The Joy of Instant Film: Polaroid i2
If you live in a city near water you probably have taken a ferry once or twice. I grew up in a landlocked city, so when I have a chance I love to hop on a ferry just for fun and photography.
Recently I joined some other photographer friends for an outing on the Bainbridge Island ferry. This departs from downtown Seattle and takes you to one of the most beautiful spots. You can drive on and explore the island or walk on (of course). Depending on the day’s plan, I tend to do a walk-on ticket, it’s one fee for a round-trip excursion.
The ferry terminal in downtown Seattle has recently been rebuilt, it’s a great example of clean lines, glass, and steel with lots of seating and restrooms. It is missing out on cafe options. There’s only a vending machine or two. Which is disappointing. The old terminal had multiple restaurants on the bottom floor.
Knowing this I will either make sure I’ve had my coffee before I leave the house or pick up something fun, on the way and a spot like Top Pot. There’s a Top Pot (coffee, doughnuts, and hand pies), on the above-ground pedestrian path to the upper part of the terminal from 1st Ave.
Once at the terminal, I have to always take photos. On this day in particular, it was bright and sunny, not a cloud to be found, which makes for really cool plays of light and shadow.
On this day I opted to travel relatively light with gear. I picked up the Polaroid i2 last year and have loved using it.
I have a long love of instant film, going back to childhood, and have collected upwards of 20 instant film cameras over the year (that are all functional)! This type of film gives me that sense of nostalgia, of my childhood, of my early days in studios, and of course, instant gratification of making some (hopefully) cool photos.
I also had some super expired film to burn through.
With the Polaroid i2, on a bright and sunny day, I use the Auto mode the most and tend to underexpose my frames just a little. This helps me get rich skies and deep shadows.
On this outing I went through 2.5 packs of film, that’s about 20 frames. This doesn’t sound like a lot but at about $2/per photo, it is!
If you’re visiting Seattle, or you live in Seattle, spending the day (or part of one) on the ferry is a lot of fun, a unique way to see the city, and of course travel.