Polaroid Diaries: From spring to winter in 48 hours (SX-70)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the severe snowfall that hit Athens. It’s really unlikely to have such heavy snowfalls in Athens because the winters are, in general, mild. What made the situation even more bizarre is that two days before the snowstorm, it felt almost like spring. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the city went from spring to winter in 48 hours.

It was Saturday afternoon when I loaded a new film on my SX-70. I thought of visiting the nearby mountain of Penteli to walk a bit in the forest. It was sunny outside, and the temperature for mid-February was fantastic. Athens enjoyed 22 C (71 F), and there were just two-three clouds in the sky. It sounded perfect for a short hike and a quick picnic in nature. And that’s what I actually did.

Now, fast-forward 48 hours. On Monday morning, it already started snowing. There was a major temperature drop, and the scattered snowflakes turned into a proper snowstorm early in the evening. The temperature dropped to 0 C (32 F), and it was even colder on Tuesday.

I can’t remember anything similar, and climate change plays a role here for sure. While I documented the snowy days with my Ricoh, I thought that shooting some Polaroids with the SX-70 would be a nice addition. And that’s what I’m going to present here.

What you’ll see in the Polaroid Diaries: from spring to winter in 48 hours

I shot four polaroids when it still felt like spring and another four during the days it snowed. It seems a rather symmetrical approach, but I can assure you I didn’t do it on purpose.

The truth is that while walking in Penteli, I wasn’t really focused on photography. After months of neverending lockdown, I just wanted to be outside and enjoy the day. I took four photos, and I forgot to shoot more. Then, when it started snowing, I remembered the remaining four shots in my SX-70, and I decided to finish the film. I know that the SX-70 is a fair-weather camera (needs sunlight, performs ideally outdoors), but I wanted to experiment a bit.

So, in the Polaroid Diaries: from spring to winter in 48 hours, you will actually see eight photos from mid-February. Four of them are from the spring days and another four from the wintery ones. Did everything go smoothly? Yes and no. Scroll down and see the eight polaroids I shot with the SX-70.

Polaroid Diaries: from spring to winter in 48 hours (with the SX-70)

It was hard to believe that February was so warm. As I already wrote, I decided to reach the mountain of Penteli just outside of Athens to enjoy some fresh air. There was a true spring feeling everywhere: the sun was shining, and several trees were blossoming. One of my favorite things to do with the Polaroid SX-70 is to take photos of plants. For the first polaroid of the film, I decided to capture up-close an apricot tree. The apricot flowers looked beautiful.

After wandering through the forest, I decided to step back and shoot a photo of the landscape. Now, this turned out to be hard. While the sky was blue, some passing clouds shadowed the mountain range. What could I possibly do? Overexpose or underexpose? Remember that it’s hard to save both highlights and shadows in polaroids. I finally decided to keep the exposure wheel in the middle. And here’s what I got.

After an hour of walking through Penteli, I found a bench and had a picnic. This consisted of tomatoes, cheese, and some bread. I had some Marimekko napkins at home, and I thought they’d look nice in the photo. However, the photo feels underexposed mainly because the bench was in the shadow. The colors managed to pop, though.

Shortly before leaving the mountain behind, I decided to take one last photo. The light was softer now, and when I saw a blossomed almond tree, I thought of taking one more close-up photo. The bokeh of the SX-70 is at times outstanding, and here you can see plenty of detail. I, of course, had to think of Camus and his essay “The Almond trees”: *When I lived in Algiers, I would wait patiently all winter because I knew that in the course of one night, one cold, pure February night, the almond trees of Vallée des Consuls would be covered with white flowers. I would marvel then at the sight of this fragile snow resisting the rains and the wind from the sea. Yet every year it lasted just long enough to prepare the fruit.

*Excerpt from Albert Camus: Lyrical and critical essays.

After returning home, I left the camera in the drawer. I knew I had four more polaroids to shoot, but I decided to wait. There were already some weather forecasts announcing the severe snowfall of the coming days. It felt bizarre: outside, it was pure spring, and I found it hard to believe that we’ll go from spring to winter in 48 hours.

But it happened indeed. On Monday night, it started snowing. I looked out of the window, and I saw the first snowflakes. I had an idea. What if I used the Mint Flashbar to capture the snowfall? I was pretty sure that it wouldn’t work, but this didn’t discourage me. You see, the flashbar in Polaroids offers a fill-in light; it can’t fully illuminate a dark scene. It was pitch black outside, and I could only capture the snowflakes.

The following morning it kept snowing non-stop. I felt a bit insecure about carrying the SX-70 while it was snowing: this is an almost 50 years old camera (it dates back to 1974), and I wasn’t sure what will happen if it got wet. So instead, I took a photo from my balcony. The bluish tint is most likely due to the cold.

It didn’t stop snowing. I hoped there would be a pause, and I could go out with the SX-70 for some proper winter photo. But this didn’t happen. Moreover, the sky remained grey all day long. I didn’t have much choice. Later in the afternoon, I took a photo looking outside the window. I wanted to have the window frame in the photo -and the snow outside.

Early the next morning, it stopped snowing. From approximately 10 am, the sun started to shine, and slowly the snow began to melt. It took days until everything was dry again, but I decided to go out and shoot the last polaroid on the roll. It was cold, freezing, actually, and I walked a bit around. And then something strange happened. I initially wanted to shoot a photo of a container covered in snow. It laid in the middle of a field. I clicked -and nothing happened. I clicked again, and I heard some roar. But no image.

It took several attempts until the photo exited the slot. In fact, the polaroid was pushed very slowly. I didn’t know what to expect, and I just put the photo in my pocket. A couple of minutes later, I saw what you’d see below. If there has to bit some odd poetry in this post, let’s call it “Landscape with snow and a frozen lake beneath a starless sky.”

Huh? What really happened here is that the polaroid remained undeveloped (or badly developed). It looks more like artwork and less like a photo. I have no idea what caused this. One explanation I can give is that due to the cold weather, the film batteries drained quickly. Either that or a problem with the chemicals in the last photo. Whatever happened, it seemed to be a good fit in the series.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have another film with me, so I couldn’t capture the container. I returned the following afternoon, but most of the snow was gone. I took the photo I wanted, mainly to add it here. There is just a bit of snow left in the background. I’m afraid you have to imagine how it might look with snow.

And that’s it with this edition of the Polaroid Diaries and the spring/winter photos with the SX-70. I’m currently working on a more artistic project with the SX-70, so make sure to check back in a couple of weeks for more photos with the SX-70. Plus, you will soon read my review about the SX-70. Stay tuned.

*You can buy the newest (and freshest) films and Polaroid cameras directly at Polaroid’s official website.

More Polaroids: The full Polaroid diaries, A review of the SX-70 & My OneStep+ review

Get my Polaroid Camera on Amazon | Buy the film on Amazon

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Last Updated on August 14, 2021 by George Pavlopoulos