He helps me do my tax return. Shot on iPod using Percolator.

Shot on my iPod and then processed via Percolator

Shot on my iPod at the Camera Cafe in London

We were lucky enough to get an glimpse inside the Impossible Factory in Enschede a couple of weeks ago! With way too much on my plate right now I didn’t find a chance to post this until now.

Setting off at 4am from London we first flew over to Bremen,  from where my friend Oliver was kind enough to drive us 200km over the border to Holland. Thanks, Oliver!

What can I say – it was a blast! All our questions about Impossible material were answered, we were shown how it’s made and how it all came to be. We had an amazing chat with Andre Bosman who took literally hours being the perfect host and tell us everything us fans wanted to know (he’s also CEO and Co-Founder of the company).

Thousand thanks go to the entire Impossible Team who made us coffee and nibbles so we felt right at home. Let me show you some pictures mere mortals (and Polaroid enthusiasts) can only dream of: let me take you Inside the Impossible.

When we arrived at about lunchtime the huge factory grounds seemed deserted apart from two men having a cigarette. They pointed us into the direction of a small door at the bottom of a very large 4 story building with very colorful Impossible flags on top waving in the wind. Several recessed lorry loading bays remind us how busy this place would have once been at the height of Polaroid production.

Past the tiny Factory Outlet store we make our way to the forth floor where refreshments are waiting. Plenty of people are already here, most of us have a Polaroid camera of some kind with us. We’re in good company!

Today it’s the canteen, but back in the heydays this was where engineers made machines to create the machines that make Polaroid film packs. An amazing thought – it reminds me of my apprentice days in a film lab in Berlin where we had a department like that.

Factory View from the 3rd Floor

Years ago, the Enschede plant was designed to create and package Polaroid Integral film (600 and 1200 film packs). “The Americans thought Dutch people are stupid, so they gave us stupid work” Kees recalls. He’s our tour guide for the day and has been working at the plant for several decades. We love him immediately: honest, speaks three languages without a hin of an accent and knows the products they make inside out.

Back then, Polaroid in the US would ship over huge rolls of light sensitive material which then gets cut up into instant pictures. Enschede then attached the pods with activation paste, package the film packs, and send them out all over Europe. 270 million film packs per year. That’s why the size of the whole area is as big as it seems.

Today however there’s muhc more to this job: since Impossible has started 3 years ago they had to start from scratch. The chemicals Polaroid used for their process are still under patent so they can’t be copied. Even if that was not the case, it would take 18 months for some components to be ready for the first test. From a business point of view this would be too long for product launch so that was not an option.

I’m surprised to see Andre Bosman setting up the TV and an give introductory chat. I’ve read so much about the man that I can’t believe he has the time to talk to a group of people nerdy enough to visit the factory – and I told him that too! In our society we’ve come to experience that people in charge never interact with the people who buy their products. It’s different at Impossible. Nice touch

Andre Bosman explains the Past, Present and Future of The Impossible Project

Andre tells us how Impossible started, literally 3 days before their 3rd birthday: the challenges, the suppliers, what was then and what is now. It’s fascinating to hear. The spirit and determination to make it happen, to keep going and to do all this against all odds is incredibly inspiring.

Without further ado we split into three groups and set foot into The Impossible Factory.

Julia carved this wonderful pumpkin – it looks amazing! In the evening we were contemplating a tea light on the inside but decided the back light from a bicycle would be much nicer (and won’t burn the pumpkin).

Since it was so late in the day I decided to take a long exposure with one of my new Polaroid SX 70 cameras on a tripod – this one was about 10 seconds. Shot on Impossible PX 70 film.

Happy Halloween everybody!

This sketch started out as a face but ended up being a chicken instead. Then I moved on to faces.

The last one reminds me of Zoidberg from Futurama.

A few months ago I took a wander around town with my friend Andy Toms, and we happened upon the temporary Photographer’s Gallery not far from Warren Street.

