Knowing several photographers, I’ve heard folks bewailing Polaroid’s decision to halt production of their instant film*.
Well, apparently enough fanatiocs have banded together to get a factory, the equipment, and the know-how to start producing it for the die-hards who love it and want to continue using it in the age of Digital Photography:
*Yes, I know the “Old” Polaroid has gone under. But the “New” company of the same name, with the same logo and patents is still around, and has moved to new headquarters off of Route 128, and decided it wasn’t going to keep making the film. I myself built some test apparatus used in producing the film, and it’s a shame to see it not being used. Maybe this new groyup will continue using it.
I got all excited by this news a while back, only to be cruelly disappointed when I learned that they’re only looking to manufacture the only so-so consumer pack film, and not the the truly excellent 4x5 sheet films, like my favorite, Type 55.
Timely topic-the destruction workers have just finished tearing down th old Polaroid film plant (Waltham, MA). The site will become a shopping mall and office park-they have saved the old polaroid office building (does it have historic value)?
Anyway, I think this venture is doomed. I can’t see any market for it.
I doubt it – the historic buildings were in Cambridge, and they tore many of those down years ago.
I can see this succeeding – Polaroid cranked out the film for ages, and there are plenty of disgruntled ex-employees around. It’s not as if they have to re-invent the process. It’ll be more expensive than before – you’re not going to have the same economies of scale – but enough people will be interested.
The place where I worked just went out of business and closed its doors forever. People kept finding a lot of stuff in the 7-year-old 100,000 sq. ft. building including the Polaroid camera that people used to take out to do quick “before” photos of projects to use as reference while working on the project. I guess before we got the digital camera.
A whole bunch of now useless film was used up taking pics of everyone and pinning them on our wall near our break room. We flipped over the pics as people left since we left in phases… Ah yes, I guess we are just as indispensable as the film…
We were just watching a show on DiscoveryScienceHistory channel last night, about awesome 70’s technology. Highlighted were Mr. Coffee, the Concord, microwaves (ever wonder why they were called Radaranges? 'Cuz Raytheon had a bunch of leftover microwave thingies from their radars, and needed a way to sell them), and… Polaroid! We had an SX-70 for years- it was the coolest gadget ever.
This should make the actor, Brendan Fraser, very happy.
I have mentioned this story, but as I was moving from LA to Las Vegas, I had a garage sale of sorts (put my stuff on the sidewalk next to our West Hollywood apartment complex) and had only been there for about a few minutes when a guy from across the street noticed my old Polaroid camera I had bought as a teenager.
He broke into a run and dashed across a very busy street as if a house were on fire. He ran straight to that camera. I noticed who it was immediately, but kept cool.
“How much?” he asked.
I think I could have probably asked any amount, but played fair and gave him my price (about 1/2 of what I had paid way back when).
Without skipping a beat, he whipped out his wallet and bought it.
I thought that was kind of cool…later I read an article that mentioned Brendan Fraser collects Polaroid cameras, and is even mentioned in several books on the subject. I read another article awhile back that, when Polaroid announced the end of film production, Brendan bought a huge supply and stored them in a climate controlled room in his house.
I am sure this was happy news for him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have a financial stake in getting the factory off the ground.
Convenience and homemade porn were not the only reasons people chose Polaroid; it has a very distinctive look. It’s my understanding the William Wegman mostly uses Polaroid for his dog pictures.
There was a company in Brooklyn a few years ago importing a licensed version of SX-70 from the Netherlands, but both outfits seem to have vanished into hyperspace.
Or, in professional circles, (other than Wegman’s usage of giant Polaroids) the main use for Polaroid film was for testing exposure and lighting before exposing your actual film. These prints were known as “Polaroid test prints,” and medium format cameras would often have “Polaroid backs” that you swapped in for your regular back (containing your negative or chrome film) to make these tests. Once you were satisfied with the lighting and exposure on your Polaroid, you’d throw in your film back.
Can someone explain the appeal of Polaroids, in today’s world, without just stating it? Even as a kid with no concept of what a good picture looked like, I knew Polaroids sucked. The only thing I ever used one for was taking naked pictures of my girlfriend before digital cameras.
The large-format, pro grade stuff could be very nice. The Type 55 I mentioned above in particular produced a nice print and a fantastic, nearly grainless negative.
Check out the Flickr groups linked here to see some good examples
Well, they don’t suck. They make a very saturated image, and depending on lighting, you can get some very beautiful, almost ethereal images. You can also manipulate it manually when it’s fresh for some interestingresults.
For professional reasons, see above. Polaroids look perfectly fine on a good camera. In terms of cheapie Polaroid instant cameras, they have a certain “instant art” appeal and retro aesthetic to them, much like Holgas and Lomos do. In today’s digital age, it’s sometimes nice to go back to a simpler time and a more, I dunno, “organic” look that Polaroids and cheap toy cameras offered (do not confuse Polaroid with cheap toy cameras, because they encompass a wide range of uses from cheapie toy cameras to being used as back on expensive Hasselblads.) And if you’ve ever seen a 20"x24" Polaroid, they do not suck. They are incredibly detailed and beautiful. See here.
Another reason for Polaroid’s popularity in fine art circles was that different versions of their film were easily manipulated. There are two types of Polaroid transfers that were really popular, especially in the 80s (if my memory serves right). There’s the Polaroid transfer, in which you’d take your Polaroid (I forget which Polaroid was normally used, but the regular consumer stuff worked for this–Polacolor 669 is what I used, I think). Basically, you’d expose your film the normal way (or slightly overexpose it) and peel it apart shortly into the development process. You take some watercolor paper (often soaked in water and squeegeed), and press the dye-soaked part of the peeled Polaroid unto the watercolor and rub it evenly. Then, you’d slowly peel it back and get interesting and painterly results such as this.
There’s also Polaroid emulsion transfers, in which you would soak the Polaroid in very hot water after exposure and basically peel the emulsion from the surface of the print and gently place it on another surface. Because the emulsion is pliable, you can also make all sorts of interesting distortions, if you’re so inclined. The emulsion transfer is trickier than the regular Polaroid transfer, but it also creates those painterly sorts of results.
Part of the fun of these manipulations is the unpredictability of them. Each transfer is one-of-a-kind. Plus, if you look at postcard’s link, you’ll see even other manipulations that were possible with the SX-70 and the special film developed for it.
But, don’t get me wrong, it’s not just the manipulations that made Polaroid popular (although that “instand art” aesthetic was a great draw for many, and became a bit of a cliche after awhile), but the simplicity of the basic camera and film, along with its aesthetic is very appealing, especially in the age of digital photography where everything is so precise and perfect. I shoot 99% digital, but every once in awhile I’ll pull out the Holga (a medium format toy camera) to just let go of that feeling of possessing and perfecting the frame, and to shoot more instinctually, more from the gut. These images have a very different feel to them, and it’s good to have them in your arsenal as a photographer, as another way of expressing yourself.
