Holy crap… no more Polaroids?
February 26th, 2008
Well, that was close to the first thought that popped in my head after I read this story on cnn.com about Polaroid fans pondering a filmless future. I’ve been a Polaroid fan a long, long time. My first camera was a Polaroid and I’ve used them from school projects to Brains on Fire projects. I’m a techy-geek type, but I’ve always liked the instant and open development of the photo. I’ve always thought that a Polaroid captured the moment in an authentic, fun way.
After reading the article I was joking with Spike and John Moore about the “what if” question about Polaroid… “Would you miss Polaroid?” I’ll leave that question to John. But I will tell why Brains On Fire is a fan of Polaroid. One of the rituals we have here is taking Polaroids when we have events with clients. It’s also a staple of our documentation process to always take a Polaroid at RAGE trainings and now all of the ambassador events for our other clients.
This ritual came about because of a problem that I can laugh about now. The first RAGE event was attended by 90 plus teens and our plan was to identify potential leaders from the weekend event. We choose our 18 leaders to participate in a 7 day tour across the state. But to our surprise, some of the names and faces didn’t match up. The culprit, kids who will be kids, and our process was hijacked by kids switching name tags.
So Polaroids became an instant way of tagging teenagers when they attended a RAGE event. Today technology exists to do the same thing with digital cameras and portable printers. But it’s not the same, pulling out a Polaroid just feels less “oh no, I have to have my picture taken.” I just hope a third-party steps up and keeps this product from disappearing off the shelves.
Other posts by Geno.
Jono Fisher says:
Lets hope a third party steps up soon indeed. Hopefully the name “Polaroid” will stay too. There is passion for that name: “Shake it like a Polaroid Picture…” comes to mind. Not to mention the polaroid transfer techniques, using polaroid negatives etc.
So Mama don’t take my Polaroid away…
February 26th, 2008 at 7:48 amScott White says:
Gosh, I love retro stuff but I say put Polaroids with Typewriters and VCR’s. They’re just not relevant anymore. A digital camera is so much better, sorry man. Death to Polaroid!
But can we bring back the 8 Track?
February 26th, 2008 at 10:42 amJennifer says:
First - I thought I had read somewhere that someone else had bought the patent and would be continuing Polaroid film… I don’t know about the name.
Second - Polaroids aren’t just cameras. They’re another visual medium. Anyone who’s taken a few photography courses knows about all the interesting projects and techniques that can be assigned based on a Polaroid.
Third - It took me a long time to switch to a digital camera from one of those old school film cameras. But finally, I did. And, while I miss the physical process of developing film (more emotional and cathartic than logical or benefit-oriented), and the chance to hold the finished product in my hand (yeah, you can still print digital photos, you just don’t do it as often)… I have to admit that I love the instant gratification. Which is also what I love about Polaroids. It’s that sort of baseball card approach to photos. Maybe when they re-market Polaroid film… it should come with a stale stick of chewing gum.
Are digital cameras technologically better? You betcha. For lots of reasons. But does that mean that Polaroid doesn’t have a place as an artistic, creative and even nostalgic medium? I sure hope hot.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:19 amMatty says:
I love polaroids! They are so distinctive! Any polaroid user can make them relevant, they are a perfect form of artwork. Now with 8 tracks… You had to listen to the entire album again if you wanted to go back to a song you just listened to! That’s technology that you should keep with the typewriters and VCR’s.
Polariod fans UNITE!
February 26th, 2008 at 11:26 amMaria Ana says:
hi!
this is such a challenging debate for design and brands!
Polaroid isn’t relevant today…and maybe even digital cameras are in trouble too, since mobile phones decided to become cameras and offer quality, mobility and connectivity… BUT just imagine if a company like Apple used their design skills and imagination, to get Polaroid’s new generation with instant print from their i-phone’s camera…we would think an i-Polaroid would become relevant again, and innovate, like printed static images with sound track in a sort of smart paper, that speaks the moment! or capture image, sound and smell and print the full scene!
maybe we could get a group of imagineers here and develop that future polaroid generation!
all the best!
February 27th, 2008 at 6:18 ammariana (in London)
Jenny says:
During my college career I was told all the time that traditional photography was dying out. I used to get annoyed because while there are ways to get something done ‘faster’ (digital photography) the traditional way it’s done will always be a form of art and there will always be someone interested in the art form, not how technologically advanced it is.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:19 amolivier says:
I’m fairly certain that law enforcement and the military use polaroids in the field to take mugshots of suspects, witnesses and victims. I am surprised that the US government isn’t going to keep SOME polaroid film production going.
The key to saving polaroid is really to make the experience of shooting with a polaroid relevant to a generation of digital camera users.
Hint: This is a way that polaroid can differentiate itself from the army of little digital cameras that all look EXACTLY the same and do pretty much the same thing.
The paper and distinctive quality of the images are more important than the look and feel of the camera itself. But the key here is to be able to store these images in digital format - as with all digital cameras today.
In other words: You want your camera to work like a digital camera, but you want your images to look and feel like they’re polaroid photos. This means developing a different user interface, using different lenses, and developing onboard and downloadable software that will allow you to manipulate your images to enhance the unique vintage quality of polaroid photographs.
As far as printing images on polaroid paper, and getting that instant gratification, I suggest designing a retro-inspired body that your new digital polaroid camera can fit into. This could be used as a portable desktop printer, or as an exoskeleton for the camera for those of us who miss the look, feel and function of the original cameras. For true fans, I would add an optional “blind” function to the camera when docked so that a photo captured in this mode prints instantly without allowing the user to review it first. Old school.
Why don’t I use a polaroid anymore: It’s bulky, the paper is expensive, and I don’t have a way to download my images to my laptop. Solve these three issues, and you can revive the company.
This is so damn simple, I don’t think anyone at Polaroid is really trying.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:51 amRobbie says:
I’ll miss it for certain. Sure, it’s a novelty item, but you can’t replace it. You can’t recreate the style that each polaroid might give.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pmMaria Ana says:
Hi again!
February 27th, 2008 at 3:44 pmreading all the above… I suddenly realised that if nothing more could be done (however I think it can) there is perhaps a very very special feature where polaroid can be better than digital: we can’t change it!
you see, all digital images can be manipulated, BUT polaroid’s, can’t!
so… if we can get a smaller camera as Olivier said, maybe improve paper, but keep it impossible to manipulate, we would have a unique Polaroid value as instant satisfaction in the digitals world! what you think?
david says:
hey - ive got 10 packs of film if folks want to buy em!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:25 amJono Fisher says:
More passion for polaroid. I found this today:
http://www.savepolaroid.com/
So much noise about polaroid has got me interested in shooting with it again.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:35 amAmanda says:
Funny about “tagging” kids. I’m a teacher and on the first day of school I always took a picture of the students. I used them to learn their names as quickly as possible (like flashcards) and I’d put them on boards at various times of the year (student stars, best work, birthdays, etc) and send them home with the student the day they moved or the last day of school. Their parents loved to see their growth over the school year and I loved using the photos.
I adore my DSLR, but this news is too bad…
June 8th, 2008 at 7:33 pmPolaroid PoGo | Jono Fisher - Photographer says:
[...] had to give. While we were lamenting the “no more polaroid” not so long ago, along comes the new Polaroid PoGo. While SX-70 devotees and traditionalists may [...]
June 24th, 2008 at 9:08 am