Spontaneous as I am I spent a rather shocking amount of money on a tiny little plastic camera called The Digital Harinezumi 2+++

This little piece of cheap engineering is a 3MP digital camera that’s meant to take “bad” pictures and apply off-the-wall lo-fi effects on the fly. Anything from harsh black and white to over-saturated colours is what you get for £140. Did I mention it does video too?

I’ve fallen in love with it and due to its small size keep carrying it almost everywhere I go. I haven’t experienced the willingness to take digital pictures with any other digital camera. In fact, Zumi feels and behaves like a plastic film camera!

Now that I’ve spent some time with her I can show you some funky results and talk you through the ins and outs of my first every digital plastic camera.

Most images on this page are shot using the Vivid 1 setting - just like this one. No processing was done, all pictures are straight from the camera.

Why buy a 3MP camera that takes BAD pictures?

When I think of a digital camera I think of the latest and greatest features, ever increasing image quality, slow motion, time lapse and in a nutshell incredible picture quality. However that’s not what I need to create the pictures I like.

The reason why I predominately use film and so many cheapo cameras is because I like “bad pictures”, or Lo-Fi as they’re now known as. You know, the ones that aren’t perfect. Like every single one that we take with our mobile phones these days.

I’m not interested in perfect. I like grain, blown out colours, scratches, dust and dirt, uneven exposures, unpredictable results. In other words: Pictures that are like life itself. Digital cameras don’t usually give me this – however the flood of iPhone apps emulating the lo-fi film look means that I’m not alone with what I’m feeling.

Enter Harinezumi – a dedicated lo-fi digital camera for freaks like you and me

About the Camera

This has got to be one of the funnest and most easy to use digital cameras that I’ve ever seen (and trust me, I’ve seen a LOT of cameras).

Zumi fits in the palm of your hand and behaves much like a plastic film camera: switch it on and start shooting. No difficult menus to deal with, no “best shot” option – just point and shoot. Happiness as it should be.

Harinezumi means hedgehog in Japanese, and you’ve probably guessed that Japan is indeed where this puppy originates. Made by Superheadz, the Harinezumi is brought to you by the same guys who make the Golden Half and the Black Bird Fly. It was only a matter of time until someone came out with all the things we’ve come to love from analogue photography and put them into a dedicated digital plastic camera.

There was a Homeless Guy on a bench and I used Zumi as an undercover spy cam. Works a treat!

My particular model appears to be the latest incarnation, aptly named the Digital Harinezumi 2+++ (triple plus) in Limited Edition White. It was preceded by the the following models, starting in 2009:

• Harinezumi (version 1 – didn’t have live preview, now discontinued)
• Harinezumi 2 (with live preview)
• Harinezumi 2++ (improved picture quality and effects)

The Harinezumi 2+++ has everything built in that the 2++ version has to offer with some more in-camera processing options. All models look the same from the outside.

The design is based on an old 110 film cartridge. Nice touch! It’s got a shiny plastic body and comes in standard black, but there are a choice of limited edition colours available (mine is white, and I’ve seen models in yellow, green and pink).

Zumi has a flip-up viewfinder which is probably reminiscent of the very first version they released which didn’t have live preview (that’s truly hard core). In fact, there’s an option in the menu to switch live preview off. This enhances battery life I would imagine, but means you have no idea how your picture will come out. Reminds me of my plastic film cameras.

Apple Store, Miami Beach. Notice the blown out highlights - I shot this image on ISO 800 in bright sunshine. With ISO 100 this wouldn't have happened.

Speaking of the battery, Zumi feeds on one disposable CR2 battery – that’s the one that looks a little shorter than half an AA battery. You’d be surprised how long it lasts for still pictures, but it does go down after shooting a good few hours of video footage.

Martin at the Photographer’s Gallery tells me several ad agency producers keep buying these cameras for lo-fi projects. They call this the Digital Super 8. I was sold when I saw some sample footage on Martin’s computer – the output really does look analogue!

This is Martin with shelves full of plastic camera goodies. I shot him with my Golden Polaroid - thanks again for all your help that day!

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Shot on Horizon S3 Pro

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Shot on Horizon S3 Pro

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