Polaroid stopped making their particular brand of instant camera film in June 2008, approximately one year after they halted production of the instant cameras that made the company it's name.
Much has been made of the attempts by
The Impossible Project to bring the technology back to life - an attempt to capitalise on that
"analogue appeal in a digital age".
To my shame and disappointment I only took
my first Polaroid photograph this weekend, after finding Elaine's old Polaroid camera and purchasing some expired
Polaroid film on eBay.
Here it is:
The picture taking part wasn't anything overly exciting. A
clunky, funny shaped camera with a really awkward hand grip and shutter release.
However, I was completely knocked for six by
the resulting photograph.
Maybe it was the very tactile and hands-on appeal of being able to hold the developing print just a few seconds after pressing the shutter, maybe it was watching the image slowly develop in front of my eyes, or maybe it was just the sheer novelty factor of never having taken one before.
Well, yes, all of those are true. But there is also something very special about this brand of instant film photography that cannot be beaten.
I could have taken the same photo using my
Nikon D80 but I would have undoubtedly framed, shot, re-framed, shot again, and taken about 20 different photos, before downloading to the PC, analysing, cropping, tweaking and maybe, finally, printing... although in all probability I wouldn't have bothered with the print.
The Polaroid has captured the same scene in a way that truly feels like it captures the moment, it feels more intimate and personal than probably any photo I've taken on my DSLR.
So now I have a host of ideas for Polaroid photography and an increasingly depleted, and therefore expensive, stock of film available to buy on eBay.
At least one of these projects is going to happen next year, I promise...
Labels: photography, polaroid
My Flickr RSS
