Whenever Polaroid issues a new experimental, limited run, and/or specialized film formulation, my bank account takes a hit. Their frame color variations are less appealing to me, but if they mess with the chemistry, my wallet practically lifts out of my back pocket all on its own.
Polaroid’s most recent tinkering is reclaimed green. From what I understand, it’s a combination of last year’s reclaimed blue and their yellow duochrome – a film I cannot get enough of, and my favorite of their special run films. Lessons learned with the reclaimed blue led to the newest black and white formulation, another film I’ve become a huge fan of.
With each new Polaroid experimental film issue, there’s a little bit of learning curve. For me, I need at least one or two packs to figure out how to use it. If I’m lucky, it can happen quicker, but I always build in that cushion, just in case. Each film is unique. The subjects and lighting conditions that are perfect for one, are terrible for others.
With reclaimed green, I shot packs in my Polaroid I-2 camera, and a vintage SX-70 that has not been modified to shoot 600 film. With the second camera, I’ve been experimenting with 600 film shot in dark situations with little or no exposure compensation adjustment. The original SX-70 film was 100 ISO, not the 160 ISO of today’s version. 600 speed film, actually 640 ISO, is just over two stops more sensitive than SX-70. In darker situations, the more sensitive film in a camera calibrated for slower film produces surprisingly nice exposures. With the twelve photos posted in this blog, it’s difficult to tell which were taken by which camera.
The reclaimed green seemed to work well in situations of high contrast, with highlights rendering yellow, and shadows rendering a rich green. One thing I’ve seen with this film, and the most recent yellow duochrome, is high sensitivity to low levels of light. You can practically take pictures in the dark handheld without blur. If you look at all three of the top row photos, the highlights almost have a glow. They appear to have a mild halo, as if the reflected light is overwhelming the film. It’s an effect that appeals to me, but might not be for everyone.
The film hit the market at a time close enough to Halloween that many photographers used it to shoot ghoulish subjects, but most of what I saw missed the potential of the film. Urban scenes tend to be my thing, so I admit I’m rather biased, but I feel the film was best suited for high contrast, dimly lit, street photos.
Did you experiment with this film before stock ran out? If so, tell me about your experience and how did you get the best results from it?