My Instax adventures

[lynnb]

Picture #290 with the Instax Square SQ6. Instax Monochrome film.

My wife and I are full time carers for our two disabled adult daughters. Each day we try to make it out to one of the nearby beach cafes for a short coffee break. It’s the only time we have together, to relax and talk about life with some privacy, or just sit quietly together holding hands and looking out over the ocean. Sometimes we don’t get out for days at a time and on others one of our daughters will want to accompany us, which we always welcome but it’s also less “us time”. These coffee breaks are very precious to us.

I’ve been experimenting with documenting this precious time together using instant film.

 

[Pál_K]

...
Has it arrived yet? Please feel welcome to share.
...

Yes - the Mini 90 arrived at the end of 2020. Right now, the only way I can show a photo is to photograph it with my phone, but my new phone just creates jpegs and RFF doesn’t recognize jpeg as valid, just jpg.

Anyway, it’s been a learning experience - one of the reasons I chose the mini 90 was because it offered control over focus (3 zones: 1-3’, 3-9’, 9-inf), exposure (normal, dark, light, light+), and control over flash (off, on, auto). Well, the issue I’m dealing with is that almost every time the camera is turned on I have to change these settings away from the default 3-9’, auto flash settings which get reset every power-on. Also, it’s designed to be held in a portrait orientation, which is fine, but I’ve found it’s hard to hold without inadvertently pressing a button or covering the film ejection slot or causing the strap to fall in front of the lens. This will be overcome with practice. However, I do wonder whether the more simplistic Instax cameras would be quicker and more convenient in operation.

I will say that image quality and color is excellent.

 

[lynnb]

Yes - the Mini 90 arrived at the end of 2020. Right now, the only way I can show a photo is to photograph it with my phone, but my new phone just creates jpegs and RFF doesn’t recognize jpeg as valid, just jpg.

Anyway, it’s been a learning experience - one of the reasons I chose the mini 90 was because it offered control over focus (3 zones: 1-3’, 3-9’, 9-inf), exposure (normal, dark, light, light+), and control over flash (off, on, auto). Well, the issue I’m dealing with is that almost every time the camera is turned on I have to change these settings away from the default 3-9’, auto flash settings which get reset every power-on. Also, it’s designed to be held in a portrait orientation, which is fine, but I’ve found it’s hard to hold without inadvertently pressing a button or covering the film ejection slot or causing the strap to fall in front of the lens. This will be overcome with practice. However, I do wonder whether the more simplistic Instax cameras would be quicker and more convenient in operation.

I will say that image quality and color is excellent.

I can understand your frustration. The Mini 9 is simpler but you still have to remember to set the aperture, which resets to f/12.7 (wide open) every time you turn the camera on. I've lost a few pictures that way.. easy to do. The lens is fixed focus 0.6m to infinity; if you want close ups (0.3-0.6m) you have to pull out a small clip-on plastic close-up diopter that snaps onto the front of the lens. It's easy to misplace. Exposure controls are very simple, a fixed shutter speed of 1/60 and manually selected apertures from f/12.7 to f/32; a small LED light glows next to the recommended aperture. The slow shutter speed results in overexposure in sunny-16 conditions, which turned out to be a happy accident producing lovely pastels.

 

[lynnb]

Picture #472 with the Instax Mini 9. South Curl Curl beach and rock pool, late summer 2021. 1/60 @f/32. For a few hours each weekend the pool's swimming lanes are taken over by the amateur swimming club for their weekly races. The amateur swimming clubs provide free learn-to-swim classes. You can see swimmers lined up for the next race in the background.

 

[DwF]

Lynn,

This one ^^^ is exceptional. I've recently been thinking about the vertical and how to use it better to paint a scene, tell a story. Case in point right here! Thank you for sharing these.

David

 

[j.scooter]

Lynn, glad you are posting here again.

This one is special, and to me, the essence of photography. Thank you for sharing.

Picture #290 with the Instax Square SQ6. Instax Monochrome film.

 

[Pál_K]

Here are two photos of Multnomah Falls on a trip down to Oregon. It was raining when the photos were made. I actually had to go back from my car in the parking lot and make the photos a second time because when I saw the first photos I realized I forgot to set Landscape (infinity) focus.

The actual photos are much sharper than what's seen here. I think the RFF photo hosting degrades resolution.

 

[lynnb]

Lynn,

This one ^^^ is exceptional. I've recently been thinking about the vertical and how to use it better to paint a scene, tell a story. Case in point right here! Thank you for sharing these.

David

Lynn, glad you are posting here again.

