ONE INSTANT Announcement & the Fate of Pack Film

When a film is discontinued, the atmosphere around its departure is chaotic. Film users take inventory of their stock, rush to the web to order it in bulk followed by a lot of prayers. There are some people in this community who have dedicated their resources and time to finding solutions and it’s because of those people that many iconic films have found new life in the digital age. 

This morning I received an update on the preorders for ONE INSTANT. Production is beginning TODAY, August 5th, 2019 with batches predicted to make it to customers by the end of 2019. Scrolling through the updates and previews from their test shoots, I was overwhelmed with a bit of nostalgia for Polaroid 669, a discontinued film that saw its life end when Fuji FP-100C was still a beautiful alternative for pack film. 

Film is still available on the interwebz but the results are extremely unpredictable. The chemicals, from decades of breaking down, are pungent to the senses. Some results leave you without any image at all and some leave you with voids that are completely white where the chemicals couldn’t work their magic. Some packs leave you with 1-2 results or none at all. 

But that’s what makes it all so special. The technical aspect of creating something this pure takes time and it comes at no surprise the hard working team behind ONE INSTANT is postponing the release. I am thankful we have something to look forward to. 

sneak peek photos of Alvina for Urban Outfitters on Polaroid 669.