I told myself that with the start of the new year I would update this blog on a regular schedule. I meant to post consistently last year and that didn't happen. So, this year will be different! Right? Well, it's February 11th and this will be my first post of the year. Oh well. Better late than never.

One thing I have been keeping up with so far this year is the 366, photo-a-day project I started on the first of January. One photo every day. I put no restrictions on the subject matter or the style of these photos. The only thing keeping these photos consistent is that every one of them will be shot on instant film, or Polaroid. This will add a bit of cost to this project, but I like the idea of creating something tangible. Not just by the end of the project, but every single day. I easily grow bored of looking at images on a screen all of the time. It's much nicer to see them on paper. Something I can touch. Something I can pass along to my children someday.

The only other restriction I put upon myself for this project is that I can only shoot one a day. No retakes. If the photo sucks, too bad. At around a dollar a photo, I can't afford to keep taking pictures until I get it just right. The only exception to this would be if I forgot to take the dark slide out of the camera before taking the picture. I've only done that twice so far.

This one is a bit underexposed.  It's the cat. — This one is a bit underexposed. It's the cat.

I'm using mostly Fujifilm FP-100C color instant film. For those not familiar with what that is, it's the instant film that you have to pull out of the camera after you snap the photo, then you wait two minutes and pull it apart. That leaves you with a print and a negative. I've read about how the negative can be bleached so that it can actually be used to print from, or scanned into the computer. If I get around to trying that, I will put up the results here.

So besides the FP-100C, I have a few packs of very old black and white Polaroid film that have been sitting in a cabinet for years. I tried one last month with mixed results. Also, Fuji used to make a B&W instant film, FP-3000B, but it was discontinued a few years ago. The price of the remaining stock is steadily rising, but I managed to obtain a few packs at a "reasonable" price. So there will be some B&W shots in the mix, too.

The Wife (again) Fuji FP-3000B B&W instant film

I'm enjoying this project so far, but sometimes it's difficult to come up with ideas on what to shoot. There have been a couple of days where the photo ended up being something I would have made in high school photo class. I'm going to keep going with this, though. I've got a few more packs of film on order, and with spring approaching, I will hopefully find some more inspiration outside.

Thanks!