This one is special, and to me, the essence of photography. Thank you for sharing.

Many thanks David and James, and you're welcome!

 

[lynnb]

Here are two photos of Multnomah Falls on a trip down to Oregon. It was raining when the photos were made. I actually had to go back from my car in the parking lot and make the photos a second time because when I saw the first photos I realized I forgot to set Landscape (infinity) focus.

The actual photos are much sharper than what's seen here. I think the RFF photo hosting degrades resolution.

Thanks for sharing these Pál_K. I like the second one best, with the bridge - looking good! How are you scanning your prints?

 

[Pál_K]

Thanks for sharing these Pál_K. I like the second one best, with the bridge - looking good! How are you scanning your prints?

Since I’m online only with my iPhone, what I had to do to produce the jpg (rather than the iPhone’s jpeg) was to photograph the Instax print with an older deactivated Android phone, then connect that wirelessly, then post the transferred photo to RFF as a direct attachment to the posting. I have no hosting service, so RFF restricts and I think resizes photos that are uploaded.

The quality and fine detail does suffer with this process. Perhaps an unintended benefit is that the RFF readership is spared the trauma of me posting hundreds of photos of my cameras.

 

[lynnb]

I haven't posted any Instax pictures for a while, so I have a backlog. Here are two recent Instax Mini 9 pictures from Dee Why beach.

Picture #534 with the Instax Mini 9. Seagulls at Dee Why rock pool.
1/60 f/32

Picture #533 with the Instax Mini 9. Afternoon light and a good surf at Dee Why beach, Sydney, winter 2021
1/60 f/32

 

[JoeV]

Since I’m online only with my iPhone, what I had to do to produce the jpg (rather than the iPhone’s jpeg) was to photograph the Instax print with an older deactivated Android phone, then connect that wirelessly, then post the transferred photo to RFF as a direct attachment to the posting. I have no hosting service, so RFF restricts and I think resizes photos that are uploaded.

The quality and fine detail does suffer with this process. Perhaps an unintended benefit is that the RFF readership is spared the trauma of me posting hundreds of photos of my cameras.

I’m genuinely curious about the difference between the iPhone “jpeg” and your Android phone “jpg”. If it’s size, there are ways to resize a native iPhone image. You can even just email it to yourself as an attachment, where you have an option of selecting file size. There should be no reason I can see to have to use 2 phones.

 

[lynnb]

It was the first day of spring, so I took my Instax SQ6 along for some coffee at the beach.

Picture #310 with the Instax Square SQ6. Instax square ISO800 color film. Auto exposure.

 

[lynnb]

Picture #311 with the Instax Square SQ6

Third day of spring, 2021. Cabbage Tree Bay, Sydney.
Instax square ISO800 color film. Auto exposure.

 

[Pál_K]

I’m genuinely curious about the difference between the iPhone “jpeg” and your Android phone “jpg”. …

The difference is in name only: “jpeg” vs “jpg”. A .jpeg file is bit-for-bit identical to a .jpg in format.

The problem is that (1) this site won’t accept an upload with the .jpeg suffix and (2) I have no way of changing the suffix of the photos on my iPhone SE2 (iPhone images are all jpeg - that’s the closest choice I have). I did find a converter app, however.

@lynnb Once again, these photos of yours are a visual treat. The “look” you’ve created is unique and very pleasing. You’ve truly mastered it.

 

[lynnb]

@lynnb Once again, these photos of yours are a visual treat. The “look” you’ve created is unique and very pleasing. You’ve truly mastered it.

Pál_K, thanks so much, that's very kind of you!

 

[iphoenix]

Lynn, your pictures with the Instax Mini have persuaded me to use mine for my own photography.

Until now I've only used it for the op shop where I volunteer, to put photographs in the window of donated items that are too big, or valuable, to have in the shop.

Now, I'll be getting some film packs for me.

Thank you,
David

 

[lynnb]

Lynn, your pictures with the Instax Mini have persuaded me to use mine for my own photography.

Until now I've only used it for the op shop where I volunteer, to put photographs in the window of donated items that are too big, or valuable, to have in the shop.

Now, I'll be getting some film packs for me.

Thank you,
David

Hi David,

That's great, enjoy! I must get around to scanning and uploading a few more of my prints to this thread.

Cheers,
Lynn

 

[lynnb]

Picture #112 with the Instax Wide 300. Sunset over the Pacific ocean, winter 2022.

 

[lynnb]

Picture # 111 with the Instax Wide 300. Morning light over the Pacific ocean, winter 2022.