PolaCon 2018

The Instant Film Society is a 501c3 arts organization founded in 2012 to increase awareness, accessibility, and understanding of analog instant film photography.

Instant Film Society

PolaCon – the world’s first 3-day instant film photography convention – is back for year three! And nearly every event planned is still free to attend (with an RSVP). We’ve been looking forward to this year’s PolaCon since last year’s closing events!
What’s PolaCon like? Read this excellent, <A HREF="http://prymeeditions.com/blog/polacon-2017-recap" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">comprehensive recap</A> of last year’s PolaCon! And here’s a <A HREF="http://www.thedentonite.com/blog/polacon-one-denton-texas" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">fantastic, thorough recap</A> of the first PolaCon. This year, PolaCon2018 (aka PolaCon3) convenes in Dallas on Friday and Denton on Saturday and Sunday, and the 3-day event will feature more than 20 workshops/sessions with guest speakers and photographers, an annual panel discussion dubbed "The State of the Emulsion Address,” a Zines & Things “swap meet” area, an instant film exhibition, pop-up galleries, an Instant Film Museum, 8x10 demos and a photobooth, as well as film- and camera-specific walks and meet-ups – in addition to more than five unique PolaWalks in distinctive, picturesque areas. As in year’s past, the finalized schedule will be posted a week before the convention and a limited number of printed programs will be available. Attendees should check the FB event page or Instant Film Society’s Instagram account and our website on the mornings of DAY I, II and III for any “official” last-minute additions, deletions or cancellations.
All of PolaCon is free to attend. However, some venues have limited “seats” or standing room, so most events will only be open to RSVP’d guests.
DAY I DALLAS—Friday, Sept. 28
<UL>
<LI>12 p.m. to 2 p.m. – an “Instant Film 101 Workshop” covering all the films currently commercially available, hosted at Don's Used Photo Equipment. Open to the public; No RSVP required. A great spot for attendees to stock up before the State Fair. Don’s stocks several cool vintage Polaroid cameras, and plenty of instant film from Polaroid Originals and Instax to FP-100C. (Don’s is open until 6 p.m. on Friday for all your film needs.)</LI>
<LI>2 to 3:30 p.m. Deep Ellum PolaWalk [Check back for meet-up location.]</LI>
<LI>3:30 p.m. Deep Ellum meet-up & walk to Fair Park. Meet-Up and Talk at Photographique at 3111 Canton St #100, Dallas, TX 75226. Then at about 4:15/30 p.m. we’ll close our tabs and start walking to Fair Park for the big meet-up at Big Tex at 6:30 p.m. (This saves you $15-20 for parking near the fairgrounds.) Open to the public; No RSVP required. NOTE: On Friday, because it’s opening day, fairgoers who bring a full 20 oz. bottle of Dasani water (or any 20 oz. Coca-Cola product) for donation to the North Texas Food Bank can get in for only $9 on Opening Day.</LI>
<LI>6:30 p.m. The 7th Annual Rain-or-Shine #PolaWalk at The State Fair of Texas – The 7th Annual Rain-or-Shine #PolaWalk and Scavenger Hunt at The State Fair of Texas will officially start at Big Tex at 6:30 p.m. with a big group portrait. No RSVP required – just a ticket to the fair! The list for the State Fair Scavenger Hunt will be posted just before 6:30 p.m. (Expect delays entering the fairgrounds and aim to arrive at the fair by 6:15 p.m. so there’s a few minutes to hang out, meet new folks, etc.) We’ll start walking after the group photo. NOTE: Meet *BEHIND* Big Tex! Look for the large rainbow umbrella. (You should see the heels of Tex's boots. NOT the side facing the toes of his boots.) The map of the fair: http://bigtex.com/map/ *10 p.m. ‘til ??? For the night owls: Meet-up at Braindead Brewing in Deep Ellum for a “Neon-at-Night #PolaCrawl”— Open to the public; No RSVP required.</LI>
</UL>
DAY II DENTON—Saturday, Sept. 29
8 a.m. – For the early risers: Coffee, Bluegrass and “Instant Film 101” Brief Workshop followed by a PolaWalk [discussing pro-tips and the basics]. Open to the public and instant film photographers from beginners to advanced shooters; No RSVP required. 
WORKSHOPS, PANELS & MORE 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — at the historic Evers Hardware Building (behind the Norman Roscoe Pop-Up) at 109 W. Hickory St. including several instant photobooths, as well as IFS’ ‘Instant Film Museum.’
WORKSHOP TIMES STILL TBD:
<UL>
<LI>Hands-on “Pack Film 101” Workshop and PolaWalk on the historic town square.</LI>
<LI>Photo Journaling: Photo Notebooks for Travel & Everyday</LI>
<LI>Impossible I-1 & Polaroid OneStep 2 best practices talk</LI>
<LI>Instax best practices panel discussion </LI>
<LI>“How-to-Dance the Warhol Big Shot Shuffle” Polaroid Big Shot Pack-Film Session (with Photobooth)</LI>
<LI>Wet Plate Photography: The First ‘Instant’ Film” *Mobile Tintype Studio</LI>
<LI>Scanning, Printing (and Enlarging) Polaroids for Prints, Books, Zines, Buttons, Magnets, Etc. Panel Discussion The annual “State Of The Emulsion Address” – Live recording of the Film Photo Geeks podcast [5-6 p.m.]</LI>
<LI>Show & Tell Session (Bring your rarest cameras, and be prepared to talk pros/cons and best practices)</LI>
<LI>An “8×10 Impossible Photo Booth”</LI>
<LI>Hands-on demo instant film in a 4x5 camera</LI>
<LI>A hands-on workshop/polawalk hybrid on “Using Natural Light”</LI>
<LI>“Twilight & Neon at Night” #PolaCrawl focusing on sunset/dusk & neon</LI>
<LI>1 p.m. to 4 p.m. "Zines & Things Swap Meet" creative types can sign up to sell or trade their instant-film-related personal works such as photobooks, zines, original ‘Polaroid’ images, "small" prints (no larger than 11x14-ish), pins and any other instant-film-related art. (Yes, yes, expired/rare film packs are OK, too. But NO cameras, please.) Watch for the sign-up form link, which will be posted as soon as possible.</LI>
<LI>8 p.m. until ? ? ?: Concerts and other cool after-hours events. In addition to many cool concerts at various venues in Denton, IFS will host an acoustic set of some of Denton’s finest singer-songwriters at Evers from 8 to 10-ish p.m.</LI>
</UL>
DAY III DENTON—Sunday, September 30 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Denton Camera Exchange 117 Piner St, Denton, TX 76201
<UL>
<LI>11 a.m. – Surprise Session with Special Guest Photographer (Guess you’ll just have to get up early to find out who rolls through....)</LI>
<LI>noon –1:30 p.m. Workshop and demos. LONG LUNCH BREAK</LI>
<LI>3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Patterson-Appleton Arts Center 400 E Hickory St, Denton, TX 76201</LI>
<LI>Pop-up Instant Film Exhibition</LI>
<LI>“Which Instant Film Camera is THE BEST?” – Panel Discussion</LI>
<LI>Storing, Scanning, Printing and Enlarging Polaroids – Talk & Demo</LI>
<LI>An 8×10 Instant Film Demo & Photo Booth * The Art of Instant Film – Panel Discussion</LI>
</UL>
AFTER PARTY AT ARMADILLO ALE WORKS [Same parking lot as PAAC] 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Denton

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PolaCon 2018

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