As soon as I awaken in the morning, my hand reaches for my iPhone, iPad or computer, where I look at LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and more. I share relevant posts and visuals, make comments, connect. I can show my work instantly to people very far away, and I like that.
While amplifying my client’s events and projects all over social and traditional media, adding iPhone and DSLR images to help tell those stories is a helpful addition to making sure the story is seen.
But, as a hobby I have started shooting with my Polaroid again. I just love it. For some reason “instant photography”, or Polaroid photography, is magical. As a little girl I had the white Swinger camera and to this day have images taken at my parties, from age 13. I wish I still had that camera!
I feel more like the true creator of the photograph with my Polaroid. With it, I don’t edit in Lightroom or with the Waterlogue app, I don’t crop, and shooting the picture really makes me concentrate on the composition.
This is my 1972 SX-70. I bought it on eBay and here I am opening the package. I just had to take pictures of it. The fold away design is just gorgeous.
Here are some of my favorite photos taken using my 1972 SX-70.
Edwin Land founded Polaroid and invented instant cameras in 1948.
New York Magazine senior editor Christopher Bonanos (pictured with me below, in a Polaroid picture!) wrote this compelling book, Instant: The Story of Polaroid, chronicling the history of Polaroid as a company – from its first camera to its collapse sixty years later. It’s a must-read. The Impossible Project purchased old Polaroid factories and today manufactures instant film compatible with my Polaroid camera.
This is our refrigerator, stocked with film. Next to the butter.
My mother sent this cartoon to me this weekend, how appropriate for my blog this week.
You may agree, the vintage look of instant photos is undeniably appealing. If you’ve used a photo app on your smartphone, you know how many options you have to transform your digital snapshots into images that look dated. Digital photographers go to great lengths to alter images to match the aesthetics of an instant photograph. For me, however, creating these photos in their original form is what makes me happy.
If you have an old camera up in your attic or buy one at a flea market, put in a roll of film and see how the vintage version feels to you.
