my friend Benjamin...

A friend of ours recently received some money from her parents that was buried. Yes, I said buried. Long, amazing story of how it was eventually located, dug up and stored. Sadly (especially for her), quite a bit of the money deteriorated to the point of being like dust. Evidently the moisture, from being buried, affected it. Below is a portion of the money that survived. And before you ask or comment, none of the money is mine. :)  I just got to take a an instant picture. Besides, I don't see $100 bills, I see 4 (maybe even 5) packs of Impossible film in every Benjamin Franklin.  

the umbrella makes it better...

Spent a little time with Pyper at a downtown event in Greenville.  Bought her a lemonade and it was very tasty. I think the umbrella made it taste better...

This was #5 of 8 on the PX70 V4B test film. A couple of little flaws (still getting the horizontal stripe in the middle and it seemed like a little area on the lower LH side had issues with the chemicals).  Overall, this new film rocks!

2560 ft...

Another shot on the PX70 Test Film(#4 our of 4 taken). Seems to work better in dynamic range than past films. I darkened the exposure wheel 1 notch. The yellow signs were in the shadows and the sun was shining bright on the clouds and sky (behind the signs). I was afraid the film was going to completely darken the yellow signs. Seems to be a great shot to me...  

the golden scarecrow...

Another one of those items that I pass a few times a week and never stop to photograph.  On my way home from running an errand tonight and I passed this scarecrow near sundown.  Had my camera with me so I wheeled around and went back to take the photo.  Set the exposure wheel on 1.5 notches dark because the sun was almost on the horizon.  Look at that golden glow!  Another positive experience with the V4B test film...

two pictures of Pyper...

The top one is a little soft on focus.  I wanted to get a picture tonight, but it was close to sundown when I got to Maci & Tyler's house.  I took Pyper outside and she didn't want to be still for one second.  Still, the V4B PX70 film and my SX70 camera didn't let me down.  What a soft/dreamy image.  The background rendered beautifully.  Just another memory for me to file away...

The second picture was Pyper giving me an exaggerated "cheeeeeeessssse" right before we left to go home.  This was taken with my Spectra and expired Polaroid Soft Tone film that I bought from Impossible earlier in the year.  A perfect day with two pictures of Pyper to cap it off...

blue skies ahead...

I remember a time when it was difficult to get a blue sky using Impossible film.  It always seemed to have trouble with light colors and dark colors in the same image (the dynamic range).  This was my first image taken using their newest film.  As you can see, that problem is now a thing of the past.  

maci on super-expired film...

This is a studio shot from some super-expired Polaroid 664 film. Had to increase the contrast and adjust the levels to get the image to come to life.  Amazing how sharp the image actually is...

in the studio...

Spent a little time in the studio (ok, it was really just my garage) tonight working on lighting. Took several images on expired Polaroid 664 that seemed quite a bit washed out and I just couldn't get the exposure right. Then I put in some Fuji FP-100C and everything changed. I go for months without shooting this stuff because it seems so boring, but occasionally I get great stuff and I want to shoot it more...

at least it is sharp cheddar...

We laughed after taking this one. Looks like Maci and Tyler went to some party where they were taking cheesy pictures in front of a cityscape background.  Unfortunately, no party here.  Just another night at the Bradford house where we look for anything to photograph...

I took this one with the polaroid 100 land camera with expired polaroid 664 film and one of my few remaining flashbulbs.  I just had to post this one because the picture is so sharp. I am constantly amazed at the photographs that these cameras are still able to take.

in her own little world...

Experimented a little more today with the closeup lens on the polaroid 100 land camera.  If you have ever had your picture taken with an old polaroid flash on one of the packfilm cameras, you will understand why I took this closeup picture of Pyper with her looking away.  I was around 10 inches from her face. If she would have been looking directly at the flash, it would have been like looking at the sun. Maybe not the most flattering picture of Pyper. She was getting sleepy and about to go take her afternoon nap. Maybe she won't be too mad at me later in life for posting this...

fading...

even though it is expired, this film has been solid with it vibrant colors.  this one was shot directly at the setting sun with my modified 250 land camera that has the rodenstock 127mm lens attached.  the sun flare gave it an extreme red cast and it looks somewhat faded. hope it wasn't light leaking through...

L A NDROVER closeup...

got a new closeup and portrait lens today for my polaroid 100 land camera.  this photo of the front of my land rover was taken using the closeup lens.  wow, the depth of field is shallow when you use this lens during the evening.

what better way to celebrate Pola Day than using a Polaroid camera, expired Polaroid film and one of the many well-designed Polaroid accessories...