Yesterday was LA’s last full day of warmth, at least for a little while, because as I type this post this noontime the rain is pattering against my window … slowly cooling down the temps around here. You know, it’s actually OK with me … we’ve had a great run of high 80 degree weather so I don’t mind the cooling down. Mebbe I’ll get to wear my new knit hat with a ball (which is, apparently, all the rage these days) on it sometime this weekend … HMMM. I spent some of yesterday playing around with my Polaroid Instant Camera, which I’ve been very fond of lately, snapping pics of my apartment and neighborhood. It won’t be long now before David and I make the move to our new home together so I’m trying to capture some memories in my current apartment while I can. I’m happy to report that the makers of the Poladroid program finally released a Windows version of their software, which allows any computer user to turn their digital photos into virtual Polaroid photos:

Additionally, I’ve been reading a few of the Polaroid books that I’ve procured recently (including a couple of books that were given to me by David for Xmas) for inspiration. I even snapped a couple of self-portraits in the same vein as Andy Warhol, the famous pop artist who was a big fan of Polaroid photography:

My photos aren’t nearly as good as Warhol’s (obvs) but I’m having fun with the medium anyway. I must say, with each photo that I take I feel another pang of sadness that the Polaroid company has ceased production of their instant film. I pray that The Impossible Project is successful … I really don’t want to stop taking photos because I’ve run out of film — forever.

I have started packing … that’s always fun.

And, to answer some of your inquiries, I did watch the 2 new eps of Lost that aired last night. Sadly, I no longer feel inspired to recap the show anymore. I am not a big fan of the time-travel bologna that they are handing us on the show … you know when a show resorts to using time travel that they’ve run out of ideas and plan to use the convention as a “magic wand” to explain away all the seemingly impossible corners they’ve painted themselves into. I’ll still watch but trying to figure out the secrets and clues is pointless now … all they have to do is Zap! themselves to the past/future/whatever and make whatever tricky square peg they are faced with fit into a round hole. Meh.

In any event, the rainy day will prolly keep me indoors today … I’m trying to figure out my weekend plans but, at this point, it looks like I’m just gonna lay low and keep it simple.

Those of you who are familiar with my blog know that I have been enjoying a rekindled love affair with Polaroid Instant Photography over the past few months after learning that the Polaroid Company has ceased production of both their instant cameras and instant film. I’ve mentioned a few times how I’ve been hording Polaroid film and have been collecting Polaroid cameras in an effort to “get it while I can”. In the past few days I’ve been hearing about a new project that is underway in Europe that is working to save Polaroid film and come up with an inventive way to start up manufacture of the film again. Pink reader Meredith pointed me to an article that explains how The Impossible Project, headed by Florian Kaps, is hoping to take the business of manufacturing Polaroid film into his own hands so that production of the film can be revived:

For a generation, the Polaroid camera gave near-instant pleasure to millions of users around the world, chronicling everything from births and weddings to the downright explicit. But when digital photography came along in the 1990s – with instant images and the ability to edit and delete pictures before they see the light of day – Polaroid was doomed, its iconic white-framed snaps apparently defunct. When Polaroid announced last February that it would stop production of its instant film, it seemed the much-loved camera was gone forever. But within weeks, a group of users had started a global campaign for the format to return. And now, thanks to an unlikely saviour, their pleas have been heard. If all goes to plan, the Polaroid factory in Enschede, Amsterdam, will soon be making film again thanks to its new owner, an eccentric Austrian artist and businessman named Florian Kaps. Mr Kaps, 39, has dedicated the past five years to instant photography. He set up Polanoid.net, the biggest Polaroid gallery on the web, and the first ever Polaroid-only art gallery in Vienna, called Polanoir. Now he plans to save the film. “The project is more than a business plan; it’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create turnover,” said Mr Kaps. Dubbed “The Impossible Project”, the development of new film for Polaroid cameras launches today. Working with the Manchester-based black and white photography company Ilford, the machinery is in place to produce film of two exposure types, each compatible with both the classic SX-70 cameras popular with artists and the more modern 600 series. Work has begun on a prototype. By hiring 11 of the original Polaroid team from the factory floor, Mr Kaps aims to mass produce both colour and black and white film under the Impossible label by December, coinciding with the projected date that existing stocks will run out.

Please, sweet baby Jebus, let this be true. I fear The Impossible Project sounds too good to be true … can a group of individuals and a handful of Polaroid employees really revive the manufacture of Polaroid film? I’m willing to be hopeful but I’m not really counting on it just yet. This is great news tho … just this weekend, I snapped a bunch of really amazing Polaroids and it just kills me to think that one day soon, there may be no more Polaroid film to use anymore. There is still much interest in Polaroid film, the Washington Post published a new article lamenting the loss of Polaroid film just yesterday. I’m deffo keeping my fingers and toes crossed that Kaps and his crew will be successful in this very ambitious endeavor … but in the meantime, I’m still gonna be stocking up on Polaroid film whenever I can. Whether the manufacture of Polaroid film can be saved or not — I still plan to take as many Polaroids as I can, while I still can.

[Source, Source, thanks Meredith]