PolaCon 8 will take place in Dallas and Denton, Sept. 29 – Oct. 1. And to the delight of Instant film photography aficionados, it promises to be IFS’s biggest PolaCon to date.
“This year, we have 25-plus photography events, up from usually 20, and over 25 musical components,” IFS co-founder Daniel Rodrigue says.
While PolaCon is considered a three-day convention, the event offers four days of instant gratification.
The analog photography convention kicks off on Sept. 28 for “Day Zero.” The unofficial event day includes two “PolaWalks,” a communal gathering of photographers who walk around together taking analog photos. This year’s “Day Zero” walks take place at downtown’s Dealey Plaza and Oak Cliff’s Jefferson Boulevard.
The following three days are packed with workshops, demonstrations, photo walks, panels and concerts.
”It's more than just a four-day photography festival,” Rodrigue says. “It really is like this four-day music and the arts event.”
IFS was founded in 2012 by Rodrigue and photographer Justin Goode. From IFS’ inception, Rodrigue and Goode have made it their mission to educate people about analog photography and to uphold the medium.
The duo launched IFS with the first “PolaWalk” on the rainy 2012 opening day of the State Fair of Texas. At the time, PolaCon was just a daydream.
“In the first three years, PolaCon was just in my head,” Rodrigue says. “It existed in my head and on a printed-out desk calendar where I would kind of plot out Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”
In 2016, PolaCon came to fruition and became the world’s first and only instant film photography convention. It attracted 80 attendees, who bonded over the photography medium.
“[With instant film] there’s the element of this moment that we capture and share together,” Rodrigue says. “It's not just the photo, but also watching it develop.”
It was that moment that excited IFS board member John Eric Muñoz. Muñoz stumbled across the inaugural PolaCon when he and his girlfriend were asked to pose for a photo. From the click of the shutter, Muñoz was all in. The next day, he returned to PolaCon as an attendee and soon became part of the IFS family.
Muñoz has sat on the IFS board and helped grow the convention into an international attraction since 2020.
“It is like a family. You have all of these people coming to PolaCon, not just different parts of the U.S., but also overseas,” Muñoz says. “They already have this shared interest. They are coming together as a group and having that in-person connection. There's something special about that.”
PolaCon attendees have come from all over the globe, including the United Kingdom, Mexico, Argentina, Germany and Canada.
For many, it's not only the magic of watching a photo develop in the palm of your hands, but also its exclusivity.
“Digital [photos] can be replicated, and people can steal it and reprint it, but when you do a Polaroid of somebody like Robert Smith, or any frontman for a band that you think is cool, you own that,” Rodrigue says. “People might steal or reproduce it, but you still have that very first original.”
IFS board member Alexas Monroe has created a brand out of her Polaroid photos. The Polaroid-only photographer uses her black and red Polaroid Cool Cam to capture moments through the lens of her dreamy, Tumblr-inspired magical realism aesthetic.
A Polaroid of attendees with umbrellas at the first IFS rain-or-shine PolaWalk at the State Fair of Texas.
Synthia Goode
“When I look through the lens, I try to think about my younger self and what she wanted and what would make her happy,” Monroe says.
Monroe utilizes her one-of-a-kind photos to create totes, lighters and enlargements that she sells. She’s applied those branding and marketing skills to help plan PolaCon’s expansion.
IFS took PolaCon across state lines this year due to popular demand.
In March, PolaCon landed in San Francisco for the return of PolaCon Bay Area. PolaCon NYC debuted in May. Requests for PolaCon expansions have poured in from destinations like Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Las Vegas and Vancouver, Canada.
“The New York PolaCon was really cool, but I feel more excited for this one because it's at home,” Monroe says. “We put so much thought into planning and organizing each day.”
The convention is held annually during the opening weekend of the State Fair of Texas. It starts at the rainbow umbrella.
“We meet behind Big Tex, and we tell people to watch for the rainbow umbrella,” Rodrigue says.
Day 1 of PolaCon 8 is dedicated to the State Fair of Texas' “PolaWalks.” Expertise or a Polaroid camera are not required.
“Anyone who comes to PolaCon can come with any camera,” Rodrigue says. “We have events that are specifically geared toward beginners.”
Day 2 is dedicated to analog photography education in Denton at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios. Education includes “One-on-One Instant Film 101,” a beginners workshop, and a demonstration of Polaroid I-2, Polaroid’s latest and long-awaited instant camera with full manual controls.
The Zines and Things Swap Meet, refined and organized by Monroe, will run from noon to 6 p.m.
Education, including a workshop on Fujifilm Instax transparencies, continues on Day 3.
Closing out PolaCon 8 are headliners Pearl Earl and the long anticipated return of Dallas rock band The Polyphonic Spree to a Denton stage.
Indulge in instant gratification while capturing one-of-one instant film photographs. But a word from the wise: don’t listen to Outkast. They got it wrong in “Hey Ya!”
“Don’t shake it, no matter what the song says,” Rodrigue says with a chuckle. “Shaking has not been good for instant film since the '70s.”
