Fringe Canadians

[Paul Ozzello]

I like the choice of monochrome for these -- it gives an "old newspaper" feel to the photos, even though I doubt anyone had seen a Sherpa (the ATV in the first image) in North America when newspapers were almost entirely monochrome.

I brought several cameras to the protests and only the polaroid gave me a look I felt was appropriate. The way the trucks were marked, the handwritten signs, the tents, everything had a late 70's feel to it which the polaroid film captured beautifully.

I wonder how they compare

I never shot the original so I can't compare. I think the current films are excellent but they are very temperamental. But if they haven't been stored properly or developped correctly they look terrible. I ruined a few boxes of film that I had in my backpack - it was -27C and the chemicals must have frozen. After I made sure to keep the film inside my down jacket with some handwarming heat packs. Same with the camera and each picture after exposure.

Your composition is what it must to be. Cheers

Thank you

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Paul: I really like your concept, especially the signatures. That adds personality and a more intimate reach to your pictures. Frankly, there's a Journalism and Documentary section where these should go. But how can you have a section even called that if politics aren't allowed? The very nature of Journalism and Documentary is political. However, I also understand the concern about discussion descending into the abyss. But as long as the comments aren't personal attacks, I think it should be OK. But I don't run this place and have to respect their rules.

Here are questions that should be allowed. What was the response of the people involved? How did they react to you? What was their reaction to the instant prints?

 

[MattKing]

Here are questions that should be allowed. What was the response of the people involved? How did they react to you? What was their reaction to the instant prints?

All of which are absolutely fine because they relate to the photographic experience.
Go right ahead and ask them.
The OP is welcome to discuss his encounters with these people. We just don't want the causes they are professing to support, or their actions towards others, to become the subject of discussion here.
The photographs themselves will have lots to say.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I know you're not supposed to discuss politics and I won't. But to not be able to discuss the meaning of a photo or photo essay, defeats the whole point of taking the picture and exhibiting it. This isn't a landscape picture that you hang on a wall to pretty up the decor. The photo has content that you can't discuss. Content is the most important part of most pictures. For example, did the picture accomplish what the photographer was trying to say? What was he trying to say? Was the meaning clear in the photo? Things like that. To post "that's a nice picture" is meaningless. We learn nothing. To post a picture that is political in nature is political, to begin with. So if politics aren't allowed here, you shouldn't;t be able to post political pictures. Maybe this thread should be in the Lounge section. Maybe it belongs in Journalism and Documentary rather than Street. If it was there, could we then discuss the content?

Do you see the problem rules create?

By the way, I think it is great you came up with an interesting way to photograph this demonstration. I hope my saying that isn't political.

We now have the rule because there are several people who abused it and drove threads into the Soap Box. Now we no longer have the Soap Box. The quality has improved by making this a political free zone. PM the member if you need more information about a photograph.

 

[Dusty Negative]

Not sure what you mean by "original" but my parents got a Polaroid camera in the late 1950s

The current batch of Polaroid film is a complete reformulation, following the original’s bankruptcy.

It’s actually an amazing story, assuming you hadn’t heard: https://www.filmsnotdead.com/the-impossible-project/

 

[DMJ]

Great work, I foresee it as a documentary book and I completely agree with @Alan Edward Klein at #20. The act of making the photographs is political and the viewer needs to know the intention of the work. Let the moderators moderate.

 

[runswithsizzers]

The current batch of Polaroid film is a complete reformulation, following the original’s bankruptcy.

It’s actually an amazing story, assuming you hadn’t heard: https://www.filmsnotdead.com/the-impossible-project/

Thank you. I was somewhat familiar with Polaroid's history, and with the Impossible Project, but I am not familiar with the details of the currently available instant films. If by "original" you meant the first generation of Impossible films, then my photos from the Polaroids of 1959 are off-topic, and I apologize.

I think @fatso's Polaroids are some of the best I have seen from the modern generation of instant film (both technically, and artistically)! And I like the captions too!

But technically, judging by what few examples I have seen, I think the present generation of instant films (or possibly, the cameras) may still have some catching up to do, compared to the b&w Polaroids of the late 1950s.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Great work, I foresee it as a documentary book and I completely agree with @Alan Edward Klein at #20. The act of making the photographs is political and the viewer needs to know the intention of the work. Let the moderators moderate.

Now we're both in trouble.

 

[MattKing]

Now we're both in trouble.

Nope.
Nothing wrong with knowing the photographer's intention, when it comes to documenting something.
Just no discussion of the issues in the background.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

The truckers were particularly furious with Justin Trudeau, this is one of many F bombs directed at the Canadian Prime Minister

Fringe Canadians – “F Trudeau II”

 

[Paul Ozzello]

Here are questions that should be allowed. What was the response of the people involved? How did they react to you? What was their reaction to the instant prints?

Initially they were very apprehensive. They felt betrayed by the media depicting them as racist homophobic extremist white supremacists and were afraid I would do the same. Once I explained to them I was an independent artist and was interested in showing the human side of the protests they really opened up to me. They actually LOVED the Polaroids; most of them were old enough to have grown up with them and were thrilled at the concept. I have a lot more to say about this photo project as I plan on making a photobook from this series.

Great work, I foresee it as a documentary book and I completely agree with @Alan Edward Klein at #20. The act of making the photographs is political and the viewer needs to know the intention of the work. Let the moderators moderate.

