5 Frames with a Canon T90 & Polaroid PolaChrome

The Canon T-90 the last FD lens mount camera was finally mine to have. Bought it early 2023 at a local camera store. Shooting with the Canon AE-1 Program many years earlier, the manual side of things were familiar to me. In 2022 for some odd reason I had to start shooting film again. I stopped photography back in 2012 to focus on my abstract art paintings. This urge to rekindle analog photography bursted bright in me. I stopped all film together in 2003 going towards the Canon EOS Digital Rebel 6.3MP, changed how I looked at things for a faster approach in my workflow.

So my film adventure in late Spring 2023 was a small town to photograph modern architecture. I took four cameras along. The Canon T-90 is our focus. With a 50mm, F1.8 standard lens I blew through two rolls of Polaroid Polachrome color slide film of twelve exposures each. Expired since the mid 1980’s and a ISO 40 ( no ISO 6 or 12 for me) which I shot them at box speed. The T-90 came out in 1986. Why not use a camera from that era? Twenty-four total shots to hone in various subjects. Cloudy days at times gives me that ultimate diffused light box.

Alas, getting home from the trip only one roll was usable. They were unopened boxes with the developing packs included. Using Polaroid’s Autoprocessor hand crank manual unit rolls together film and developer, wind it one way and back. The second roll came out better than expected or at least see some details. Directions say two minutes but did five for the first roll. The second roll, two minutes and 30 seconds. I didn’t know how the film was stored, so I guessed. This forty year old roll has a few stories to share. Thirteen shots made it. Let’s see those five!

The low density makes these images reduced in contrast through out the film but fresher film has a better appearance. Shooting at lower ISO could look better too. Also, if it was fresh film the removable peel away back of the developer wouldn’t remain. I had to go under a sink to get the junk off like remjet. You do see banding on the slide by it’s RGB filtering layer. I have a few more boxes of Polachome that only certain projects I’ll use them on, including two from 1998 refrigerated. They should look fine in 5″ x 7″ prints. For scanning borrowed a Sony A1 50MP to capture it and edit in a photo editor. Doing this reduces those banding lines compared to a scanner seems to magnify them. I do have slide mounts but no plans for these to be mounted. Polaroid needs the bring these back. Live in the moment as you never know if you can go back to places.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Bill Waggoner

I’ve been doing various arts & photography for some years now. Working on abstract canvas and up coming photography projects. I need another 400 years to get some of this done. You can find me on Instagram. I’m adding more photography works to my website. www.art4themasses.com   

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