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Life at a Stand Still


Image result for instant cameraMost people know instant cameras as Polaroids which was a well know brand of instant cameras here in the United States. The instant camera was first invented by an American scientist named Edwin Land, who invented instant cameras to answer his daughter’s question on “Why can’t I see them now”, which I find very sweet. He created the Polaroid Model 95 in 1948, creating a huge success, and selling out in the first day. Polaroid would soon enter into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2008 and would cease to produce film and cameras (it is not until recently Polaroid started up production again). As you maybe have guess the increasing use of digital cameras brought the temporary end to the beloved instant cameras.


Image result for instant camera model 95Instant cameras, the official device of making every moment count, because it could be costly. This reminds me of a quote by one of the most famous Great Depression photographers, Dorothea Lange, in which she states, “One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you’d be stricken blind”,  and I definitely agree. This is especially true for any film cameras. Now we are able to snap a picture and if we dislike it, delete it. Before this was not so much the case. Before taking a picture was much like investing in the stockmarket, you HAD to be committed, to take a picture you had to make sure it was perfect, because it was a while until you got to see the picture. For example first the whole film had to be used up, second you had to deliver it in person, that is if you wanted the process to be faster, to a store and wait a couple of days to develop, then it was picked up or mailed. This was annoying to some people, thus the instant camera was born.
Instant cameras are very interesting on how they work because it is the film it self that does all the work. As the shutters open light is let through and exposed to the film. The film is set up in stacks, and each stack contains a layer of light sensitive colors. For example top layer is sensitive to blue light, middle layer to green light etc. As the film is pushed out and being “developed” the white starts to fade out and create the image, it is actually the acid from the top of the film causing a chemical reaction to provide a protective top layer.
Image from 'Land's Polaroid' by Peter C. Wensberg
Now it seems like the world’s youth are the ones enjoying instant cameras, which is not a bad thing. That means that the product or device is so well designed and simple to use, that they are enjoying it over digital cameras of now. It goes back to the statement I made with records, that sure we have digital technology that probably sounds or looks better, but there is something about analog that seems much more “real” to us than digital. And with film...well… it has greater meaning because those are the photographs you really want if you ever go blind.

FUNFACT: Polariod did not just produce cameras and film, they produced sunglasses too

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_camera
https://petapixel.com/2015/06/11/the-history-and-magic-of-instant-photography/
https://transatlanticdiablog.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/classic-camera-polaroid-instant-camera-7-facts-about-the-technical-revolutionary-item/

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 6, 2017 at 9:39 PM

    The blog was great this week! I sort of consider my self some what of an old soul and I have always been fascinated with older types of cameras and prefer them to modern cameras. So to understand the history behind these cameras was very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 7, 2017 at 12:49 PM

    Great blog and very informative. That being said I have always thought of Polaroids were a niche and expensive hobby rather than something that has become obscure.

    ReplyDelete

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