Seeing Double (Exposures) with the Impossible I-1 Analogue Instant Camera

Hey everyone!

We last featured the Impossible I-1 camera during our trip to Little India when Deepavali was being celebrated! Since then, we have come to appreciate a nifty function of the I-1 camera which many Polaroid cameras do not have: a double exposure function! Indeed, we were also keen to explore the potential of the I-1 camera further, and so we took it out one day to try out some of our favourite double exposures with the Impossible White Round Frame monochrome film (Gen 2.0) (we used a pack which was expired). We wish to highlight that the I-1 camera can be manually controlled using the I-1 mobile application (“App”), and that has to be used to take double exposure instant films.

The I-1 Camera in Action

Sandra holding the I-1 camera; it stands out as a camera, no doubt!

First off, we decided to test out the exposure (which has a normal, + and – “EV” setting) to bring out the best highlights and shadows of the monochrome film:

image-2a — It was a tad darker than imagined, but the highlights and shadows are stark in contrast!

We were keen to try a double exposure! But first, we have to figure out the right exposure settings.

image-6a — Upon re-connecting with the app (via bluetooth), we accidentally triggered the shot and flash came out automatically! Although the flash gave an excellent silhouette, what we wanted was a clear white background, and not one with clouds!

Given that the film was round frame, we decided to do a second attempt connecting with the app and take a double exposure of Sandra’s silhouette:

image-2b — One of our first double-exposure photos with the I-1. Trust the sky to effectively capture Sandra’s silhouette!

Evidently, we were very impressed with this shot. Here’s the steps to activate the double exposure mode via the I-1 App:

Connect the I-1 camera to the mobile phone via Bluetooth;
Select “Double Exposure” mode;
Set “-EV” on the I-1 camera;
Compose your two shots accordingly.

For our first shot, Damian had to kneel down and capture Sandra’s silhouette (in the above picture, Sandra’s upper body) with the backdrop of the sky. For the second shot, we took an image of a nearby shopping mall. The great thing about the Impossible monochrome film is the development speed; it took a minute for the image to set in, and another 3-4 minutes for the film to be developed completely! However, we did notice that the film turned a sepia colour after 1 or 2 hours, so that’s a bit unfortunate.

At this point, we went to the top floor of Orchard Gateway, a shopping mall with a rooftop garden. The vantage point provided us with the opportunity to capture the scenic ‘cityscape’:

Found some unique looking flowers at the rooftop garden; anyone have an idea of its specie?

Again, we used the similar settings above. But instead of both shots set at “-EV”, our second shot was set at “normal EV”.

image-2c — Slightly blurry but we love how it turned out! As you can see, putting a normal EV setting does not cause the white sky to completely whiten out the surroundings of the second shot which interposed with Damian’s silhouette.

image-3a — Here, we used the “manual” seeting available on the I-1 camera app! We adjusted the camera to infinity focus, the shutter at the fastest speed, coupled with the relevant aperture. The latest light meter on the I-1 camera app came in handy!

Clearly, what we see through the viewfinder of the I-1 would be vastly different from our perspective, as illustrated by this image.

image-2d — Here, we decided to set the exposure settings for both shots at “normal EV”. Clearly both photos need to match the exposure setting to work out well!

An interesting point to note: When using the I-1 App, the I-1 camera IS the view finder, and the app the shutter release. The image above was a result of Damian composing/framing the shot, and Sandra triggering the shot on the mobile phone.

With the help of the Fujifilm XT-10’s double exposure function, we could test out different overlapping photos! This was what we wanted the instant film to produce!

Again with the same setting, “-EV” for the first exposure, and “normal EV” for the second exposure. Here, the silhouette was not as pronounced as we wanted. That was when we realised that the exposure setting is highly dependent on the light available in the surroundings.

image-3b — One of our favourite double exposure images captured!

image-6c — Another double exposure shot of Sandra! We love this shot as the path looks like it is outlining Sandra’s shoulder!

Behind the scenes: Damian trying to enjoy the indoor air-conditioned room instead of stepping out into the sweltering sun!

Overall, we really enjoyed taking the double exposure images with the I-1 camera. As it is one of the few cameras (using the classic Polaroid format film) to be able to do double exposure (without any minor or major modifications of course!), this is a coveted item for photographers! We hope that Impossible will continue to roll out positive updates (such as the recent update including a light meter: helpful!) and advance the status of instant film photography!

Till next time,

Damianwithsandra