Dan Finnen

Heading to Rome!

April 29, 2014 By Dan Finnen

Things might get a little slow around here in early May, as I’m off to Rome with my video company Polymyth Productions for the next two weeks to shoot a short film! I’ll have more details on the short once we return, as well as a boatload of photos of things and places that have […]

New Review Alert: Cyanograph 600 Instant Film

April 15, 2014 By Dan Finnen

I have a new review up for the Impossible Project’s limited edition Cyanograph 600 instant film. It’s a charmingly weird film that reminds me of the first flush attempt at color film so many years ago. Read up and grab some while it’s still on sale.

Testing out the Impossible Project’s New Opacifier

April 3, 2014 By Dan Finnen

Every once in a while, the Impossible Project will open up some test versions of upcoming types of film to their ‘pioneers’ aka people who bought a ton of IP film even when it didn’t always work. Well, Impossible Project did just that recently, and last week I got four shiny new packs of IP […]

Clean Your Rollers!

March 27, 2014 By Dan Finnen

If you’ve been shooting Polaroid cameras for some time, you’ve probably come across this defect at some point: Recognize it? Weird underdeveloped marks, usually on the side, all in a row, like some sort of… roller caused them. Yup, you guessed it, that’s indeed a roller issue. And the majority of the time, some simple […]

New Article: An Introduction to Using Polaroid Cameras and Instant Film

March 20, 2014 By Dan Finnen

Even though I’m in the midst of moving, I still managed to put together a new guide this week! For those who are starting from the very beginning, this short guide is here to help those take their first steps into the brave new (old?) world of analogue instant film. Enjoy!

Calumet Closes Its Doors

March 13, 2014 By Dan Finnen

…and another giant falls in the interminable death march of retail. I’ve spent quite a bit of time and money down at the Chicago Calumet location buying all sorts of good stuff for both myself and my company. Especially in time sensitive situations, having a place to purchase professional grade equipment locally has been invaluable. […]

An Ode to 50mm f1.8 Lenses

March 12, 2014 By Dan Finnen

Friends purchasing their first DSLR often ask me the same thing: what lens should they get? And my answer is always the same, regardless if they’re picking up a Canon or a Nikon. The 50mm f1.8. Both Nikon and Canon make a plastic 50mm f1.8 lens that not only is the cheapest lens they sell, […]

Some thoughts on writing a novel in 30 days

March 2, 2014 By Dan Finnen

As I reported earlier this month, I decided to spend February doing my own personal NaNoWriMo and write a novel within 30 days. As of late Thursday night, I finally crossed the 50,000 word threshold, a full day ahead of schedule. (cue golf clap) I don’t know if the book I wrote is any good, […]

Novel in a Month Update

February 15, 2014 By Dan Finnen

Some of you may or have noticed that I haven’t been posting quite as much this month as I typically do, and mostly that’s because I’m currently halfway through pounding out an entire novel within a month. Inspired by those crazy kids at NaNoWriMo, I decided to give it a try myself in February. I’m […]

I survived the Krispy Kreme Challenge

February 11, 2014 By Dan Finnen

“Because it’s there” – George Mallory, when asked why he was about to make a (fatal) attempt to climb Mt. Everest I don’t know when it first came up in conversation, but suddenly we couldn’t stop talking about it. Somewhere in the United States, there was a race where one ate a bunch of donuts […]