Portsmouth Old Towne Farmers’ Market

Today was a hot one, but I wanted to get out and do some shooting. There have been so many times when I’ve thought about shooting, but put it off. This year, I’m making a conscious effort to actually go out and shoot. So today I went out to the Portsmouth Old Towne Farmers’ Market. It is a local farmers’ market that also has a cruise-in where people bring their classic cars. Plus, since it was the first Saturday, there was also an artist market. I went to photograph some of the classic cards and ended up listening to some good music, trying some tasty beverages, and buying a cool pouch.

Classic Cars

There were several classic cars out today. Several were decked out in red, white, and blue. There were also some very cool Ford cars on display. It was nice that the cars were parked in the shade (mostly)…it helped it not feel so hot. I probably need to invest in a polarizer filter if I am going to go back to photographing cars.

These were all shot with my Sony A7RIII and my Tamron 18-300mm variable aperture lens. I wanted to travel light so I opted to just bring one lens. It was great for today and exactly what I needed. It allowed me to get a variety of different shots…some wide, some close…all with one lens.

Here are some of the other non-red, white, and blue cars that I captured. There was a Purple Hellcat that I absolutely loved because I am a purple girlie if nothing else. There was also a Ford Mustang GT and a Ford Shelby. I ended up speaking with the Ford Shelby couple and the guy had owned the car for about three years. That reminds me, I need to build my Ford Shelby Lego set…that is probably as close as I will ever come to owning a Shelby lol.

Polaroid at the Farmers’ Market

I also ended up bringing my Polaroid Flip and a pack of Purple Reclaimed 600 film and a pack of I-type film. I recently did a YouTube video on shooting Polaroid in summer heat. Generally speaking, Polaroid often color shifts when shooting in temperatures above 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Well, spoiler alert, there really wasn’t much of a color shift even though I was shooting in 95 degree weather. I was curious if I was going to get the same results and also how the Purple film would react to the heat.

This time I did notice a bit more color shift in my regular I-type film. Still nothing drastic, but noticeable. However, I’m not sure about the Purple film. The Purple film almost seemed over exposed. Like there were a couple of photos where the center of the photos didn’t really develop. The thing with the Purple film is that it is made from “waste” chemistry that Polaroid otherwise would have thrown out. So I’m not sure if it is the “waste” chemistry that caused the issue or the heat. There are these white snowflake like artifacts in my Purple film. I think it is because it was too cold in my fridge. I dropped the temperature a bit so we’ll see if that changes anything…it could just be part of the “waste” chemistry. Overall though, I’m still pretty happy with how the Purple film came out.

I was also reminded how much I enjoy the round frame 600 film. There is just something about how it looks. I had a successful day out with my Polaroid.

Vendors

I tried a couple of different vendors at the farmers’ market today. The first one I went to was The Fizzy Fix. It was a basically a cool drink stand. It was much needed because it was sooooo H O T outside. I ended up getting this drink called the Suffolk Sunset. It was made up of Sprite, Mango, Peach, and Pineapple Cream. The 16oz version cost me a little over $7. There was also a 24oz option. It was so refreshing that I finished it in no time. However, silly me, I didn’t take a photo of the drink. If they show up at another farmers’ market I’m at, I’ll have to snag a photo…and maybe try another flavor.

My next stop with The Local Print Shoppe (TLPS). They had ball caps, pouches, and lots of patches. I saw a purple pouch so of course I had to snag it. When you bought an item, you got a patch for free. It cost me about $20. My patch of choice was “Not Today Satan” lol. I ended using the pouch as a dark place to put my Polaroids while they developed…since I left my other pouches at home. Did I need it…no. But it was Purple so I had to get it lol. I’m either going to keep using it as a photo pouch or a pouch to store my fountain pens.

Not Today Satan purple pouch from TLPS.

