Pro Sports Photographer Takes a Fujifilm Instax to MLB Spring Training

Mar 21, 2025

Jeremy Gray

Left image: A baseball player wearing a catcher's mask looks into the distance against a cloudy sky. Right image: Another player wearing a red shirt and dark pants runs with a baseball bat on a sunny day at a sports field.

Photojournalist Carlos Gonzalez covered the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball (MLB) Spring Training in Florida with two vastly different camera setups. One, his traditional professional photo gear, and the other, his daughter’s Fujifilm Instax SQ6.

Gonzalez is no stranger to bringing a creative twist to his professional sports coverage. In 2023, when photographing the Minnesota Vikings football team for the Minnesota Star Tribune‘s season preview, Gonzalez used an infrared camera alongside his typical gear to better capture the unique tattoos that many players have on their bodies.

A person wearing a t-shirt has a large Instax SQ6 instant camera hanging around their neck. The camera is pink with a black and silver lens, and they also have a photo pass clipped to their shirt. A chain-link fence is visible in the background. — Fujifilm Instax SQ6 used to photograph Minnesota Twins spring training at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

Gonzalez has rarely used the Instax SQ6, having last used it briefly in 2020.

“I bought it for my daughter years ago when she and her friends were going through their instant camera phase,” Gonzalez tells PetaPixel. “I did take it and use it a little the last time I covered Spring Training in 2020, but this year I decided to keep it with me for all the practices I covered over 11 days. I have not used it at all in the time between.”

A person in a baseball uniform and cap is posing against a dark blue brick wall in a Polaroid photo. They are holding up a green exercise band with one arm. The sky is clear with a few clouds. — Minnesota Twins pitcher Brock Stewart (61) warms up at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday, February 22, 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

A baseball player wearing a black shirt and red catcher's helmet looks to the side. The background features a cloudy blue sky. The photo is in a Polaroid frame. — Minnesota Twins catcher Diego Cartaya (62) at Hammond Stadium at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

Busting out the Instax again was a good decision, as Gonzalez really enjoyed working with it.

“It was fun to use and a completely different process. Photographing an entire day of practice while trying to build up a file of players’ photos had me making thousands of photos a day,” Gonzalez says. “I was much more deliberate with the Instax.”

A baseball player in a red shirt and black pants prepares to swing a bat on a sunny day. The field is green with a clear blue sky and a few clouds. Another player and several spectators are visible in the distance. — Minnesota Twins outfielder Harrison Bader (12) prepares to take live batting practice at Hammond Stadium at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

Baseball player in catcher's gear, holding a mitt with "Jeffers 27" written on it, looking at the camera. The image is a close-up Polaroid-style shot. — Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) photographed at Hammond Stadium at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

Each Instax film pack has just 10 exposures, so each one is precious. Gonzalez says he shot about 80 total Instax images over the nearly two weeks he was in Florida.

The players liked it, too.

“Sometimes it would spark a conversation, or I might get a curious look from a player when they saw me using a little plastic camera while I had professional digital cameras on both shoulders.

An individual wearing a red and blue baseball jacket and cap gestures with their hands. The sky is clear and a stadium light tower is visible in the background. The photo has a Polaroid style border. — Hall of Famer Rod Carew at Hammond Stadium at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

“Then, after pushing the button and hearing the noise of the shutter, the film would pop up from the top of the camera and slowly develop into a photograph.

“The curious look would often turn into a smile or a knowing nod.”

The photographer says he will send his Instax prints out to players now that his story about the experience has been published in the Minnesota Star Tribune.

A Polaroid photo shows a baseball player from the thighs down standing on a field. The player wears a uniform with striped socks and white cleats. A baseball glove rests at their side. The sky is clear and the field is mostly empty in the background. — Minnesota Twins pitcher Chris Paddack (20) wears a uniform with stirrups at Hammond Stadium at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

A man in a baseball uniform and cap looks to the side. He has a cross tattoo on his neck and a chain necklace. The background shows a baseball field under a clear sky. — Minnesota Twins pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) poses for a photo at Hammond Stadium at the Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., February 2025. | Carlos Gonzalez / Minnesota Star Tribune

While Gonzalez went years between using the Instax SQ6, he won’t wait so long again. He says he will “absolutely” use the Instax SQ6 for something like this again. “I’m all about new challenges and having fun.”

With the MLB regular season just around the corner — after the two games in Tokyo this week, the rest of the league will throw their first pitches next week — Gonzalez will likely capture the best moments of the Twins season with his high-end digital cameras. However, for 11 late winter days in Florida, the Fujifilm Instax SQ6 was a real-deal, charming professional sports camera.

Image credits: All photos by Carlos Gonzalez (@CarlosGphoto on Instagram, X, Threads, Bluesky) / Minnesota Star Tribune