I will admit in recent years, I had become very lazy when it came to photography:  with digital cameras as versatile and powerful as they are, I'd gotten very comfortable with adjusting just a few of the settings that my camera was capable of, but for the most part, I left it alone and just let the camera do its thing.  So recently, within the last two weeks, I've switched to photographing in fully manual mode -- adjusting everything from shutter speeds to manually focusing the camera, and it's been eye-opening.

I'm really so jazzed by the amount of power I've suddenly discovered by doing this; and yet, there's still an element of it that feels like I've got it easy:  after all, if I don't like the final result, I can just delete it from my memory card and shoot again.  That's why those photographers who stick with film medium really astound me with their certainty and confidence around their camera settings -- and instant film photographers, even more so.

Because, people, instant film is expensive.

Nonetheless, as it turns out, last week was Polaroid Week for instant camera enthusiasts, and some of the work these talented women turned out is really breathtaking.  I thought this week I'd share their amazing body of work.

My sweet friend, Andrea, of Hula Seventy, always has such and amazing eye when it comes to composing shots, and she is a true instant film enthusiast (don't get her started in talking about photobooths).  Be sure to check out her contributions to Polaroid Week.

Amanda, of Mocking Bird, also participated, and also shared some of her favourites from other photographers.  You can check her out here.

And finally Jeanine Caron writes a lovely post about what shooting with instant film means to her.  A great read.

Lovely work, all!

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas.  You can read and see more of her work at Chookooloonks.