I’ve been to Dallas, TX many times, mostly for work, and rarely for pleasure. A few months ago, back in September 2024, I was happy to finally attended PolaCon in its original location, Denton, TX. For those who are unaware of PolaCon it’s an annual gathering of instant film fanatics. It was created by, hosted by, and organized by The Instant Film Society.
Nine years ago, the first gathering wasn’t formally organized. Instead it was a casual meet up among friends at the annual State Fair of Texas to walk the fair, hang out, eat lots of good food, and shoot instant film. Ever since, the first official day of PolaCon is a day at the state fair.
Part of the state fair fun is a photography scavenger hunt. I love these kinds of photo contests. A dozen or so word prompts are supplied for potential image subjects. I really enjoy both the structure and the freedom.
In addition to the scavenger hunt fun, The Instant Film Society offers prizes for the best four hunt photos. This year, the prize winner received a new Gen 2 Polaroid Go camera and a few packs of Go film. And this year, I was the winner.
Because I was traveling for most of October, I wasn’t home when this adorable little camera arrived. I couldn’t test it out until this past weekend when I attended a Los Angeles PolaWalk event organized by IG @fortheloveofinstant.
I shot 4 packs and was reasonably impressed. Like any new tool, it’s going to take time, and probably many many packs of film, to get the hang of it. I couldn’t help but personalize the camera with a silicone cover and strap clip. And before I took a single shot, several fellow PolaWalk participants asked about both camera and film. How cute both are is clearly a draw. There seems to be genuine curiosity.
I also use Polaroid I-2 and vintage SX-70 cameras. What I love about them is how much control I have over photographic outcome. Both cameras allow enough adjustment such that I can tweak and adjust on the fly to compensate for any potential lighting or exposure issues. It’s the direct opposite with the Go camera. It has almost no control, and to my surprise, that ends up being what I like most about it. There’s no exposure compensation, no manual controls, no focus, just whether the flash is on or off. And in general, I left the flash on and ignored it. The lack of control perpetuates a freedom from care that was shockingly liberating. I really enjoyed clicking away at everything and anything that caught my attention. Some shots worked well, some less so, but none were complete failures. The hit rate was quite high for the first time out with new gear.
I’ll return again with further thoughts and observations, but for now, I’m pretty impressed with the petite Polaroid Go. It’s a lot of fun and the results are quite nice.