whereupon I refrain from overusing the word 'magic':
1. because it taught me to slow down already.
2. because I die for the colors. every time. I die.
3. because press that little red button and anything can happen.
4. because the SX-70 camera is a thing of beauty.
5. because the automatic 100, also exquisite.
6. because just when I think I've got a handle on all the different kinds of polaroid cameras out there, I stumble onto one I've never seen or heard of before. thank goodness for the land list.
7. because peel apart film is cool. also, it makes me feel important.
8. because the zip and whirrr sound the SX-70 makes as it shoots the picture out is the most spectacular sound. unofficially speaking.
9. because truly, it has transformed the way I frame and compose.
10. because show a polaroid camera to a group of kids and they will look at you like you've just come from the moon.
11. because a polaroid sky is a sky like no other.
12. because I look at light now with completely different eyes.
13. because there's nothing in the world like the moment that image slowly appears. it's magic.
(fourteen down, thirty-eight to go)
(meanwhile, 'roid week continues)
one of my most treasured possessions is a polaroid of me with my grandparants. its sunny and bright and i can look at it and feel that day on my skin again.
ReplyDeletepolaroids are magic.
i completely agree with number 13. it is magic
ReplyDeleteOkay I have to ask, I can't bear it no more. Where do you your get polaroid film?? I have been searching online for a while now but haven't commited to buying any yet. I have my mothers old collection of cameras and I'm itching to use them!! I love the way your pictures come out! Please let me know! Erin :)
ReplyDelete"because a polaroid sky is a sky like no other" YES. That's what I love most about polaroid film. It's a dreamy, nostalgic sky. Takes me back.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Yes, yes, oh yes. :)
ReplyDeletesigh... i totally agree with you on the colors! gorgeous. i love love love the soft light that polaroid shots give.
ReplyDeleteAmen!!!
ReplyDeletei love your lists.
ReplyDeleteand the teacher in me loves that you see light in a whole different way.
and i love your photos.
all of them.
and it is "magical" to watch you shoot with them :)
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely something about polaroids that is magical :) I would love to own one, but the film's price is what is holding me back.
ReplyDeleteI love the first image here, very beautiful light. For me because it is so expensive I really value every photo. I think you can find something beautiful in every shot.
ReplyDeleteamen. really. amen.
ReplyDeletehey thanks, everyone!
ReplyDeleteerin, getting 600 film is tricky business. this time last year, I could still find it at a few places- target walmart, drug stores. then it was abruptly pulled from the shelves. to be sold online, I guess. for a while, you could get it a number of places online--amazon, b&h photo, the impossible project but now the only place you can really find it is on ebay. and of course, it's reeeeeeally expensive. and surprise, surprise-- it's not always good film (there's a battery located in each pack of film and if that goes bad, the film won't work). generally speaking, I don't mess with ebay. I bought film while I could still get it from b&h, amazon and the impossible project. I have a modest little stash that will hopefully last a while. the good news is that the impossible project is now reproducing instant film-- silver shade px100 (for the sx-70) and px600 (for the polaroid one step). and they're slated to come out with color film this summer. it's obviously very different than the 600 we all know and love but at least it's something. there have been many complaints about price, about how challenging the film is to work with but again, at least it's something. and if we continue to support the impossible project so that they can continue to make film then it will only get better and better (and perhaps more affordable).
cassandra marie, it's pricey, I agree. but the sacrifice is worth it to me. :)
So beautiful!! Nothing at all like the polaroid pictures I remember from my youth. Just wonderful.
ReplyDeleteFor me, a polaroid photo develops like my memory works. Kinda hazy, then clearer and clearer until it's just so...and with an ethereal light behind it. They also remind me of the opening sequence to The Wonder Years, which is pretty wonderful, too.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Completely and wholeheartedly with this list! There is so much joy in Polaroid, and also in the people who love Polaroid. Joy and happiness and hope.
ReplyDeletei love this.
ReplyDelete#10 SO true, it made me giggle.
#11 you said it. you are again the polaroid queen.
thanks so much for your inspiration! :)
love
tina
I agree entirely, with everything.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, you introduced me to the polaroid magic. Until recently, I had no idea. And my goodness, how grateful I am. Thank you thank you thank you. :)
AMEN AMEN AMEN
ReplyDelete[and i will never tire of how you rock the roids]
i couldn't have said it better, sista! except i might have added "because you rock it". amen.
ReplyDeleteI love this post!!
ReplyDeletewow. i remember the giant neighborhood yard sale where everyone was selling their polaroid. wish i'd known...
ReplyDeletebeautiful images.
hahaha, i was walking around my neighborhood with my instax 210(not a polaroid camera, but still) and encountered a group of kids. they had never seen anything like it and were totally intrigued. they were most impressed that the film printed out blank, until slowly the image appeared. they'd never seen anything like it, and it made me smile, because as a kid they seemed like a natural thing to me.
ReplyDeleteanyway, one of my favorite instant photos i've ever taken is of them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29380197@N03/4590252623/in/set-72157624020901786/
i know i'm late to this post, but i had to share! :)