Meet My Polaroid Collection

As you may already know, I am a bit of a Polaroid fanatic with an ever-growing collection. I’m not only waiting for the snow to melt and the mud to subside in Minnesota so I can embark on more hiking adventures, but also so I can take my Polaroids out for a spin. Until then, I thought I’d introduce you to my Polaroid collection, which currently includes 11 cameras.

Old Faithful Polaroids

To be honest, I haven’t used all of my cameras. This is mainly because my Spirit Polaroid takes crazy sharp images, is super adorable, and is by far my favorite camera, and has 100 percent stolen the spotlight from my other cameras. There are three other cameras that I mainly use, and have yet to test out some of my other cameras for various reasons. Check out my tride and true cameras below!

The One that Started It All

My mom is an avid antiquer, and is well-known for her ability to almost immediately find whatever item someone is searching for. So when I decided I wanted to get a Polaroid, I casually asked her to keep her eye out for one. I didn’t realize quite how immediate her talent was for finding things for people, because she paused for a moment, and then said, “I think I have one in the closet.”

And what do you know? She did.

Way back in the day when my mom was a teacher, they were all gifted these beautiful bright blue Polaroids as some kind of employee appreciation gift.

I had to wait to order some film, but once it arrived in the mail, I was out the door in an instant, on the lookout for a Polaroid photo opportunity.

When I first started with my Polaroid adventures, this was my go-to camera, until my collection rapidly expanded.

Here are a few of my favorite shots taken with this camera:

Stopping to smell the roses at the Como Conservatory.

Snapshot of my utterly flawless best friend, also at the Como Conservatory.

A shot from my Resist! series, taken at various protests in the Twin Cities. “Pollinators know climate change is real!”

From the March for Science – I particularly like this one, because the word “Resistance” sticks out so well, and both the American flag and globe grab your attention, too.

My OneStep Flash

This was the second camera I got, and it has easily become my second-most used camera. I often select it if I know that I will be going somewhere that I’ll want a little flash of red, as I always try to get snapshots of my Polaroids in the locations that I use them, because I want to remember which camera I used where, and also because I’m obsessed with how my Polaroids look.

I took this bad boy to Canada on Canada Day, which is fitting, because of the red. I didn’t get any shots there, but I did take a few in Grand Marais, when I returned to Minnesota on that trip. Here are a few of my favorite shots with this camera:

Just sitting on the rocks along Lake Superior in Grand Marais. Wearing my red shirt on Canada Day by accident.

Another shot from my trip to Grand Marais. While I was sailing the ship, the captain asked me if I wanted him to take a picture of me. The boat was so tilted at an angle, I was a little afraid he and my Polaroid were going to fall into Lake Superior, but he was an old pro and kept his balance just fine. You can see me struggling to stay upright, but it was a blast. One of my more unique Polaroid shots.

A snapshot of me walking through some sweet trees at Itasca State Park, one of my favorite State Parks.

A shot from a local county fair at their amusement park. I love the dreamy colors and quality of these two Polaroids.

One of my summer goals was to get a Polaroid of a Ferris wheel – and I got it!

My Refurbished Polaroid

I dropped an absurd amount of money on this camera, because I was obsessed with its beautiful pink color. It’s the only camera in this collection that I have payed more than five dollars for, and it’s also the only camera I have slightly damaged, which is pretty ironic.

The camera was purchased from Polaroid Originals, formerly known as The Impossible Project, and I was super stoked about it. I was a tad disappointed when I received it, however, because the pink color is not the actual color of the plastic, as is the case with my silver and blue cameras, but is actually a coating of paint. As someone who typically carries her Polaroids in her backpack, along with various other adventure items, I was a bit concerned about the layer of paint’s longevity.

I brought this camera to San Francisco with me, and made sure to cover it with my Polaroid camera bag, so as to not damage the pink color. But somehow, someway, I managed to chip/rub away the paint on the very top of the camera – I’m not quite certain how it happened, but you can see the layer of black plastic below the paint in certain places. It doesn’t quite look like it chipped, as there aren’t any harsh breaks in it, but the paint is definitely sparse in places, which was frustrating. To be honest, if I’d known it was just painted pink, I wouldn’t have bought it, because I’m definitely capable of painting my own camera to “refurbish” it. I could have spent five dollars on it, and I would have had the same paint color to touch up any scrapes, whereas now I’m pretty much stuck with the discoloration at the top of the camera.

All of that aside, the camera takes really nice pictures. Here are a few of my favorites!

