Trying Polaroid again

by Posted in Black & White, Polaroid I2 Leave a comment
polaroidi-2-1-of-6

I don’t like Polaroid cameras, and they certainly don’t seem to like me. But a lot of people do seem to like them, so a while back I bought the latest and greatest Polaroid camera: a Polaroid I-2. The first time I tried it I was not surprised to discover that I hated the results. Then I read that there was a problem with the exposure. It didn’t work correctly when the camera was in auto mode. I kept meaning to try it in manual, or aperture priority to see how that went, but I never got around to it.

However, I recently read that Polaroid had issued a firmware update that fixed the exposure problem. I updated the firmware and put the camera aside (you can see how enthusiastic I am about Polaroid photography). Eventually I went out to try it.

How did it go? Well, you can see from the pictures…terrible, and if you think this is bad you should have seen my first attempt to scan the pictures. I didn’t notice, until I’d already scanned them all, that I’d left the camera set to scan color rather than black and white, so I had to scan them all over again.

Once again, I’m disappointed with the results but I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. It’s fairly clear that I chose the wrong weather/time of day to take the pictures. There was too much contrast, and I think that the film didn’t have enough dynamic range to handle it. Next time I’ll go out on a cloudy day and see how that goes. I’m fairly persistent (stubborn?) and I’m not ready to give up yet. I have some more film on order.

I’ve read that you need to try several times before you start getting halfway decent results. That’s all very well, but Polaroid film is incredibly expensive, and these failed attempts are costing me a lot.

polaroidi-2-2-of-6

polaroidi-2-3-of-6

polaroidi-2-4-of-6

polaroidi-2-5-of-6

polaroidi-2-6-of-6

Taken with a Polaroid I-2

A Tree

by Posted in Landscapes, Trees Leave a comment
treenearclub-1-of-1

This tree is quite close to my house. I’ve been taking pictures of it for years. When I first came across it, I thought it was dead. Since then I’ve taken pictures from all angles, probably in all seasons, even in silhouette. I’ve glad to see that it’s thriving. I hope the dreaded spotted lanternflies don’t get it.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery/Old Dutch Burying Ground

by Posted in Buildings/Structures, Cemeteries, Memorial Leave a comment
d40sleepyhollow-1-of-13

A friend recently loaned me her old camera: an almost 20-year-old Nikon D40. I wanted to see what I could do with such an old, 6-megapixel camera. So, I went for a walk in nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It was a very pleasant camera to use small, light, pleasant colors, no complicated menus etc. and the results were pretty good.

d40sleepyhollow-2-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-3-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-4-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-5-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-6-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-7-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-8-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-9-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-10-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-11-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-12-of-13

d40sleepyhollow-13-of-13

Taken with a Nikon D40 and Nikon Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6

The Birds

by Posted in Wildlife & Animals Leave a comment
birdsintree-1-of-1

I took this from the deck outside my bedroom. The light from the setting sun was gorgeous. The tree was full of these birds. It was like a scene from the Hitchcock movie. I’m not sure what kind of birds these are. Can anyone help me?

Update. I posted this picture to Facebook, and the consensus seems to be that they’re doves, which was what I suspected. I’ve seen doves here before, but only singly or in pairs. I’ve never seen so many together at one time. There must have been 20-30 of them.

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.