My Polaroid Model 95

Polaroid Model 95 converted to pack film.

UPDATE: See our picture website, Taylor Pics. If you are looking for instructions to modify a Model 95, the links I used are at the bottom.

My wife and I are picture people. We love to take pictures wherever we go. A few years ago we upgraded from consumer point-and-shoots to a Nikon D40. Awesome decision. It has allowed us to take some amazing pictures. To use it properly we have had to learn how photography works. Which has made us better picture takers. We do not claim to be professionals of any kind, but it has turned into a regular thing for us.

I have always thought Polaroid cameras we cool. My Grandma Taylor had one that would spit the picture out of the front like it was sticking its tongue out at you. My Dad has one of those pictures that Grandma took by his workbench in his garage. My brothers and I were very young, in our winter coats standing in front of my Dad’s early 70′s El Camino. A Polaroid picture is like nothing else. I have yet to see a Photoshop manipulation that has pulled off a genuine Polaroid look. What makes a Polaroid a Polaroid is the process that it goes through (I will not get into it now). You can not cheat the process with a computer program.

Earlier this past summer I was at my local Salvation Army. I noticed a Polaroid Colorpack 3 Land Camera. $3. I swiped it up and all the rest is history. That history has led me to the project that I want to tell you about. My Model 95.

The Polaroid 95 was the first instant developing camera to hit the market in 1948. The roll film used for this camera is no longer available. Fujifilm still makes pack film used in later Polaroid cameras. I customized this 95 by using the pack compartment on a Polaroid Colorpack 3 and attached it to my 95 to make it a usable camera once again. It is pictured above (that pic is not an actual Polaroid pic, but the rest are).

I went through three packs of film to get this thing tested and set. I did get a couple good pictures. It might sound weird, cameras have a feel. You have to get the feel of the camera. I changed the dynamics of this camera and had to figure out its feel. You can have the light setting and distance charts, but you will not get it right until you just go out and start shooting. Through testing, I did discover that the camera was not light tight. You will see what I mean below.

The wife after getting off work.

Flower box on our front porch.

The color pack of film was pretty much a disaster. I did pull off one good picture of Amanda and a mediocre picture of one  of the front porch flower boxes. It was a sunny morning and our house faces east, so it was hard to compensate for the direct light.

My Gibson Falcon guitar amp. One of my favorites.

Using 3000 speed black and white, I am able to take good pictures inside. If the lighting is real good, I do not even have to use a flash. That is good news for the holidays. I plan on taking many Polaroids during the holiday rounds this year. I love how this picture turned out. Vintage amp with a vintage camera.

Amanda in our garden.

The Harvest themed Tonka truck.

The white cloud that appears on these two pictures is due to the camera not being light tight. Therefore, it over exposed those areas. It is to bad, these pictures turned out good otherwise.

Polaroids rock! You will be seeing more. We have a separate picture blog to post all of our photo adventures. Until then enjoy what I do post here and you can go over to my wife Amanda’s blog and check out the many pictures that she post over there.

Go here and here for resources on doing this type of conversion.

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