Atlanta in Polaroid
It's almost been a year since I moving down to Atlanta. It has not all been happy, but I have capture happy moments with my Polaroid Camera. Here is a look at my year at Atlanta through the lens of my camera.
Â
MOVE IN
My dad and I drove down separately with our cars loaded up with all my stuff. Once moved in, it felt like a sleepover as we slept on air mattresses in the living room. Throughout the weekend, we hunted for Facebook marketplaces furniture.
My mom came down a week or so later to get some more furniture and make the place feel like home. I can happily say with both of their help, my apartment truly feels like home.
CAMPING TRIP
During Duncan's spring break, we went to Red Top Mountain state park to go camping. I wrote more about this trip in the blog post Normalize Being Bad at Camping. But the polaroid camera (that was lovingly carried by Duncan on our hike) was an excuse for me to take a break, catch my breath, and capture the beauty of nature in a unique and physical way.
Also, it had been a while since I used the camera so the film had degraded in an interesting way.
BUBA'S FIRST BATH
Duncan and I noticed that Buba the baby boy cat had gotten very stinky. We gave his pitiful self a bath which he handled quite well for being a such a small little boy. These photos capture quite well how resigned he is to his fate.
POOL PARTY
Duncan and I went to our friend's pool for our friends birthday. Not photographed is the burn he got from the grill exploding on him. I was not there yet but imagine it was very dramatic.
We all ate burgers, played with super soaker that some kids left in the pool, and even drank from a fresh coconut from Florida. It was lovely to enjoy the warming air with bags of chips, some alcoholic seltzers, and a Costco 50 pack of burgers.
JOHNY'S PIZZA
We are officially regulars at Johnny's Pizza. We go there a little less than once a week and order the same order almost every time: large sausage pizza with pesto sauce on half and cinnamon knots. We did once get pest on the whole pizza, but something happened that my face breaks out in a rash when I eat that delicious green sauce.
Nonetheless, it's excellent pizza and it's a place that recognizes us.
POOL TIME
Since moving down, I had only been to the pool in my apartment once before this summer. I have now been at least five times since it opened again. (You can read more about my first times back in my post Pool Time.)
I went back with Duncan at night. With our matching goggles, rubber football, and brand new pool noodle, we jumped into the pool. We did attempt to take a picture of me floating in the pool, but the exposure didn't work out. (We retook the picture the next day.)
We played catch, and swam laps in the setting sun as our film developed. Duncan taught me how to mermaid swim which I'm still getting the hang of. As our faces slowly crystalized in ink, we splashed the night away, ending by floating on our back and looking at the few stars poking through the Atlanta sky.
Â
This is why I love my Polaroid. As I look back on the last year without these images, it was somewhat grim. I got laid off in January, I've been disconnected from friends and family by the length of the country, and struggled to make ends meet. But when I look at the photos, the hard times don't go away, but I am reminded of the bright times that shined through.
And it feels different than a digital photo. With this, I only got one shot to capture the beauty or the goofy or the heartwarming of the moment. While in some respect that means that these pictures are posed, but I didn't get a chance to re-pose those photos if I were taking them with my camera.
My polaroid get to capture the intentionally joyful moment of my life here in Atlanta. When I look back, I'm proud of the life I've made.