There is a particular kind of energy to be felt in a northern city in summer. It is a relaxed but determined kind of energy, shaped by our eagerness to enjoy ourselves for as long as possible in the sun. Because while there is nothing more glorious than staying outside with the sun until almost midnight, we can never trust the sun to be there, and all too soon we move towards winter again.

I have been wanting to capture this energy with my camera, and yesterday I finally carved out the time to take the Spectra on a walk after work. We have had an unbroken string of sunny, warm days lately, but yesterday when I stepped out of my office it had clouded over and even started to rain a little. Still, I had no wish to let this stop me from shooting.

I don’t know whether to blame it on the lack of sunlight, a resulting lack of inspiration or the fact that I’m using early-generation, now expired Impossible film, but the resulting images turned out not at all what I wanted; there is no trace of that elusive summer magic that I have caught on Polaroid in previous years.

It might be said that there is a lesson here – to seize the moment and shoot while the light is right. In my current busy juggling of toddler-motherhood and work, I prefer a different interpretation: if you missed the moment, let it go, because, like summer, the moment will come again.

˜ Jenny G.