22.8.11

Polaroids

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Polaroid cameras always seem like some kind of magic. One futuristic click, some whirring, and you get a fully mounted photograph. They must have seemed even more like magic in the 1960s, which is when the camera that took these was made, although I can't seem to find a huge amount out about the dates of the photographs themselves. All I know is that they were taken with a 1967 Polaroid land camera.

The Paris Review captions the top left-hand photograph 'Coney Island ritual' – what is so fascinating about it is that it could easily be a photograph of a ritual taken last week, or five decades ago. The photographer, Misty Woodford, has a website which reveals exactly nothing about them.



all photographs reproduced via Misty Woodford, taken from here

The pinks and blues and the general haze of these polaroids really caught my attention. I like the way that the camera is at once able to capture the essence of the carnival but also the ethereal atmosphere of a crunchy snowy morning. While I like using things like Instagram, there is certain saturation point that I am definitely reaching with fake-polaroid applications, and seeing the quality of the real thing is part of the reason why.

Whatever decade these were taken in, they must have been taken so carefully, with every click clicked with respect to the prohibitive expense of a polaroid film. The feel of the photographs is a combination of this and the real limitations of the development rather than on purpose to achieve a particular 'vintage' style. Either way, either decade, either atmosphere – I like them. Oh, and those shoes too.

3 comments:

  1. I agree that there is something so appealing about the saturated tones of vintage photos and although modern apps re create that look, it isn't quite the same. I like the one of the safety pin in the netting, reminds me of that famous Lee Miller photo (that I don't know the name of).

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  2. I love the borders of them! And the colours. So pretty. It's a nice idea that you have to think carefully about what you're photographing because of the cost of the film... I feel that way with regular SLR film photography too. It has a mindfulness that you don't get with a digital camera where everything is instant :)

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  3. I agree! I just found my grandmother's old SX-70 land camera and I'm in love. These are so beautiful!

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