The last day of Roid Week 2012. Since I didn’t have any more Polapan or Polachrome I didn’t really want to continue with that theme. It didn’t seem fair to the project. Althought perhaps I was just being lazy and didn’t want to talk to people. I’m not sure what it was, either way the end result is cars.

I’ve had a love affair with cars for some time. I remember the first time I was asked what car I wanted, a “1969 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500” after seeing the remake of Gone In 60 Seconds with Nicolas Cage. That was a cool movie. And I was a kid, an impressionable one at that as it wasn’t until my parents told me I wouldn’t be getting a $60,000 car for my 15th birthday that I let that dream go.

Either way there is something about automobiles that screams from the mountaintops “Americana”. A photo of an old motel is neat, a photo of an old motel with a Lincoln is just the tops. Cars date a photo better than anything else in the world. And that is partly why I love including them in my photos, something I have done quite a bit of in this years 365 project. Perhaps it is the circle jerk around everything vintage, but I would like to think it is more than that. They bring back so much of our memories. Our first car ride, our first date (and subsequently the first date we went on where one of our parents didn’t have to drive), that time we got lost in the backwoods of Oregon.

I can remember each and every car our family has owned and pivotal moments that happened with each one. 4 year old me cried when my dad sold his Jeep, 16 year old me got reamed for denting the parents Silverado, 17 year old me got my first ticket in my GTI.

So this connection of cars and photographs goes so much deeper than putting something into an image. It instantly links you with what turns your life has taken, all within a small white frame.

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Last roll of Polaroid instant 35mm slide film… for professionals only. I must say I don’t feel professional. How do I get to that point? They say that you don’t become a famous musician until long after you are dead. And it makes sense. There isn’t anything inherently special about being alive. It is the one thing on this planet that literally everyone has done. So do I just have to die in order to have recognition?

I suppose it’s ironic. Because there has been so much talk and study etc. about how everyone alive today needs to be noticed and thinks they are special. Look at Tumblr for example. There are all these awful quotes about exploring and living and yet how do you see them? By staying glued to your computer.

Although I suppose I am no better. I shoot film to get away from my computer. Then every time I want to share it I have to sit back down and scan for hours. So what is it that these people share with me? With one another other than being alive? Well they were all captured by me and with my camera, so I suppose it’s just another 60 or so years until someone else might appreciate them.

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I got word that Jack White was playing a secret show here. He loves Polaroids. In fact Rare Medium in Seattle, WA who I got this PolaChrome and PolaPan I have been shooting just finished making two different one of a kind SX70s for him. I thought how cool would it be to snap some shots of him while he was playing.

Alas I was too late. I got there right as it ended and didn’t even get a glimpse. However it did provide me with a smorgasbord of great photo opportunities. People were everywhere, asking if I got any pictures of him and what I was up to. I think the euphoria of seeing a musical idol in a secret show made people friendlier.

More often than not Portland and a lot of the businesses inside her give off a poor vibe. I understand that we here are on the up and up. But after living here all my life you start to notice the trends. Restaurants for example have taken the biggest hit. Where more often than not you feel like you’re a burden on your server. Anyway, this was not the case today. Everyone I saw had a smile on their face and was enjoying the heat. Did it make for the greatest photos? Well unfortunately no it didn’t. Exposing PolaCrome properly is turning into a chore, it needs so much light it’s not even fair. Shooting it at ISO 6 would probably be best.

Either way, I still have one more pack of film left for this. Then who knows what I’m going to do on Friday. We’ll just have to wait and see what ends up happening.

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Day 2 of RoidWeek! Changing it up today, as I have a mixture of PolaChrome and PolaPan (color and B&W respectively) I figured I would alternate between the two whilst shooting portraits.

Today I had a day free from work, so I split my time between Hawthorne and the Pioneer Square areas of Portland. I’m learning what the different neighborhoods mean in regards to time, and overall attitude of the people I encounter. Unfortunately Hawthorne is mostly shopping areas. So 11am on a Tuesday it isn’t the bustling street I had hoped for and I only was able to take 4 photographs there before finding myself needing to move on. The people, not as friendly as Mississippi either. Although I almost expected that. Hawthorne, and many of the people who reside there put themselves on a pedestal. If you have watched the IFC comedy Portlandia, much of the irony is from this area.

As I moved to downtown, I stayed away from the buisness areas. It was about noon at this point so many people were out to lunch. I found myself over near the square, and as of recently there have been concerts taking place at noon each day. So it was a beehive of activity. This meant for me, I could see a wide variety of faces in a smaller area. It became easier to see who would be more likely to say yes. Did they have headphones in? Were they in the middle of a conversation? All of these became factors, and I was able to fire off the last 8 shots without a single “no” from anyone. Although the 12th shot for some reason didn’t work. I hope it’s not my camera that is having troubles.

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Happy RoidWeek everyone! To those who have been following this blog since last RoidWeek, thank you very much. To those who haven’t, scroll down a little ways and click on the “RoidWeek” link under 2011 and see what all the fuss is about. Anyway, you may remember that I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone and take the photographs of four strangers each day. It helped me immensely grow as a photographer, and even a person. So for RoidWeek this year I wanted to continue the tradition and up the ante at the same time.

Before we go any further, I need to mention one thing. Yes this is 35mm film. But not just any film, it is Polaroid Instant 35mm slide film. Produced in the 90s and early 00s it was primarily used for companies and slide show presentations. So this fits within the bounds of this years 365 project under all the parameters. And just as a reminder any film to be used in this project must answer “Yes” to both of these questions:

• Is it made by either Polaroid OR The Impossible Project?
• Is it instant film?

The second question is in there because Polaroid did make some standard 35mm color print film. And that is not allowed. Ok, on to the main post.

So this year I managed to get my hands on a few rolls of 35mm PolaChrome and PolaPan thanks to Rare Medium in Seattle, WA. I had set this film aside for a few months patiently waiting around for this week to come. And we are finally here. Each roll contains 12 exposures (except for today which had much more to my surprise) and I was determined to use up the whole thing only on strangers.

I am amazed at what last year has done for me and my confidence. I took more portraits in one day, than I did all of RoidWeek2011. I also did it in far less time, only taking about 1 hour all together. Perhaps it was the neighborhood, as these images were shot on Mississippi Ave in Portland right near my office. A friendly place, where I only had one person say no. They were so kind about it too that I was the one feeling bad for asking. It was only later that I realized how ridiculous of a thought that was and I kept on shooting.

But perhaps a problem lies within me getting quicker. I found myself spewing the same line which as well as it worked. Got me in and out in seconds. I didn’t find anything out about the person, didn’t bother too either. And it is times like this that make me realize the importance of the rules in the “100 Strangers” project. Either way, it feels good to be making progression within this project. To have a goal to work for, and of course to be able to see slides just minutes after they are shot is the coolest thing ever.

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