Back in winter, I bought a few packs of black & white 600 Impossible film. I stored them in the top shelf of the refrigerator and waited for a warm day before loading the Polaroid One.

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If you’re not familiar with this model, it’s a party-style camera, the kind you passed around back in the day in place of a photo booth.

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Fully automatic with a flash that’s always on, the Polaroid One lacks manual controls other than masking the flash.

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That didn’t stop me though. On a warm cloudy day, I packed the camera in the stroller for a short hike. I shot away and into the sun.

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I went wide then in too close. I let the flash fire away. When the 600 film came out, I slipped it into my back pocket to shield it from light coating my hand with a little chemistry each time.

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I followed the rules and broke them. I blew out highlights, shadows, then ghosted some images with flash. A few frames turned out but none as expected.

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On another warm but sunny day, I walked around town with the camera. My shooting pattern was the same, so were the results. I’m still not sure what I think about the pair, the black & white 600 film with the Polaroid One.

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Maybe I need more practice or the stars to align or maybe I just need to embrace the elements of surprise with this film.

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Nikki | Art & Lemons