Photo Blog: Instantly
By: Red Velvet
I’m pretty positive my family owned a Polaroid camera while we were living in New York. I was young then. I don’t remember ever seeing it and I definitely never played with it but we have albums filled with the photos to prove it. What I do (vaguely) remember is the first time I saw a Polaroid in action (most likely while taking a photo with Santa at the mall), I was enthralled with how instantly you could get your photo, literally watch it develop in your hands. It was kind of… magical to my much, much younger self.
When Polaroid announced that they would be discontinuing their film two years ago, I got hit with this wave of nostalgia for the instant photos I used to love.
I’m no photographer. I have a perfectly good digital camera. And I have never owned an instant camera before (at least not one that belonged to me). But between Polaroid’s announcement and Urban Outfitter’s suddenly selling Fujifilm’s new instant cameras (that I immediately became obsessed with - mostly for their funny appearance), I couldn’t get buying one out of my mind.
For months I would walk into the store, pick up the box, stand there debating if I should buy it or not. Eventually I would end up telling myself that it’s an impractical purchase and put it back down. But then one day, I caved in and bought one. (Note to reader: If you ever decide to cave in like I did, also follow my lead by purchasing said camera off of B&H. Way overpriced at Urban.)
I took pictures of everything. Cousins, friends, nieces and nephews. But especially my youngest nephew. The first time I took his picture with my new instant camera I made him hold the picture in his hand, telling him to wait and watch. He gave me the same enthralled look I imagine I once had while we watched the image appear together. For weeks after that, every time he came over he would ask me to take his picture (which I happily did since I adore that sweet face of his).
Digital cameras are undoubtedly amazing and so convenient. You have copies of photos to print over and over again (not to mention “airbrush” when necessary) and you can tell if a photo is good or bad just by looking at the screen. (It’s hard to even remember a time when we were using 35MM and had to wait to get them developed.) But I think I’m always going to have a soft spot for the simplicity of an instant camera. Each photo is unique. They capture a moment that can’t be erased or duplicated.
Here are some of my favorites (Sorry, none of me! Yours truly has to keep up her anonymity!)
