It has been, without a shadow of a doubt, the year of the Polaroids for me. You didn't see THAT one coming, eh? I know I kept it pretty quiet. I bought my first Polaroid camera in April 2008 and from there the obsession has grown parallel to the increasing scarcity of film – just my luck. Nevertheless, my DSLR sat dejected in its bag for the whole 2009; even my Hasselblad is starting to gather dust, as I expose square after square of Polaroid magic. Yet despite this fetishistic love I have for the cameras, they're simply my medium of choice for recording the things I see. I don't want to take thousands of digital shots – i want to bring home a pocket full of Polaroids instead. They feel more precious to me, and once i've scanned them and corrected the colour, they take on a life of their own. This year I also ventured into Polaroid portraiture, which has encouraged me to start approaching strangers too. With any luck the Impossible Project will make good on its promise and give us new instant film in 2010, because this is one love affair that isn't going to end.
It wasn't easy choosing my favourite Polaroids from this year – there have been so many – but I feel these 14 shots illustrate how my style has developed over the last 12 months… Viva la Polaroid!
Great shots here showcasing your style.
Which polaroid camera would you recommend to a newbie?
Thanks Karen! Id suggest either an SX-70 or 680 – i wrote about both in this post: http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com/ink_on_my_fingers/2009/04/-the-art-of-the-polaroid-.html
a lovely collection of photographs. the pink cupcake shot is CLASSIC. I HAD an old Polaroid (I guess that’s redundant, eh?) around somewhere…it’s missing after my move…but the film seems SO expensive now! I’m not that confident yet about my photography :-) Have you ever tried one of the new…is it by Fuji I think, it’s *like* Polaroid (as much as anything can be LIKE something, without actually BEING it), but makes little business card sized prints? I’ve been wanting to a read a review by a devout Polaroid user, who has now tried one of the new insta-photo camera, what their thoughts were.
Best wishes for the new year, and may many lovely vignettes appear for you and your cameras!
Hi Bettye, sending new year wishes to you too! i do have one of those cameras (Fuji Instax Mini) and i like playing with it – ill post a review in the new year :)
Thanks Sus, I am checking ebay right now…
I adore the yellow Chucks/pink petals photo. I think it it is at the top of my favorites list.
I can see why you had a difficult time choosing favorites for this post — I can’t even select a favorite of the bunch. They all have such a dreamy quality to them and lovely touches of light.
I’ve been thinking about the fuji since i can’t seen to put my hands on a pola. I love them so.
gorgeous one and all….each are breathtaking in a quiet simple way – that is to me the essence of pola really. it makes you condense into that little square.
Great photographs and looking forward to seeing and hearing more about your ventures on the blog
thanks for sharing
Wow. How would you choose a favourite? Kind of like picking a favourite child? (not that I’d know about that…)
They are wonderful!
I’m in the opposite boat. I found a lot of film but haven’t picked up a camera yet! I live in a place where the stores don’t clean the shelves often and have found some pretty interesting, and very expired, things.
I am in love with film too. I use 35mm and 120mm (box cam.) right now.
Best in 2010!
Andrea
I love the way you love Polaroids. It makes me smile. :)
BTW, always meant to comment about how mesmerizing your San Francisco collages were each day you posted them. You have an incredible knack for selecting photos of similar color scheme that slow seamlessly from one to the next in a showcased line. Nice work!
You are such an inspiration! Thank you so much! i was also going to ask you which polaroid you used, I’m going to chec your post now .)
Happy New Year! All the Best! xx
Those pink petals are like heaven. In fact, I believe I’ll start picturing Heaven that way. :) These are gorgeous.
the colours and light in your photos are always delicious.
Love the polaroids. *sigh* I decided to get an sx-70 right around the time film disappeared. It wasn’t in great condition, though, and I made a mess of myself with all those polaroidy chemicals that got all over everything. I think it’s back at my parents house (I left it when I moved last year). I also had a 320 was it? Wish I knew how to fix the sx-70.
Great collection of pictures. I enjoyed it very much.
You say you scan and correct color. What do you use?
Hi Janet! I scan my polaroids with an Epson 4490 scanner, and correct the colour (they always scan a bit too yellow-y) using Photoshop CS3
Amazing collection!
Love the first two images – the cupcakes and cherry blossoms. Wonderful colours!
these really are so moving and beautiful. ethereal. i adore polaroid. fear it. used to use it and only it constantly and now… hesitate because it’s become so pricey. precious. but it is still my favorite at the end of the day. i love the way it looks. the feelings it evokes. i have a few precious rolls left. i wonder what i will do with them… thank you for sharing yours. *
Be. Still. My. Heart.