instant summer with fujifilm

all photos taken with an instax mini 8 on instax film, courtesy of fujifilm

wow that's a lot of photos, 

and this is just a summer-y summary 

hahaha a summer-y summary 

see what I did there

At the beginning of summer,

 I decided to consciously document the months in Instax photos. 

So I packed up my little camera and took it on all of my adventures.  

You'd be surprised how heavy that thing gets after a couple hour. 

 These are just a few of the hundreds of photos I took, each a special little moment that I get to keep forever. I keep them all up on my wall and love that by looking at them, I can automatically remember exactly who I was with, what we were talking about, 

and what I was eating.

From the top:

a. The California State Fair.

 I ate way too many Bavarian Almonds, talked about 4-H to every human who walked by me, learned how to properly program a robot to walk the thin line, and then conquered my fear of Poppy The Bear (State Fair Mascot) and HUGGED him.

b. Paul Smith. 

I can't get over this building. It's so pink. The walls are so massive. Sallie took this photo of me taking photos of it.

c. The Tower Theatre. 

You know the story behind this one. My mum and I got yelled at for taking it but 500% worth it.

d. Alfreds Coffee.  

I love this place so much and it was made even better by the company of my main bae Sallie. My drink order hasn't changed.

e. Portos' Cafe, 

with the aforementioned bae. 

GET THE PINA COLADA SMOOTHIE. Just do it. Thank me later. 

Also saw, selfied, and had a lovely conversation regarding overalls 

and red carpets with Greer Grammer.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

f. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk. 

People pile on the sidewalk with my favorites at the 2014 California 4-H State Leadership conference at approx. 11pm. We're the best dressed hobos in town.

g. Beverly Hills.

 (duh) With all my trips to LA, I had never seen this iconic sign. It was everything I wanted it to be, and I met two of the most glammed out humans I have ever see, who were wonderfully French.

h. The Griffiths Observatory. 

Not really the best place to take chances with gravity, but what a beautiful view. This is the very best place in LA to explore European languages, because there are more Europeans there than in Europe.

i. Beverly Hills. 

Again. PALM TREES. PALM TREES EVERYWHERE.

 j.  Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  

Believe it or not, this was my first time ever, and I decided to do everything. I got on the sketchiest rollercoaster I saw (cried off my eyeliner - totally worth it), ate bavarian almonds again (still freakishly good, still not a great idea), nearly lost a Doc on the chair lift, 

and laser tagged the people I love.

Summer is nearly done

and winter is coming

(or whatever version of it we get in california)

but thankfully, Instax photos aren't limited to sunshine.

How do you capture your moments?

x Justina

ps. speaking of capturing moments:

 I'M GOING TO INSTAGRAM TODAY TO SEE THE GREAT AND WONDERFUL LIZ.

Today as in Monday.

If it is not Monday, 

you are late. 

Follow along on (what else) instagram (abentpieceofwire) to keep up with my adventure!

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my sassy sixteen//six word sunday

 taken with my fujifilm instax mini 8 c.o. fujifilm 

That's Fat Amy on my shirt.

xx,

Justina

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instant gratification

 yay huburts * sulley wishes he was as scary as me* future home* yes I'm that tall* 

this dress * carslandcarslandcarsland* THEY MAKE GLITTERY EARS* it glowed. that's all.

all photos taken with instax mini 8 c.o. fujifilm

I love this camera like a child. 

As I have previously mentioned, 

I have wanted a mini instax since B.o.B released his "Airplanes" video. 

'sup 2010

When Fujifilm offered me one to review,
I burst into a celebratory dance moment to the song

It was completely worth the wait. 

This camera is everything I hoped it would be. 

I initially was worried that the shape

(it's the Fat Amy of cameras)

 would make it a  bit cumbersome to carry around, 
but it's actually super light, 

and easy to slip into everything but a clutch. 

Or if you're not a purse person,

 and have strong faith in thick pieces of string, 

there's a wrist strap for you to precariously dangle it from.

 The prints are adorable, and turn out way clearer then I expected. 
They're the perfect size, and more rectangular than square, 
which is good for shooting stuff like people  and castles and ice cream cones.

I took it with me on vacation, and so can vouch for it's Justina-proofing. 
I dropped it,
several times, 
 in a pile of sand, 
on a boardwalk,
into a palm tree.
don't ask. 
The plastic shell a. absorbed it and b. was really easy to clean off.

The only thing I had an issue with was the settings

 but that was more due to me being a bad judge of high sunlight v. low sunlight

I think it's really cool how polaroid cameras have evolved in the important ways, 

while still retaining what makes them a classic. 

They've also come fast and hard as an "old" thing 

into fashion blogging, which is a relatively new industry. 

Even the way the camera looks takes it from being just a tool to making it an accessory. 

It's an amazing way to capture moments and make them physical. 

You can look at a print a week later, a month, a year, and it all comes flooding back: 

the sounds, the lights, the laughter. 

It's a special kind of man-made magic.

Now I just wish I could work some magic on my wallet. 

The one true con of this camera is that the film is rather pricey, 

                                            running for about $13-$20 for 10 color prints.

 I recommend factoring in at least two "practice" shots.

(see: settings)

To top it off, it makes a really satisfying "rrrrRRrr" noise while it's printing your photo.

Total package.

xx,

Justina

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