Polaroid Diaries Archives - Letters to Barbara

Polaroid Diaries: Athens bits and pieces with the Impulse AF

George Pavlopoulos — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 22:40:55 +0000

It’s been a while since I last shot a Polaroid Diary. I’ve been waiting in vain for Polaroid to produce a new batch of SX-70 film. While there are rumours this will happen in the first weeks of 2026, I decided to get into the closest store and grab a 600 film instead. The moment […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Athens bits and pieces with the Impulse AF appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: The Basque Country with the SX-70

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 01:41:01 +0000

I’ve always wanted to see the Basque Country. I’ve heard wonderful things about the area’s landscapes, and people I trust have always spoken warmly about Bilbao and the surrounding areas. So, when the opportunity arose, I knew I had to book my flights and prepare for another adventure. Subsequently, I knew it was time for […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: The Basque Country with the SX-70 appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Ljubljana Polaroids with the Impulse AF

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 09:49:29 +0000

I didn’t know what to expect when I traveled to Slovenia’s capital. Ljubljana has been on my radar for quite a while, but I somehow always failed to visit it. When I finally booked my flight, I knew I had to shoot one more edition of Polaroid Diaries. And this time, it didn’t take long […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Ljubljana Polaroids with the Impulse AF appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Venice Polaroids with the Impulse AF

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 10:28:52 +0000

Despite being an overcrowded destination, Venice is a city that will never cease to impress me. Walking on streets that are constantly sinking, crossing bridges, and enjoying fascinating architecture are things that will never tire me. As you can imagine, the day I booked my trip to Venice, I started thinking about which instant camera […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Venice Polaroids with the Impulse AF appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Anafi moments with the Impulse AF

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 10:29:42 +0000

Is Anafi the homeland of my Polaroid Diaries? This was actually my thought when I decided to pack, once again, a Polaroid camera for my visit to Anafi. I’ve visited the remote Greek island several times during the last decade and constantly experimented with instant photography on its soil. Additionally, I never traveled to Anafi […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Anafi moments with the Impulse AF appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

My favorite Polaroids: 25 snapshots

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 09:12:23 +0000

This month marks the fourth anniversary of presenting polaroid photography on this travel blog. Honestly, I never thought I’d stick to the Polaroid Diaries for so long. This instant photography section started as a side project: I wanted to capture my journeys in a different, old-fashioned way. To some, Polaroids might seem irrelevant to today’s […]

The post My favorite Polaroids: 25 snapshots appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Bergen highlights (SX-70)

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 08 Jul 2023 09:49:24 +0000

Can anyone ever learn from their Polaroid mistakes? Traveling in Scandinavia with an instant camera might sound very ambitious to some: the weather conditions will most likely not be optimal for polaroid photography. Nonetheless, I didn’t even consider not bringing my SX-70 to Bergen. I wanted to capture the Bergen highlights through the lens of […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Bergen highlights (SX-70) appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: All about Old Riga (Impulse AF)

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 20 May 2023 07:56:13 +0000

Riga greeted me with the darkest clouds I’d seen in a while. It was the prelude to what turned out to be a very dark winter. I couldn’t, of course, know that beforehand, and the day I landed in Latvia, I instantly felt the urge to shoot Polaroids. I was here more than fifteen years […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: All about Old Riga (Impulse AF) appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Impulse AF review: does it deserve buying it?

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 12:03:02 +0000

The Polaroid Impulse AF is one of the most celebrated instant cameras. Despite being produced between 1988 and 1994, this vintage polaroid camera still receives a fair amount of attention. For some instant photography lovers, this is one of the best (if not the best) Polaroid cameras ever made. So, after using one for more […]

The post Polaroid Impulse AF review: does it deserve buying it? appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Dodecanese (SX-70)

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 11:03:22 +0000

The last time I visited the Dodecanese, I didn’t have a polaroid camera with me. However, the idea of starting the Polaroid Diaries section on my travel blog was born around the time I last visited the Twelve Islands. It was in July 2019, during my visit to beautiful Astypalaia, that I thought of presenting […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Dodecanese (SX-70) appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Malta highlights with the Impulse AF

