Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) at the Cult Gaia opening on 8x10 Polaroid film

8x10 Polaroids

January 31, 2024

Last February, I was hired to shoot some large format 8x10 Polaroids at a store opening party for the fashion brand, Cult Gaia, in SoHo. The event was packed and had some notable guests including Emily Ratajkowski.

I was shooting for Brooklyn Film Camera and had my buddy Sam Dole assist me. Sam previously did some assisting for the 1923 shoot I also assisted on and is well-versed in all things large format. We set up outside the store right next to their red carpet and after a test shot we were ready for action.

@weworewhat

@wuzg00d

@yoventura

@sandrashehab

@katyatolstova

I ended up shooting over 50 8x10 Polaroids that evening. A lot of cool fits and some familiar faces of the NYC Fashion world but the highlight was definitely Emily Ratajkowski stopping by to get a couple portraits of her and the owner of the store, Jasmin Larian. Given the chilly temps outside, they came out absolutely stunning and everyone loved seeing their Polaroid.

Hoping to do more 8x10 work this year. It’s quite the process but the results are next level, especially in person.

Jasmin Larian (@jasminlarian), owner of Cult Gaia, at the store opening on 8x10 Polaroid

**Rosario Dawson on expired Polaroid 669 film**

NYFW SS2022 on Large Format Film // 4x5 + Polaroid

September 28, 2021

Been a little while since I’ve written here but that definitely doesn’t mean I haven’t been shooting. I’ve been burning through film like mad! I just happened to get back a newly modified antique (or vintage should I say) large format camera the week of New York Fashion Week so figured it was a good opportunity to test it out!

A little more background on the camera (or skip this for the cool photos!)... it is a late 1940s Graflex Super D 3x4 large format SLR camera. Not your average SLR as it’s about 10x as big and with film to match and you look down to focus it. A great guy and amazing photographer, Jonathan Canlas, who runs The FIND Lab in Utah gave it to me when I briefly stopped by his studio space last fall on a roadtrip and chatted all things film. He said it was just collecting dust on his shelf and he felt like I’d put it to good use and I’d wager he was right! Unfortunately, it uses a rare film size and is hard to find, so I sent it to Graham at Graflex Parts who specializes in repairing these in order to use more readily available 4x5 film and allows me to shoot my favorite Polaroid peel-apart film! Anyways, onto the photos! Be sure to click them for the full screen viewing!

So met up with my guy, Naeem, who is a fellow film shooter and hit Spring Studios in SoHo which generally serves as the hub for New York Fashion Week and is always a good spot for street style photos as people come and go to the runway shows. The large format camera definitely attracted quite a lot of looks from the people attending the shows as well as the other photographers shooting. If you’re curious to see some of the BTS of me shooting, there’s a story highlight on my instagram of NYFW that shows me using it, peeling some Polaroids and developing the negatives in my “darkroom” aka bathroom. Jostling for people’s attention and to tell them this would take a minute wasn’t always easy but the results speak for themselves. I only took one shot of each person so had to make it count! No digital burst mode on this thing. The shots above are a few of my favorite portraits.

But as far as outfits go… lots of patterns throughout the weekend which personally I’m a huge fan of.

And the guys were bringing the vibes as well.

Definitely a highlight was unexpectedly seeing Rosario Dawson and getting a couple shots of her in a stunning, patterned dress from Studio 189 and shot my first Polaroid of NYFW with her. Luckily it came out fantastic!

Also spotted my friend and model, Sarah Jane Nader, and her sister, Brooks Nader, and snagged a couple portraits as they ran in and out of the building.

And of course, shot some Polaroids with the camera as well. All on expired Polaroid 669 film from around 2006. The peels always get crazy reactions which are hilarious but I love hearing the reactions each time. Rosario actually thanked the “Graflex” in her video.

Here’s a few other random shots from the weekend of various people I managed to stop for a portrait.

Ending with a couple portraits of Naeem and my wife, Halla, who both were servin for the NYFW weekend! And a portrait Naeem took of me looking disheveled holding the camera and my FW fit on his medium format Yashica 124G TLR camera.

Demi Ramos - Polaroid 59 expired 4x5 film- 01.jpg

"How to Wear a Jean Jacket" with Demi Ramos // Super 8 + Polaroids + 35mm

May 30, 2020

Before the pandemic really locked down NYC, I was shooting portraits as a creative outlet and mixing various cameras and formats. I chatted with Demi who was playing a concert with another musician I’d worked with and we met up for a quick shoot back in February.

I shot just a bit of expired Super 8 film that day and edited it down into a little fashion film featuring a taste of Demi’s personality while rocking a vintage jean jacket of mine.

Also shot some large format, Polaroids and 35mm and played around with putting together a wardrobe of sorts, which led to this retro set. I didn’t get a chance to get most of this film processed before the quarantine so I finally figured out how to process it at home myself and loved the results!

When all this dust settles in NYC, I’ll definitely hit up one of her shows because I know Demi goes hard!

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H Collective - Hub Day NYC // Super 8 + Polaroids + 35mm

March 15, 2019

Recently I stumbled upon a creative collaboration network of sorts called H Collective or The Hub. So I went to their Hub Day meetup last summer at Mona Liza Studios in Bushwick, Brooklyn with a half roll of expired Kodak Super 8 film, a Polaroid camera and some 35mm film in a point and shoot. Figured why not. Check the chopped up Super 8 film I shot at the event below.

Basically, they connect artists with brands; so photographers models, hair and make up artists and videography and lots of other creative types can meet and then connect to brands that want them to shoot. I wanted to check it out. See what was up and get some cool shots in the process.

Met some cool people and despite the on and off torrential downpour that day, managed to get some cool shots at the various shooting set ups they had through the warehouse/studio space. Was definitely a cool vibe.

Cameras I used:

Super 8 - Canon 814XL-S // 35mm - Olympus Stylus Infinity // Polaroid - Polaroid SLR680

MODE EN COULEUR - Fashion Show // Super 8 + Polaroids + 35mm

July 27, 2018

A few months ago I had the opportunity to help out with a local fashion incubator based out of the Brooklyn Library called BKLYN Fashion Academy. It's part of BKLYN Incubator which offers a ton of services for locals like podcasting, robotics, and photography. They had an upcoming fashion show for their program and wanted it captured in a unique way. Film and fashion are having a moment and I thought it would be a great fit.

The inspiration for the show was "the history and fashion of Les Sapeurs, a Congolese subculture dedicated to the cult of style and being walking works of art." Looking at images and stories of Les Sapeurs is truly some incredible stuff and stories of personal triumph over poverty.

I shot BTS backstage as the designers finalized their garments and shot some snippets of the models on the runway. I captured the night on a variety of formats including Super 8, instant film and 35mm. It was an extremely bright and fun show to shoot and backstage was madness as one expects with a fashion show.

But overall, the designers, models or organizers were fantastic and put on a brilliant show. Met some really great passionate people and that's always inspiring to be around.

Super 8mm and Polaroid work featured on

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