Farewell my love…

February 19, 2008 | Filed Under Holga, Polaroid | Leave a Comment 

I heard the bad news Friday evening as Sarah and I were hanging out with the local news playing in the background. The two words “Polaroid” and “going out of business” immediately captured all of my attention. Being the local Greenville news, the story was very brief and few details were given.

I did some research courtesy of the Boston Globe and found out that the two factories responsible for producing instant film were shutting down and that they will only produce enough film to last through the rest of the year according to their predictions.

I will be a little transparent here and admit that tears welled up in my eyes and I was heartbroken as I begin to process the info. I know it’s ridiculous to get so emotional about something like this, but oh well…I got caught up in the moment.

I am not one of “those photographers” that despises digital photography and believes that film is the only “true form of photography.” I do, however, love shooting film, especially Polaroid, for fun and my own artistic enjoyment. Shooting instant film gives me a sense of nostalgia and also gets my creative juices flowing. There is something thrilling about shooting a Polaroid and getting a pure photo with a vintage feel instantly (or 90 seconds, tops). Most photographs of my parents are Polaroids, and it is amazing that a Polaroid I shoot today looks just like a shot of my mother at age 7 standing in front of a late 50′s Chevrolet.

I’m not real sure why I felt compelled to post on this topic. I suppose I wanted to be the bearer of bad news, but also I wanted to urge you to grab your Polaroid camera or dust off that Polaroid Back and start living again. I plan to shoot more Polaroids and savor the final moments of instant film bliss.

Here are some of my favs from the past few years thanks to my Holgaroid…