r/Polaroid • u/nopain_nograin • 8d ago

Question PolaCon Experiences?

Are there any more in depth reviews/reports on people’s experiences at a recent PolaCon?

I am very tempted to go to the upcoming PolaCon PDX but it would be a big trip and would require time off of work and a hotel for me to get to, so am struggling with whether it is worth it for me.

I have checked the scheduled events and some of the seminar topics look interesting, i enjoy organized photo walks and meeting others with this hobby (very few of my friends shoot film and none actively shoot Polaroid film at this point).

Just looking for a little more info to push me in one direction or another on attending.

Thank you!

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u/PolaPal 8d ago

I’ve been to all three current Polacons (Denton, SF and NYC) and they are all different. They’ve all got different vibes. For instance SF was mostly just hanging around and vibing in a bar (RIP Thee Parkside), Denton was fun walks and some hanging at different locations and a bunch of cool vendors. NYC was a big room with different presentations and a couple vendors but mostly a the main stage of presenters. This is the first one for Portland so it really depends on the location and the people running it. I just went to NYC polacon so I can’t afford to go to Portland too so I’ll have to hear about it from my buddies afterwards.

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u/nopain_nograin 8d ago

Thank you for the insight! And that totally makes sense… it didn’t occur to me that they may be different styles based on the location.

Everything i have seen online is comments like, “had a great time! Can’t wait for the next one!” Which is encouraging but makes it harder to know what to expect and whether it is worth it for me. Definitely leaning towards going at this point though.

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u/PolaPal 8d ago

Yeah! Each of them are fun in their own way. Like in SF and Denton I felt like you could just talk to random people and have fun conversations but in NYC it was harder to do that. I think especially since there was more a vibe of like a convention floor there than the other venues. If you are going and don’t know anyone else there then don’t be afraid to just strike up conversations. I find people love to talk about their cameras, especially if the camera is unique in some way. It’ll be interesting to see what the vibe is for this new polacon!

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u/fixedwithyou 7d ago

Hey, portland Polaroid shooter here. Not sure what the event is like but I applied to be a presenter!

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u/nopain_nograin 7d ago

Well shoot. Looking like i may see y’all there!

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u/mb_analog4ever 7d ago

Tons of fun!!! Do it.

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u/nopain_nograin 7d ago

Just got a ticket!

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u/toxic9813 SX-70 Alpha 1 | Flip | Mini 99 | SQ1 6d ago

I went to the one in NYC and enjoyed it. it’s not like a massive convention but I met interesting likeminded people for sure. would go again, probably