Exposure: These Polaroid Wonders

All photos courtesy of #9 dream

Asking to remain anonymous, #9 dream keeps his initials revealed on his Flickr profile, thus I will refer to him as NA. As soon as I saw one of his Polaroid scans on the BR Flick group I just had to check out more. Amazing is not the word I can express for me to properly characterize his work. It's something unique and in all sorts real. What made me want to feature NA on this Wednesdays feature was primarily above all-his Polaroid work. Usually I tend to spot out some crummy Polaroid pictures that people take of their friends at parties or for fashion profiles of models and whatnot. I haven't yet seen the tool of a Polaroid camera to be fully used as another direction in art - in this case photographs.

My friend Chris from Japan is one of the only ones I know who can really rock a Polaroid camera. For Vancouver to have a photographer like NA, that's something else. Beyond Polaroids, his digital work is quite impressive. He tends to eye very secluded and a tad distant spots in Vancouver to photograph, places that not everyone tends to acknowledge as an area of subject. It's refreshing to see a variety of shots that are different from our typical Vancouver attractions such as VPL, Gastown, Burrard Bridge and Stanley Park. NA, I hope you enjoy photographing as much as people enjoy your photographs!

Do you favor working more with a Polaroid camera, film or digital?
Do I have to pick one? For convenience, it's pretty hard to beat digital. If time and cost were no factor I would be shooting more film.

I noticed your equipment consists of many different lenses and all sorts of cameras - what do you prefer to be working with the most?
It depends what I'm doing. I like to travel light, unless specifically going out to shoot. Most days I have the Polaroid SX-70 and the Pentax K10D with me. The SX-70 is nice and compact. The K10D suits my style of shooting and its weather proof - great for living here. On the downside, it's not as compact or as light as other systems so I'm looking to a point and shoot again, so that I have something pocketable. For lenses, I'm usually carrying a mid-range zoom, or a prime. I love the 21mm pancake, very compact and nice rendering.

Alot of your work, is quite simple and nostalgic, but always has one little detail that makes it special and catches the eye. Do you particularly hunt for something to photograph or just let the ideas come up naturally?
A bit of both. There are days I go out looking for things to shoot, with a specific idea in mind. Other days I stumble upon things. I guess I'm always looking for a photo, whether I have the means to capture it or not. Sometimes I'll see something I like and return to the location when the light is better.

Any photographers that you admire and get inspired by?
Tons! There are so many talented photographers out there. Flickr and other photo sharing sites are a great refuge for the enthusiast. I can, and often do, spend hours looking over my contact's photos or various groups. If we're talking professional - I love Edward Burtynsky, Andreas Gursky, Richard Misrach and Kim Kirkpatrick.

You never see many people nowadays taking Polaroid cameras as a serious tool for photography. Usually Polaroid's distinguish themselves as quick and easy party photographs of friends and people. What appeals you to use Polaroid's as another resource for taking pictures?
I think if you look at some of the Polaroid groups on Flickr you'll find photographers using them in all kinds of interesting ways, serious or otherwise.

I love the color an SX-70 is capable of producing. I use a neutral density filter with Polaroid 600 film. By dialing in a bit of exposure compensation I can get some very rich colors - especially with the right light. I've also found the lens capable of creating a flattening perspective or a surprising amount of depth depending on the shot, which is great creatively.

I use the Polaroid for snapshots, too. It has that look which feeds the nostalgia factor for me. Snapshots are what made the Instant Polaroid.

Any Polaroid cameras particularly your favorite?
I get better results from the SX-70 than I ever have from the newer models. I'm looking to pick up one of the spectra models which produce nice results.

Do you find Vancouver being inclusively too small for photographers nowadays? I always seem to notice the same pictures of Art Gallery, Gastown, VPL from most photographers!
For someone interested in urban landscapes, Vancouver is rather small with a few landmarks that get all the attention. That said, just when you think you've seen every conceivable take on say, Canada Place - someone will post a picture taken with an unusual perspective or that highlights some intriguing detail and suddenly it looks fresh.

There are great spots to shoot in Vancouver if you take the time to explore. I have a few spots in the city that I visit over and over again where I rarely, if ever, bump into other photographers.

Of course, one upside to shooting in Vancouver is the crappy weather. A blanket of fog or dramatic storm clouds can really transform the city.

I also like to travel outside Vancouver - Richmond, New Westminster, Burnaby and further down the valley. I grew up in the burbs so I know these areas pretty well. Having lived in Vancouver now for some 20 years, I find myself drawn back to these places and exploring them with a different set of eyes. There are really some amazing places to shoot outside of Vancouver's borders.

What are you excited about photographing next - any ideas on future destinations for photography in Vancouver?
I'm trying to photograph some of the places of my childhood, as I remember them in my head. I'm finding it difficult because a lot of these places are already gone... you know, the steady march of "progress".

What is it about photography that you love the most?
There's something about capturing a moment in time that only you were privy too. I find it incredibly rewarding.