Tag: Fuji Instax Mini 8

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1466780835000_1258498I have been asked to take photos at my best friend’s daughter’s wedding. I have known the bride-to-be since she was a baby. My niece as I call her is a wonderful young woman and it has been a joy watching her grow and thrive. She serves overseas in the Air Force alongside her fiance so planning this small, family wedding has been interesting.

As much as I hate the idea of taking wedding photos I couldn’t say no. I have a lot of respect for wedding photographers and the ones I’ve met love what they do. As for me….I have never wanted to shoot a wedding….NEVER! I have my reasons for avoiding wedding photography mainly the thought of being responsible for the memories of one the most important days of someone’s life. A few other reasons come to mind as I write this…..I cringe when I see wedding guests with their camera phones and iPads. It also burns my butt to see a guest step into a perfect shot ruining it for the photographers. We all know weddings cost a fortune and photography is one way that people try cut costs. Most people do not want to pay a photographer what they are worth and wedding photographers often struggle to get full payment for their services. Personally, it is disheartening to have friends annouce that I was going to take photos at their wedding assuming that I would say yes….it happens a lot. But for this young lady I will put it all aside and make sure her day is perfect.

I have started mentally planning and my first stop is Pinterest. I do not own a quality digital camera so I will shoot this event with film and Polaroid. I decided on Polaroid so a wedding album can make the trip back to England with the newlyweds. The bride has a quirky, fun personality with a natural crown of hair and winning smile so I think a film and instant photo approach will be fun and different. I currently have Polaroid, Fuji Instax and Lomo’ Instant cameras and plan to take them all. I am considering adding a new instant camera to my collection and the InstantFlex TL70 2.0 is on my radar. I am getting super excited about working with a twin lens instant film camera! I will upate this post once I get it this weekend and test it out at Thanksgiving dinner. Wish me luck and stay tuned for pics!

 

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OriginalPhoto-518069418.627040I have written many blogs on my love of photography and I am always on the hunt to add a new twist to my craft. So here it is I am done with grad school with a freshly minted Emerging Media Master’s from @LoyolaMaryland and a lot of time on my hands. I was gifted a powder blue Fuji Instax mini 8 camera and a load of film….so off I go to capture art and life as I see it.

The Fujifilm Instax mini 8 is a basic point and shoot camera that takes instant photos and develops them like an old school Polaroid camera. The analogue camera looks like a toy and and is guaranteed to have serious hipster appeal.

The Instax mini 8 looks like a big kids toy from its matte plastic finish, chunky lens and big buttons. It’s not exactly pocket-friendly, but it’s light enough to throw into a bag without trouble. The buttons and features are basic. Up front is a button to extend the collapsible lens and turn on the camera. Around the lens is the brightness adjustment dial you can twist to choose the different exposure levels. On the hand grip is the camera trigger with the viewfinder above and the always on flash just beside it. Around the back is where you’ll find compartments for film and the battery on the hand grip. Yes it takes batteries, two AA ones to be precise. This is an analogue camera in every way.

Bottom line….it is a lot of fun! The photos have vibrant color with a vintage feel. I can’t wait to take this camera on my weekend walkabout. The film is not cheap but this is my hobby and it is all about keeping me busy before I get bored enough to jump into a doctoral program. I was able to find black and white Instax film at my local Target and will update this post with pics of those pics tomorrow.

Be and individual! Don’t Follow the Crowd! Take it back to the days before technology ruled us. Most Importantly…..Have Fun!