Instant photography: my first fad

[Adam Moore]

Hi everyone. Ever hear this little saying going round that says "the future is analog?"

I'm just posting this up here to see who shares my philosophy and who thinks it's utter hogwash. I recently got into photography for the first time thanks to the whole 'save the polaroids' phenomenon that was undoubtedly engineered by the very company who's bankruptcy started it. However, my love of taking pictures goes back a bit farther than that. I remember trying to draw and paint when I was a kid but only succeeding in drawing the same pictures of the same characters over and over again obsessing over particular lines or forms and trying to recreate acme inane element I had seen in somebody's work. I found much more satisfaction when in Europe on a cruise, using a little point and shoot to take shots of all the gorgeous buildings I never thought I'd see. I discovered then that what I loved most about imagery wasn't what I could create with my imagination, but what the memory associated with that image made me feel. Cut to 2010 and my girlfriend mentions how cool it would be to own an old Polaroid camera. "what the heck are you talking about?" I said. She just shrugged and said "instant memories!". It struck a real chord with me, and by the time I had gotten her one as a surprise for Xmas and saw how excited she was I fell right into the whole thing.

See, what I love about this isn't anything I can articulate in terms a real photographer is probably used to hearing. When I take a shot of something and it develops I hold in my hands an actual real image that is the product of spur of thhe moment conditions and 5 minutes of manipulation while it develops. There is only one. There will only ever be one. You can't edit it. You can't delete it. All decked out in quirky washed or vibrant colors, hazy and surreal, or crisp and stunning it is the closest thing to the physical manifestation of a human memory I can create. So it makes me happy. Discuss.

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, I do tend to agree.

Polaroid instant prints were fun.

In some ways I look at Digital vs. Film cameras in a similar way.
I was always excited after finishing the roll and waiting for the final prints.

I find that in this Digital age, I do not have a print of anything. All the prints that I have came from my film cameras.

 

[Adam Moore]

Really? So what stops people from using film cameras, do you suppose? I guess since I'm a complete amateur, I don't care so much about about micro managing every aspect of my pictures. It's that perspective that makes me especially fond of these experimental instant films. Its like hickory furniture, you don't buy it because it all looks the same.

 

[IAMAMRA]

I miss film sometimes....

 

[Adam Moore]

Excellent! I got two replies. It's officially a movement. Anybody care to criticize the two shots in my gallery? There will be a third scan coming in very soon.

 

[staciehollis]

I agree with you, although I use digital I am trying not to get caught up in all the digital editing and photograph as if it was film.​

 

[MWG]

I like how you framed the cat, pretty neat idea.

Personally, I also love digital. But if would have grown up with film, It could be a different story.

There is definitely something "pure" about film that I love though. I have a Canon AE-1 that im planning to restore and learn whenever I want to add another aspect to my hobby. I'm going try and master my own style of composition with a DSLR though. Most of the same rules apply.

 

[Adam Moore]

Thanks! Getting her to give me that death stare while she was sunbathing was the hard part, but the overall composition of that picture was a real spur of the moment thing. It really illustrates everything about that cats personality, and I hope conveys a lot of it to the viewer. As for the colors, that's just experimental analog film doing what it does. I botched a whole lot of film before I figured out how to turn my white walls violet without using any filters :lmao:

 

[Garbz]

I find that in this Digital age, I do not have a print of anything. All the prints that I have came from my film cameras.

What's stopping you? I find that if anything I now have more prints in my holiday albums and more pictures hanging on the walls.

 

[Bend The Light]

I find that in this Digital age, I do not have a print of anything. All the prints that I have came from my film cameras.

What's stopping you? I find that if anything I now have more prints in my holiday albums and more pictures hanging on the walls.

What stops me is that any pictures I like the wife doesn't.

 

[KmH]

...... You can't edit it. You can't delete it.

Sorry, but they can be, and are deleted, and edited.

Instant film is also used by artists to achieve effects that are impossible to accomplish with traditional photography, by manipulating the emulsion during the developing process, or separating the image emulsion from the film base.

Instant film - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[skyy38]

I agree with you, although I use digital I am trying not to get caught up in all the digital editing and photograph as if it was film.​

Agreed on ALL points.

 

[Adam Moore]

@KMH: I think I can see what you're getting at, but I still have to contend with it. My point is that the original image is the finished product (unless you're doing a peel). And that you can't edit the original image with a computer. You might be able to edit a scan, but that's not even close to the same thing. Semantics aside, you get my point! Instant film leaves so much up to nature, rather than relying on the skill of a developer, which is ideal for those of us that don't know jack about developing!

 

[ann]

polariod can be manipulated and was

google sx 70 manipulation. Many artist lost their who professinal careers when Polariod stopped making that film. Let along 669.

You can also check here, i have quite a few on my website http://www.aclancyphotography.com/

 

[KmH]

@KMH: I think I can see what you're getting at, but I still have to contend with it. My point is that the original image is the finished product (unless you're doing a peel). And that you can't edit the original image with a computer. You might be able to edit a scan, but that's not even close to the same thing. Semantics aside, you get my point! Instant film leaves so much up to nature, rather than relying on the skill of a developer, which is ideal for those of us that don't know jack about developing!

I don't think you see what I was getting at at all, and you're right, that's something you'll have to figure out for yourself.