Mocking Bird » Polaroid

Instant Love: How To Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids

Amanda — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:18:40 +0000

What do you do when you have a post all lined up for the first one of the year and then your first book arrives on your doorstep? You ditch that post, snap a Polaroid with the only colour film you have (expired beyond expired) and do a happy dance.

Friends, yesterday, Susannah, Jen and I got the most lovely surprise in the mail- for our baby of the last year and half arrived in actual book form. Our lovely editor Bridget sent us the first copies of our Polaroid book and I can’t even express how many emotions ran through my body as I flipped through its pages. We have been dreaming of this day for a long time now and to finally have it here is rather surreal.

From the moment you start hatching ideas to the day you get to hold it in your hands is such a journey of; emotions, hard work, long nights, excitement, freak outs, re writes, fun, editing (and editing again and again), bonding and looking to the future. It’s hard to even put into words the feelings I’m now having to see my writing and photography in published form. Up until this moment, it never really seemed real.

I want to thank our editor Bridget and Chronicle Books for believing in us, our designer Brooke for making it all look so beautiful, but mostly I want to thank my co-authors Jenifer and Susannah, my pola sisters who I love so dearly.

Instant Love will be bursting from the shelves in bookstores from May/June or you can pre order it now on Amazon.

Here’s a sneak peek!

A Polaroid 2011

Amanda — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:30:54 +0000

As is now becoming a Mocking Bird tradition, I am signing off for the year with a look back at some of my favourite Polaroids from 2011. These Polaroids were all shot with either my Polaroid SLR680 or my SX70 using a mix of Polaroid 600, Polaroid 779, Impossible Project PX100 and Impossible Project PX680 films.

I am looking forward to a big Polaroid year in 2012 with our Instant Love Moroccan retreat in February and the release of our book, Instant Love in the Spring! Here’s to another year of Polaroids in 2012!

And you can start off the year with me and my cameras by signing up for Shoot By Design: Refining Your Photography Style. There are places available now.

Polaroid Portraits iv

Amanda — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:43:09 +0000

Such sweet light- Polaroid Portraits.

Polaroid Portraits iii

Amanda — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:00:24 +0000

We wandered into the woods where the light was shimmering through the trees and shadows played across the dusty ground. A path lightly trodden underfoot. I didn’t need to ask him not to smile. – Polaroid Portraits

Shoot By Design Autumn Session

Amanda — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:42:06 +0000

And you can do no wrong in my eyes…

I think we were channeling jedis on planet Tatooine for this one- Polaroid Portraits

Today I am announcing that I will be running my Shoot By Design: Refining Your Photography Style course again this Autumn. The course will run from Monday 31 October 2011 to Friday December 9th 2011. I had such a great response from the first group of students that I knew I had to offer it again. You can find out more about the course here. Registration will start this Friday 14 October at 9am AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time). This will make it Thursday 13th October 3pm on the West Coast of North America.

Registration is now open!

I’m so excited to get started with a new course again!

Polaroid Portraits i

Amanda — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 05:00:14 +0000

I have missed this little girl so much. She’s grown up a lot since we were last together. My baby sister isn’t a little girl anymore and it’s kind of hard to accept. I love her so much that it hurts. Being home hurts. - Polaroid Portraits.

The first of the Polaroid Family Portraits were shot on some expired film that unfortunately was well past its prime.

Listening to this is a different kind of hurt…a hurt that twists up your heart it’s so beautiful. It’s great to hear Wally on the radio again. I love me a little Aussie voice from heaven. Listen to Gotye.

The Last Goodbye

Amanda — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:46:38 +0000

I have uttered the words, “I only have ‘X’ packs of Polaroid film left” many times in the last 2 years. Until last week, I was all out of my beloved 600 and had been all out for quite some time. I recently made a teeny score of film from another Polaroid lover and despite its age, I’m holding onto it ever so tightly.

During the course of shooting Instant Love, I realised that a lot of my Polaroids centred around still lifes, landscapes and travel work. Yet, all of my most treasured Polaroids are the portraits I’ve shot. I have tons of sentimental Polaroids that Sean and I shot together of us as a couple, but I feel I almost missed the boat on shooting portraits when the film was readily available.I’m one of those people who is still in denial about things taking place long after they’ve happened. The rain is bucketing down, but I wait all day for it to clear. I guess it makes me a hopeful person.

I’m heading home to Sydney in a fortnight with a few packs of Polaroid in my carry on. I have promised myself that the bulk of those images will be portraits – portraits of my loved ones. The plan is to shoot my family and close friends and make images that I will cherish forever. I don’t want one of those Polaroids wasted. I’m sure I’ll probably screw up a few, but I’m making a concerted effort to make magic and memories with my Polaroids.

I really feel like this will be it. My last goodbye to my beloved Polaroid 600 film. Of course, I’m sure I will end up scouring the globe for a few packs to take to Morocco in February but this may well be the last goodbye.

Impossible Fun

Amanda — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:00:29 +0000

Hello all…

I’ve been shooting some much-needed Polaroid therapy this week. Yes, Polaroid therapy. I start to get itchy when it’s been a while between shoots. This was my first time testing out the Impossible PX680 First Flush colour shade film. I was lucky enough to try out the beta version of this film and I’m liking this even better. The colours are really getting there and I LOVE the effect of a leaving sun upon the sky and skin.

The originals look better than the scans…the crystalised look seems to really show up (especially in the darks) in the scans more so than on the Polaroid itself. I’m looking forward to shooting this film in Australia when I’m there, next month.

What do you think?

Roid Week Is Here

Amanda — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:29:33 +0000

Are you joining in on all the fun?

Check out the awesome Ann McGarry’s Roid Week flashback. Queen of the Spectra.

Of course, Roid Week would be the perfect time to buy a Polaroid camera to bring with you to our Instant Love retreat in Marrakesh. There are still a handful of spots available.

Summer is the perfect time to shoot Polaroids. Lots of outdoor festivities and gorgeous evening light!

Happy Roid Week from @mandaroid!

Blossoming

Amanda — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:18:03 +0000

New Impossible Project (beta test) colour film? Oh, yeah!