A classic shot of the San Francisco icon – the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you’re going to go old school, go old school, right? Had to get a Polaroid of myself on one of the cable cars in San Francisco.

My Absolute Favorite

This Polaroid has gone there and back with me. This is the third camera I obtained, and it’s essentially the main reason thatI have yet to try any of the Polaroids below.

It takes super sharp pictures and is just super dependable. Aesthetically speaking, it’s also my favorite camera. I love the cute little rainbow stripe down the front, and overall I just think it’s an adorable camera.

Put that all together, and I can’t stop myself from instinctively reaching for this camera whenever I’m about to embark on an adventure.

If you’re counting all of these Polaroids up, and notice that there are ten cameras pictured, though I stated that I own 11 – that’s because I actually have a second Spirit Polaroid just like this one! However, the second Polaroid is securely stowed away in a box, because it has never been used. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it has never been used and is in pristine condition. I plan to someday use it as some kind of decoration in my home.

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

A little picture of me standing in front of Minneopa Falls. This is one of the first pictures I’d taken with this camera.

Here I am holding my map in front of Mount Rushmore. I like the colors in this one.

Kansas City I’m so in love! While in KC, Kate and I had to visit this mural to snap a few pictures. I like the way this camera prints pink colors – it has a very dreamy vibe.

Speaking of dreamy vibes! This is one of my favorite pictures, even though it is by far the least developed picture I’ve taken. I’m sitting below Bell Rock in Sedona, Arizona, here. The sun was shining so brightly that we could hardly get any normal pictures here, and we were not at all confident that we could get any kind of decent Polaroid image due to the brightness of the sun, but tried anyways. The result is this sun-spotted, dream-like picture. It’s not perfect by any means, but I like how it turned out.

This picture from the Grand Canyon has a few splotchy spots, but I still really like it. This camera normally takes very clear images, but I think there was something wrong with the pack of film I’d purchased, because the whole pack had very similar spots that didn’t develop properly. However, I like when there are a few flaws in the way a Polaroid develops – I think it adds character.

New(ish) Polaroids

Some of these cameras have merely sat on display on my Polaroid shelf, but this summer, I will be breaking (some of) them out to take them for a test drive!

My Navy Blue Polaroid 600

The sole reason I have yet to take my Polaroid 600 out, as well as the Silver Express below, is because they are aesthetically not as much of my vibe as the square cameras are. These guys are cool, but I’m much more drawn to the square Polaroid cameras. However, I am determined to break this camera out this summer!

My Polaroid Silver Express

I will also be taking this camera out on a few adventures this summer. Another reason I’ve yet to take this camera out, as well as some of the others below, is that film is expensive, and it’s a bit of a gamble to put a whole pack of film in a camera that you don’t know will work. When I’m heading off on an adventure, it’s less risky taking a camera that I already know takes good shots, rather than grabbing this one and a pack of film.

My OneStep

This OneStep is in great condition! It still has the plastic covering on the top portion of the camera, where the flash and the Polaroid logo is.

On the back of every Polaroid. there is a small square that lists a number from 2-10, indicating how many pieces of film you have left in the camera. Originally, the number could be from 1-10, as the film packs Polaroid sold included 10 pieces of film. Now, film packs only include 8 pieces of film, so the number only goes down to 2, and then is reset when you put in a new pack of film.

However, if you’ve never use a Polaroid camera before, the film counter will be blank. Once you put a pack of film in it, it will reset to 10. This camera, and the ones below, all have blank film counters, meaning that no one has ever used them. I’ve hesitated to use them, as once I do, they won’t be brand new anymore! For this reason, I may not use some of the cameras below, just to keep a few brand new ones in my collection.

My Silver Spirit 600

I really like the look of this silver Polaroid. Since this camera is also brand new, I’m fairly confident that it will take decent pictures, but you never know! I’m excited to take this one out this summer.

My Silver Sun 600

I know this camera looks exactly like the Silver Spirit 600, but it’s not! I don’t actually know what the difference is, except for the rainbow next to the logo in this one. This one is so brand new that the strap has not been unraveled; it is still perfectly rolled up like it was when it was originally sold. This is a camera that I may leave on the shelf, so as not to ruin it.

My Polaroid Autofocus 660

This is going to be the first camera I break out this summer. It’s so cool looking! It has some gold accents that are very cool, and as this one is also brand new, I’m pretty confident that it will take some nice pictures.

Adventure, here I come!

Let’s Connect:

Can’t wait to make more adventures and shoot more Polaroids as I continue working through my 25 Things list.