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 07 Jan 2023 09:39:53 +0000

If you have ever thought of traveling to Malta, I’m sure you imagine the following: sunshine, sea, and landmarks. However, although the landmarks were in place, the weather in Malta was untypical for the island nation. Most of my days in Malta were cloudy; on the few occasions the sun came out, I didn’t have […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Malta highlights with the Impulse AF appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Amorgos island with the Polaroid Impulse AF

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 09:47:05 +0000

Amorgos island has been on my bucket list for more than fifteen years. The day I decided to visit it, I thought it would be cool to shoot some polaroids. However, the harsh light of the Greek islands is always challenging when it comes to instant photography. But this never discourages me; on the contrary, […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Amorgos island with the Polaroid Impulse AF appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Sun 660 review: should you buy one?

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 08:40:04 +0000

Buying old polaroid cameras can be hit-and-miss. I won’t lie: I didn’t feel convinced when I decided to buy a used Sun 660 AF. The camera was too plastic for my taste, and it looked bulky. I must admit that I bought it out of curiosity. However, after using it for several months in a […]

The post Polaroid Sun 660 review: should you buy one? appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: Gothenburg statues & architecture (SX-70)

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 10:41:31 +0000

The 20th edition of my Polaroid Diaries is dedicated to Gothenburg, Sweden. I visited Gothenburg off-season, and I must admit I had luck with the weather. In terms of temperature, it still felt like winter; however, the days were mostly sunny. After walking around the city for a few days, I decided to dedicate this […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: Gothenburg statues & architecture (SX-70) appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: The East Side Gallery in Berlin with the Sun 660

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 08:49:38 +0000

Polaroids need light. The first time I used the Polaroid Sun 660, I took advantage of Athens’ sunny weather. This time though, I wanted to test the camera under less optimal weather conditions. Therefore, I decided to visit the iconic East Side Gallery in Berlin on a cloudy winter day. Shooting the Polaroid Diaries: The […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: The East Side Gallery in Berlin with the Sun 660 appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid diaries: Day out with the Polaroid Sun 660

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 07 May 2022 10:39:30 +0000

I thought it was time for a change. After presenting the Polaroid Diaries for almost three years, I decided to add a new camera to my setup. It didn’t take that long until I found a Polaroid Sun 660 in mint condition. I had never used a camera from the 600 series, and it seemed […]

The post Polaroid diaries: Day out with the Polaroid Sun 660 appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: A Tuscan dream (Polaroid SX-70)

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 11:47:21 +0000

The journey to Italy somehow sealed the return to (some sort of) normality. I visited Italy with two friends of mine, and for a few carefree days, we went on a road trip around Tuscany. Apart from the stunning landscape, the journey was all about moving from place to place, drinking wine, and eating pasta. […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: A Tuscan dream (Polaroid SX-70) appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: The German winter blues (SX-70)

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 10:06:52 +0000

I spent the whole of November in Germany, and I didn’t expect anything spectacular in terms of weather. The days were short and dark clouds covered the sky. Without exaggeration, the sun appeared only one morning during my stay. And, while I had a great time, I asked several times myself: does it make sense […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: The German winter blues (SX-70) appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: To Delphi and beyond with the SX-70

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 10:47:06 +0000

I decided to visit Delphi in late October. The weather was still pleasant, and I thought that a travel blog with a strong focus on Greece should have a guide about Delphi. Of course, it also meant that I could shoot another round of polaroids. However, I ran into a problem: I had only one […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: To Delphi and beyond with the SX-70 appeared first on Letters to Barbara.

Polaroid Diaries: With the Polaroid SX-70 in Anafi, Greece

George Pavlopoulos — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 09:15:00 +0000

It took me two years to return to Anafi. Apart from being one of my favorite places on Earth, Anafi is also special for the Polaroid Diaries. That remote Greek island is actually the birthplace of these polaroid travel diaries. I decided to start shooting polaroids from my journeys back then, and I took the […]

The post Polaroid Diaries: With the Polaroid SX-70 in Anafi, Greece appeared first on Letters to Barbara.