I'm working on a explicative text recounting my experience - check back soon ;-)

I think @fatso's Polaroids are some of the best I have seen from the modern generation of instant film (both technically, and artistically)! And I like the captions too!

Thank you. A while back I started a Polaroid thread - you should post them there !

 

[Paul Ozzello]

I also shot a few in color. Unfortunately I unknowingly destroyed several new boxes of film in the cold... There were a few days of -27C which made shooting polaroids a real chore.

Fringe Canadians - "Untitled I"

 

[Paul Ozzello]

This is the image that started it all. I was shooting a wall of rigs blocking an intersection with my 617 camera when this jolly lumberjack approached me and asked me to take his picture next to his truck. I was going to say no because of the 617 but then I remembered I had the polaroid. We got to chatting waiting for the image to develop and when I saw the results I asked him to take one for myself. He offered to sign it... and the rest is history

Fringe Canadians - "Chris and Stacy"

 

[Paul Ozzello]

Said wall of rigs

 

[Donald Qualls]

But technically, judging by what few examples I have seen, I think the present generation of instant films (or possibly, the cameras) may still have some catching up to do, compared to the b&w Polaroids of the late 1950s.

SX-70 never (from introduction, to Time-Zero) had the level of crispness and definition that the better peel-apart cameras could produce. This is partly a limitation of how the film works (dye migration through the opacifier layer is certain to introduce a certain amount of unsharpness), and for the cameras that aren't SLR, may also be due to the lens design. The original SX-70 used a front-focusing Tessar -- advertising of the day said this was to allow a deep focus range without requiring a lot of motion (less than a quarter inch for front element, vs. an inch or more for the same lens unit focused) -- which is widely considered inferior to unit focus (which was used for all the peel-apart cameras with rangefinders, at least), but the later non-folding viewfinder cameras mostly used plastic lenses, either meniscus or Periskop style. So none of the cameras were as sharp as they could be, and most of the later ones were less sharp than that.

Most of the 600 family were effectively toy cameras, with even the sonar autofocus replaced by fixed focus (sonar autofocus would have been the last bastion of the Tessar type or even triplet glass lenses in that line).

I don't know that current generation Polaroid films (descended from Impossible) are significantly worse than original 1970s to 2000s vintage integral Polaroids in resolution or sharpness -- there's argument about color rendition and contrast in some circles, but the general softness of the image is a combination of the way the film works and the cameras most available for it.

 

[AgX]

Front focusing was applied even at so many compact 35mm cameras. And with dye diffusion processes I tend to think that it does not matter. But as Polaroid employed both focusing methods, it seems to matter indeed.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I want to apologize for uploading my images of older Polaroids to this thread (now deleted). I did so only because Dusty Negative was wondering how the old ones compare (post #23). I thought I was being helpful, and, again, I apologize if anyone was upset.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

I want to apologize for uploading my images of older Polaroids to this thread (now deleted). I did so only because Dusty Negative was wondering how the old ones compare (post #23). I thought I was being helpful, and, again, I apologize if anyone was upset.

No worries - we didn't want your family to be mistaken for fringe Canadians ;-)

They're really nice by the way - you should post them in the polaroid thread

 

[Donald Qualls]

Front focusing was applied even at so many compact 35mm cameras. And with dye diffusion processes I tend to think that it does not matter. But as Polaroid employed both focusing methods, it seems to matter indeed.

On, no question. My Pony 135 had front focus (triplet), as does my Jubilette (pre-War 35mm folder). Both produced good images, as do the hundreds or models of medium format folders with front focus (including my Super Ikonta B 532/16 and Moskva 5). It might well have been the case that it was easier to incorporate the rangefinder on strut folders like the Polaroid 100 family by moving the struts, which moves the entire lens board. Same true for bed folders like the roll-film Polaroids (Pathfinder, 110, etc.), linking to the rear of the rack was much easier than to a rotating lens element way out there.

There is a bit of lost definition, however, between Polaroid 667 or 669 or Fuji FP100c, FP3000b and SX-70 Time-Zero -- which I think is attributable to the longer diffusion path compared to peel-apart film. Like inserting a layer of acetate between negative and positive gives that little edge softness that makes an unsharp mask. FWIW, even being a good lens, I don't find Instax quite as sharp as peel-apart, either (though IMO the color Instax is better than the new Polaroid for sharpness -- Polaroid wins on contrast in the monochrome, though).

 

[Paul Ozzello]

Fringe Canadians - "Star and Temple"

 

[Paul Ozzello]

Fringe Canadians - "Joy Ride"

 

[Paul Ozzello]

Fringe Canadians - "Maximum Overdrive"

 

[Moose22]

Fringe Canadians - "Maximum Overdrive"
View attachment 300604

This pic's a winner. There's so much in there coming together to make it good, the blown lights, the snow, the flags... perfect use of the format. I like this as much as the first one with the girl and the dog.

 

[Paul Ozzello]

This pic's a winner. There's so much in there coming together to make it good, the blown lights, the snow, the flags... perfect use of the format. I like this as much as the first one with the girl and the dog.

Thanks Moose. The B&W polaroid film looks really good at night - I wish I had taken a few more. I also took one with my hasselblad - would love to make a poster print from it.

 

[mshchem]

Said wall of rigs
View attachment 300361

I love the 617s too. I have one of the first generation Fujis. I shoot it handheld most of the time, it's a blast. Well done!