polaroid ~ an old picture making friend / on seeing
Friday, December 3, 2010 at 04:16PM 
Lighthouse ~ near Woods Hole / Martha's Vineyard
It's impossible to state how much I miss Polaroid film, especially the SX 70 variety. And no, that stuff someone is making now is not a suitable replacement.
That said, in my mind, Polaroid Photography is a entirely separate / much different picture making medium than Straight Photography. Even if you don't squish the emulsion around and make "straight" Polaroid pictures it is still distinctly different than plain old Straight Photography. Again, in my mind, Polaroid Photography, family-style snapshots aside, is best suited to making pictures of impressions of things rather than true representations of the real.
For those of you who might be laboring under the false impression that I am a diehard Straight photography purist, think again. There is an enormous and very impressive body of work / Art out there all of which is made with one Polaroid process or another. And, IMO, it stands the Art test of time very well.
It has always been my opinion, like that of Walker Evans ...
Nobody should touch a Polaroid until he's over sixty.
According to Evans, it was only after years of work and struggle and experimentation, years of developing one's judgment and vision, that the instrument could be pushed to its full, revelatory potential. Using the SX-70, and leaving aside the intricacies of photographic technique, Evans stripped photography to its bare essentials: seeing and choosing.
Personally, I would take out the "over sixty" caveat and go with the "years of work and struggle and experimentation, years of developing one's judgment and vision ... stripp[ing] photography to its bare essentials: seeing and choosing" part.
IMO, the saddest part of Polaroid's demise is the fact that it was a picturing making medium that could really help the in development of one's judgement and vision / seeing and choosing for those who didn't quite have it. More's the pity. And IMO, this is one thing (of many) that "the market" got wrong.
FYI, Evan's Polaroid book is out of print (I have mine) but it can be had, albeit at rare-book prices. That said, it is really worth having - Xmas is coming. Treat yourself.
On the other hand, what could be labeled as the Polaroid Bible, picture wise, THE POLAROID BOOK, is still available at a ridiculously low price. If you can't afford the Evan's book, this one is definitely a must have.
Reader Comments (4)
Polaroids were more fun than a bucket of herring. As for books, "Polaroid Land Photography" and "Singular Images", both by, yep, Ansel Adams, are pretty darn fine, too. The first gives both A.A. at his analytical best and a good selection of Polaroid photos by photographers of widely varying styles. The second is, of course, just A.A. photos, but they, too, are pretty varied.
You've got to give Adams credit. He liked photography, and was "tool neutral". "Is it a camera? Fine, let's see what this thing can do."
And don't forget: "Andre Kertesz -- The Polaroids"
This just reminded me how much I miss the SX70. I agree it was a completely different thing than straight up photography. My college roommate bought one when they first came out and I continued using them as long as I could get film. During much of the 1990s, from the time I had to give up my darkroom until I discovered digital, my SX70 was my main creative outlet.
I miss the 4x5 polaroid 55 and 54 films the most. With the pol back on my camera I was able to take quick shots and check the light and exposure before committing to film. And I had a souvenir of the day which I could scan before processing the exposed film in the darkroom. The 55 negatives were a treat in the darkroom, too.
It was definitely a loss for us when Polaroid packed it in. I also felt cheated - remember a Pol back was a big investment - a few hundred bucks - that is now just a piece of unused hardware. What a waste! What a shame. I'd be tempted to go with the new stuff, but they're not going to make 4x5 because the machinery is gone. They're talking about making 8x10, though.