bandwagon with moi, a one Mr Matty J from The Sea Life... Check out his golden hour golden halves above!

Youth... or something like that

So in the spirit of posting my own photos more often i thought I'd throw these into the mix... they are not anything special, not technically anyway but they remind me of how life should be, or is or was... You know when you see a photo from the 60s or 70s that just epitomises what you think life would of been like back then.... You take one look at a photo and its just this perfect little snap shot from a moment in time that you never lived or experienced but thanks to this image you get it. You garner a sense of what life was like back then, you understand and you smile...

For me that's what these images will be like for my kids or grand kids... they'll be wanting to know what life was like way back in the early 2000's and I'll pull out these Polaroids and they'll see that life was fun and simple... yes technology has made us all lazy and life will never be a 1950s coca cola commercial again but people still loved, laughed with their friends, drank beer and rode bikes in the afternoon sunshine. Life in the early 2000's was good... and its only going to get better - If we can pull ourselves away from facebook, blogs, email and 16 hour work days long enough to stop and smell the daisys that is!

You're my favorite book

The shot above is one of many found in flickr group I heart books as Megan from Paint you Pretty in Gold muses here, Its fantastic to see one concept executed so many different ways by such a diverse group of photographers.

Click here to see more of the love...it'll make you all warm and fuzzy inside I promise