my first polaroid self portrait

After receiving the self-timer made specifically for Polaroid Land Cameras in the mail, I finally got the opportunity to steal outside and snap a photo!

I scooped up a crate, my Polaroid 100 Automatic with a couple shots of black & white left, the self-timer and my copy of Pale Blue Dot, and skipped happily across the street on a lovely, sunny Sunday.

People were out walking their dogs, riding their bikes, going for strolls, carrying groceries from the Farmer's Market down the street... enjoying their day.  I didn't feel awkward at all; no one said anything and even if they had, I'm not sure I would have cared.  Everyone was blissfully in their own little happy places -- myself included!

After a failed, way underexposed first shot, I cranked the lightness dial all the way up, twisted the timer knob, and ran in front of the camera...

While it's clearly over-exposed in spots, I feel like it gives a dreamy, ethereal quality... I'm actually rather pleased with it!  Especially with it having been my first real self-portrait using an instant camera, I am really stoked on it.  :]

I am absolutely in love with instant photography.  It's such a thrill, taking a photo and not knowing immediately how it came out... timing the developing, peeling apart the final product, and getting something different and unexpected every time!  While I have certainly ended up with a couple pitch-black rectangles with that white border (can't forget about that film speed knob, duhhhh) I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of it... but the final product is always surprising in one way or another, and always unique.

Love, love, love.