I bought my first Polaroid camera and a 5-pack of 600 film from Costco in the early 2000s. In 2008, I snagged an SLR 680 off ebay, stocked up on Polaroid like it was going out of style (turns out soon after, it was!) and I've still got eight of nine packs stashed in the fridge. I started shooting film from the The Impossible Project in 2010, starting with the very first test film they ever released to a few handfuls of photographers around the world. Their film has dramatically improved over the short time they've been creating it, and it's been both a nightmare and a joy to shoot. It's expensive, which means when you're trying to learn it, there's not much room for error. That was the nightmare, but once you get the hang of the film, you're good to go.
All that said, this past August, on a trip to Little Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho, I finally reached a milestone with TIP film. I've usually been very cautious about when I shoot it because I didn't want to waste my money or be disappointed with the results. The conditions always had to be perfect. But after several days of TIP success in the mountains of Idaho, on the last morning of our trip, I grabbed the last pack of PX680 I had brought with me, popped it into my SLR 680 and shot it with no reservations. I didn't cover the film as it ejected. I made no adjustments to my camera. I just shot. And I loved it. These five images are some of my favorites from the trip (disclaimer: I probably have said that about every image from the trip). I love this smoky morning on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, the colors of this beautiful film, the memories of the trip in a place I adore, and the excited feeling of finally being able to use TIP film like I've used 600 in the past.
To see all of my Redfish Lake photos, click here.
To see all of my Impossible Project images over the years, click here.
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