Wrap Up

Although it was super hot outside, I enjoyed my time at the Portsmouth Old Towne Farmers’ Market. I definitely want to go back again and take more photos. I’ve gotta see what other open air markets are around so I can take my camera out and have some fun.

Roger Williams Botanical Center with the Polaroid I-2

It’s so cold here in Newport right now. The high was like 30 degrees Fahrenheit today and the heat went out in my house. I was going to go to Mystic, CT today and shoot some film photography, but it was just too cold. I knew I would be miserable so I changed plans. I decided to go visit the Roger Williams Botanical Center. The great thing about this botanical center is that it is indoors so I wouldn’t freeze outside. The botanical center is in the Roger Williams Park. That park also has the zoo, a Japanese garden, and more.

I decided to shoot with my Polaroid I-2 and a pack of my Basquiat frame and black frame Polaroid I-Type film. I’m so sad I didn’t buy more of the Basquiat frames. I love the frame designs. If they ever come back in stock, I’m ordering a bunch.

Photo from Polaroid Newsroom Website

I’m trying to get over my aversion of shooting Polaroid film. I’ve been stocking up on film, but I haven’t been shooting with it. Polaroid film is a fickle mistress and she’s not cheap. I hate wasting film and shooting with Polaroid will likely lead to at least some film wasted. The Redditors of r/Polaroid basically reminded me I won’t get any better with shooting Polaroid…if I don’t shoot with Polaroid.

Roger Williams Botanical Center Entrance - Shot with I-2 and Black frame

This is a shot of the entrance to the Botanical Center. The photo was shot outside and started developing outside so that’s why it has more of a bluish-green tint to it. When I said Polaroid was a fickle mistress, this is what I meant. She is very susceptible to extreme temperatures…more so than Instax film. It was also pretty overcast today so that is part of the reason the sky is blown out. It was pretty much just a white out for the sky with the cloud coverage.

Here are some photos I took with the Black frame and my I-2. I like how the lady statue photo came out. I ended up using the flash for this one to better illuminate her. The photo that looks like it has white flowers should actually be more pink. I’m a bit disappointed that the camera focused more so on the back half of the photo instead the flowers in the front. I have mixed feelings about the last photo, the red flowers on the cactus. It’s not framed how I intended. I wanted to more of a mirror image on the side and then the bulk of the cactus in the middle. I’ve gotta learn how to better use the viewfinder for the I-2. There is a bit of parallax and I just haven’t taken the time to learn how to properly use it.

These are some of my favorite photos of the red plants at the Botanical Center. They are so much sharper in person. I actually really like how underexposed these photos are. The backgrounds are darker so I think it draws your eyes to the flower/plants. Plus, the Basquiat frames are so awesome.

Here are two different photos of the same flower. The Black frame is darker while the Basquiat frame is brighter. I think they both have their benefits, but I still lean towards the darker photo. I like the richness of the green in that photos. I do think the brighter photo of the flower and plants works well with the Basquiat frame with all of its yellow.

This was my attempt at a double exposure. The little green plants were the bottom layer and the bigger red and green plant was the upper layer. Like with parallax, I need to learn more about double exposure. I have that feature in a lot of my cameras, but I never really use it. It can create some really fun and creative images.

This is probably one of my favorite plants that I found at the Botanical Center. It looks like a little pineapple plant. I thought pineapples grew on trees, but I did a quick Google search, and it looks like they grew from a regular plant. I think this is such a cute little plant. I had a lot of fun at the Botanical Center. I did use this app called Lghtmtr on my phone to help me better choose my settings. It actually worked out pretty well. I’m going to keep using it until I get more comfortable with understanding my camera settings.

It was nice to get out of the house and take some photos not in the cold lol. I’ve done several shoots outside and it was just too cold. I definitely need to shoot with my Polaroids more if I want to improve. My dad got me a purple Polaroid Now 2 for Christmas, but it shoots in auto. I’m going to wait until I get more sun because it’s easier to get good shots with a non-manual Polaroid with more sun.