 this instant soon will be distant. Monday, March 03, 2008 unless you've been under the proverbial photo rock, you have no doubt heard that the mighty Polaroid company has discontinued its line of instant cameras and film to focus on putting the Polaroid name on TVs, DVD players and digi-cams. you know, since the name is synonymous with those things (note my sarcastic tone). polaroid became the noun of every instant picture--no matter which manufacturer tried to steal market share from them. Just like Jell-O, Q-tips, and Band-Aid, Polaroid was a brand that came to mean instant photo, shaken or peeled. i just can't fathom that it will be a powerhouse name when it comes to cheap electronic gadgetry, stupid cooprorate management if you ask me. but its originator, Edwin Land was a real genius, a photo god really. his legacy is healthy even if his former company isn't. i completely understand why instant film would not have much of a market given the truly instant appeal of digital photography and inkjet printing, but i have to admit, it still stings a bit. i hope Fuji, who already markets a couple instant emulsions buys the technology and continues to fill this ever-narrowing niche. but i don't hold out much hope. you had to know it was coming. first the famed time-zero ceased being made, then the 80 series square peel-a-parts and with each becoming a piece of photography history, a piece of the working photo artist's tewl-kit was dying along with them. there have been some masters that elevated polaroid photography to true art. Ansel Adams meticulously tested, shot and documented work for polaroid, Paul Caponigro made some stunning black and white work in the 60s, David Hockney's composites transcended the medium, the names of inspiring polaroid shooters reads like a who's who really, Warhol, Mapplethorpe, Wegman, punk goddess Patti Smith, there are really too many to mention. i have the luxury of sitting on about 60 packs of various types of outdated polaroid film. i will cherish this final days of its life. it is as it is, just a tool, a discolored, smelly, faulty old friend--but in the end, just a tool. we move on and hope that for at least a little while longer there are still some films being made, we buy them, we use them and they may stay around, we don't, then, alas, they won't. we live in a time when technology truly is killing some things, there is no doubt...anyone need a zip disk, rubylith or some white-out? (sigh) old is beginning to suck more. cold pop. Minolta Instant Pro, Polaroid Type 990. Expired 1999. Comment (6) | Permalink |
