Ahh, there are a lot of things, but this is definitely at the top of my list: Take lots and lots of Polaroids, something that Andrew Faris did back in 2003, and what was later on called the New York Polaroid Project.

I think I’m gonna dream of Polaroids and New York in technicolor tonight. <3

Anyway.. I managed to score 10 packs of One600 Polaroid films back in December after a loooong and winding quest to find suppliers here in Manila (which was, for the record, a failure, because we’re in a third world country and life’s not fair like that) and after finally succumbing to the fact that ordering from Ebay was the only way to go. So yeah, given that that acquisition cost me an arm and a leg, I’ve only used up 3 packs of Polaroid films so far, sparing the rest from impulsive, trigger happy shots and keeping them in the top shelf away from my itching hands.

I can’t wait to use up my remaining stock of Polaroids the way Andrew Farris did. Surely, New York (and Sydney) is worth saving up these overpriced boxes of expired films for.

(Via Design Vagabond)

I thought it’s not enough that I twitted and posted a Facebook status message about my quest for Polaroid sheets in this third world country, so now I blog about it too. Again. Because I still can’t find Polaroid sheets for my One 600 (ever since I got it 4 months ago), and now that I have acquired a new toy — a Polaroid Spectra 1200FF which I won from an ebay auction, woot! — I’m even more desperate to find both Polaroid 600 and Polaroid Spectra packs.

Where in the Philippines can you get these stuff anyway? I heard there are stores in Hidalgo, Quaipo that sell them, I still have yet to check that. (But I also heard that finding polaroid film packs in Quiapo is unlikely, so yeah, I don’t know what to believe anymore).

In the meantime, I torture myself some more by browsing through pages after pages of Flickr photos such as these:

by Lilacmoon

by Toni

by Lyptonvillage

by Dreamincolour

by Lilylove

by Susannah Conway

Why issit raining Polaroids everywhere in the world BUT the Philippines? Is it wrong to sometimes wish I live in a different country because of this?? Haaaay.

DAY NINETEEN. And this is why I have to find and order Polaroid films already. I still haven’t, and it’s been 3 months already since R got me my Polaroid One600 camera. It’s so difficult finding polaroid films in the Philippines. Stocks always run out, and ordering from US/UK/Canada may be easier but the shipping to Manila is too expensive.

So while I go on with my quest to acquire boxes of Polaroid films, I get myself inspired with people who are doing awesome Polaroid photography.

Check out SicoActiva’s one-of-a-kind Polaroid mosaics, taken with SX-70.

I have to get myself Polaroid 600 films!! I’ve been using a lot of Instax sheets with my Fuji Mini Instax, but nothing still beats the real creamy, soft-colored images that come out of a real Polaroid Camera. I’ve seen awesome images taken with SX-70 too, Susannah and Amanda are my favorite SX-70 photographers. I think an SX-70 is next on my list! :)

30 Days of Awesome, 19/30.

DAY ONE. In real life, however, “polaroid” is different from “instax”, I just like using the word “polaroid” because it sounds so Audrey Hepburn ♥, while “instax” sounds so.. hi tech. Yes, Jody, that’s an instax photo you saw in the previous post. After drooling over it for months, I finally got myself a Fujifilm Instax Mini.

1/30. Polaroid Cameras and Instant Photographs

Well, okay, R got me one.

Because we couldn’t find polaroid sheets for the Polaroid One 600 he got for me from LA, and he probably got tired of seeing me browse through Jennie Castillo’s website every single day contemplating on getting one. So yay. As of Wednesday last week, I’m a proud owner of this baby. And as of today, I’ve consumed two boxes of instax films already, and have started using the last stack, albeit sparingly.

Some people ask me if it’s worth it, spending more than 30 PHP on a single instax photo (and about 50 PHP on polaroid, if you ever find one), in an era where digital cameras and phone cams are a way of life. But I say, I think the fact that you pay a certain amount to preserve a moment puts even more value to the photograph, right? Nod, I have a point. ;)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for DSLRs and digital cameras, I can’t live without having one close to me wherever I go. But capturing moments through films and polaroids is special. With film, there’s that element of surprise — you’ll never know how your photos will turn out to be until you develop your rolls of film. With polaroid/instax, on the other hand, there’s that giddy excitement of watching the colors and images develop before your eyes.

It’s an expense that won’t give you ROI, alright, unless maybe you want to be like Jennie Castillo, who made a buy-and-sell business out of it; or Scott Hammond and Jenifer Altman, who are by far the best polaroid photographers I’ve seen online, who can get away with selling their polaroid shots at about $25 a piece. (Whew.)

As for me, I don’t mind being just Riz for now, wasting on polaroid sheets, just because they’re awesome. :x

P.S. A bunch of people asked me where I got the “R” pendant. I got it from a friend, Elaine of Artecrafts. She sells made-to-order charms and keychains just like mine. :)

30 Days of Awesome, 1/30.