A Father, a Son, a Disease and a Camera
Credit Cheney Orr
Readers’ Photos: Polaroid Gallery
At first, we were merely amazed. Hundreds of readers answered our request on Tuesday for their Polaroid photographs, in response to an article in The Times about efforts afoot in the Netherlands to reinvent instant film. By the time we closed the submission gates on Thursday morning, 932 of your pictures had arrived.
Our amazement, however, soon gave way to grateful and respectful astonishment. The quality of the work was even more impressive than the quantity. Lens readers in this hemisphere, in Europe and in Asia showed an imaginative command of the medium. Their work exploited the idiosyncracies of the Polaroid formats, especially the SX-70 films: the square format, the slightly soft-edged rendition, the occasional defects from the developing process, a color palette that paradoxically seemed warmer than normal but also bent a bit toward blues and greens.
In all, Josh Haner, a Times photographer and picture editor, found that he could not winnow the selection to any fewer than 406 exceptional Polaroids, all of which are presented here. The gallery itself makes the case. This much creative energy ought to be given the film it needs to thrive.
One happy footnote: Our post on Tuesday noted that Walker Evans counted himself among the fans of the SX-70. So we were delighted when a Polaroid arrived from Bruce Jackson. It was a portrait of Walker Evans.
Feature Request: In addition to the current Next/Prev buttons on the Full Screen version, please allow use of the Up,Down, Left, Right arrow keys.
I bet if you asked people to send in the Kodak Instant Picture, you’d be surprised by the quality and dare I say better color resolution.
Are you up to the challenge?
PS Yeah, I know Kodak infringed on Polaroid’s patent, but I think they did a better job of refining the instant camera option of photography.
Comments?
These photographs are interesting in both form and content, and an inescapable reference to the photographer and his or her personal life is present in each. But for such a wonderful idea, the presentation is terrible and seems to belittle the work of each person, emphasizing the sheer number of images more than artistry or individuality of the Polaroid artist. As a user it is difficult to navigate, and there is no connection between what one clicks on on the “cover page” and what is revealed in the multimedia interface. If it wasn’t for the captivating qualities of these images, this would have been an entire swing and a miss for the NYT.
Is there a way to make these photos a screensaver slide show on my desktop?
These are wonderful! Thank you for publishing them. There’s just something about a Polaroid photo — maybe its warmth, its imperfections, or nostalgia for simpler times — I love. I really hope we see film for these wonderful cameras back in stores soon.
A pleasure to see these. There is magic in Polaroids that is not present in other photo media.
I no longer have any Polaroid film left, but I have these:
Seeing all these Polaroids is a great gift on my birthday today. Thanks, NYTimes, and all the photographers who provided these wondrous images. A special shoutout to Nikki Gardner for her shot of the trophies in the Pittsfield (MA) storefront. I was just looking in that window two days ago and thought about getting my digital camera from my car, but it was raining too hard. The only better gift would have been to get an SX-70 and a year’s supply of film!
I love my sx-70 and am saddened by the loss of polaroid film.
Here are some of my polaroids…
//www.flickr.com/photos/ianwithers/sets/72157615695308639/
This is so exciting, I love the medium, I hope the Dutch company can revive Polaroid as close to the original. Thank you so much for collecting and sharing these great images. I’m a hobbyist, I would love a trifecta of digital, film and Polaroid! Two feels incomplete. The Polaroid palette is soft and dreamy. Oh, and vanity is a factor. I am only photogenic in Polaroids.
One of the best things i’ve seen in years. thanks for posting!
This is so cool!
Congrats on this format. Looking forward to more.
I felt as if I had lost a limb when Polaroid pulled the plug. I don’t have a scanner and couldn’t get my best shots to the NYT, but the shots you posted are spectacular! So rich. Like tiny paintings. Nothing looks like a Polaroid.
When I see references to Polaroids, such as in old movies or the like, it breaks my heart.
Fabulous. Thank you.
Bring back that camera.
Oh, just wanted to add –
I visited mainland China in the early 80’s and took along my Polaroid camera. We had stopped in a very remote village in northern China. People, who had never seen a polaroid
before, were amazed on the instant photo. A young mother came up to me begging me to take a photo of her baby. Our Chinese guide explained that most of the people in the village never had photos of their children
when they were small. In no time, there was a line of parents and their kids asking me to take their photo. I spent the rest of the afternoon taking shots of their kids. I went thru 12 packs of film. What a privilege!
I am sad, that I did not see the request as I have a beautiful Polaroid of Angelina Jolie at age 15.
Just an amusing note that when I first started shooting portraits etc I would use polaroids to check the lighting and show the model the shot fo they could have an idea of what the final shoot would be. The problem was that with theatrical lighting effects and the “forgiveness” of the ravages of aging that the low resolution of the film, these always looked better to the customer than the final high resolution slide film. I started offering them a glass of wine instead.
Wonderful gallery! Thank you so much for assembling this. It was a delightful distraction this morning.
i looked at all of them. wow.
As a travel photographer for many years the SX-70 was a valuable tool in getting the money shot with my Nikon. Being able to leave a Polraoid always made the subject a little happier. Thank you Dr. Land!
Polaroid is alive and well in Baltimore. I have 16 recent images currently hanging in the Baltimore Museum of Art.
i wish i had seen the article on tuesday! i would have submitted some of my own:
//lab47.com/polaroid/
so sad about polaroids..
Unfortunatly one of the requirements to send in polaroids here was to have the white space around them. None of mine did and it would have been too much work to add it. Others have been so forward as to past links here,
so I will too. For some of my SX-70 Polaroids go here:
//www.flickr.com/photos/13673437@N00/sets/808030/
Absolutely delightful. Thank you so much!
These are really nice pictures. Unfortunately not all of them were made with the SX-70 but are clearly digital fakes. But nonetheless, nice pics. Just look at color saturation or focal length.
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