From May 19-21, the “PolaCon” event — an instant film-photography gathering and meeting of creative minds — was held in NYC for the first time. I went on the 20th and had a great time learning new stuff, playing with gear, meeting new people, and shooting a bunch of instant photos. Thanks to the Instant Film Society for bringing the event to Brooklyn!

It was an amazing event and a memorable day, despite my getting drenched in two downpours as I walked from Wyckoff Windows Studio (the main event location) to Brooklyn Film Camera and back again. Luckily, I had the rain cover for my backpack securely in place, so my cameras & films stayed dry, while I got soaked…

PolaCon NYC attendees included lots of people I had known only on Instagram, YouTube, or elsewhere online, innovators and “refurbishers” hacking and modifying vintage cameras to work with modern instant films, enthusiasts, creators, and photographers.

There’s so much more I could say about the event, but with the event’s purpose and focus, it’s all about the photos! So here are mine, mingled with shots of me by others, a few event photos from the event’s group chat, and some shots I took as I walked in the rain through Brooklyn that day…

Portraits at the BFC Polaroid Gallery Wall

Subjects: Grace & Jane with a vintage Polaroid point-and-shoot, Ribsy (Eric Toribio) with his modified Polaroid 110b camera, and Daniel Rodrigue with a Polaroid SX-70 Sonar.

My Photos of / Photos of Me by / Others

• Row 1: Naeem Douglas and his “fussy” Rolleiflex film camera shot with a Polaroid SLR 680 SE on Blue 600, plus one I took of him on Color 600 using the “Big Roid” camera (see below).
• Row 2: two of p0lar0idprinc3ss in front of the lens, one of a smiling Jen Greenwood.
• Row 3: one of Jen Greenwood’s husband (didn’t catch his name) holding a Polaroid camera, and three variations of Mollie wearing an outfit imprinted with a provocative statement.
• Row 4: pensive moments with Ribsy of YouTube and Joaquin de Prada of OpenSX70.
• Row 5: one of Joaquin de Prada posing with Alin Tolea of Analogue Studio on Blue 600, and one of Russ Murray (me!) being knowingly photo-bombed by a guy with glasses (didn’t catch his name), composed and captured by Naeem Douglas using the “Big Roid” camera (see below).
• Row 6: one of Russ Murray (me!) shot on a Hasselblad using Alin Tolea’s Instax Square instant photo back, one on Color 600 of Russ and Joaquin in a circle, and one of Joaquin posing with a woman (didn’t catch her name) wearing a vintage Kodak sweater.

Train Seat Instant Gallery

On the train home, I arranged all my instant photos from PolaCon NYC on the seat across from me. It was a deeply satisfying little gallery of pleasures and treasures, even though it did not include many great instant photos others took away from the event…

My Digitals (SONY Alpha & iPhone)

Subjects: since it was an instant photography event, I didn’t go digital too much, but my SONY Alpha was perfect for shooting discreetly from across the room as:

• Mollie posed for film portraits by Naeem while I snapped from the sidelines,
• Joaquin and his modified SX-70 turned for a moment while posing for someone else, after which I had some fun with “faux-film” and “faux-laroid” edits using the Hipstamatic app on iPhone,
• And finally, I used it for a candid, blurry capture of collaboration as Joaquin and Alin excitedly went down some engineering rabbit-hole…

2 Instax Mini Photos in Bushwick

Subjects: one of rainbow-heart-LOVE street art in the rain (notice the developer squinch on the left), and one of a woman (didn’t catch her name) who has a “bucket hat” business going on — let me know if you know who she is!

Panels: Photographers, Pundits & Pros

Subjects: PolaCon NYC had lots of panel discussions about all aspects of instant photography, past, present, and future. People from IFS, BFC, along with various relevant experts and creators…

Big Shot “Frankenstein” Cameras

Subjects: The “BIG WIDE” and “BIG ROID” instant camera devices designed, 3D-printed, and assembled by Mario, based on the original Polaroid Big Shot Camera.

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So, PolaCon NYC 2023 is behind us, and I’m pretty sure all (or most) attendees, would join me in saying — can’t wait for the next one!

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