Polaroids: My Secret Obsession
It's 2009 I am 8 years old and I go into my mothers closet to find her photo albums. I flip through the pages for hours finding moments I lived and moments my ahw lived captured in vibrant colors from cvs point and shoot cameras. I would later run to my mom and ask her about certain pictures and she would sit with me reminiscing our day away. Those binders we cherished would inevitably be replaced with photos on the cloud, lacking the beauty and quality of photos of printed photos we traded quality for quantity to meet modern maximalist demands.
A few years ago I started to be fascinated with polaroids as they represented those better times. I found beauty in the scarcity they gave by limiting you to a pack 8 photos, making every shot significant. I dove into studying the hobby learning about the different models like the SX-70, 660 AF, 600 AF, and last and certainly least the Now model. It took me a while to finally decide I wanted one because I felt I didn't go out enough to fully appreciate those cameras and I already had nice photos I wanted to print on my phone. That's when I found a compromise, the Polaroid Lab, a polaroid that captured images from your phone.
I got the Polaroid Lab for my birthday and I have been down a rabbit hole of printing ever since. I feel like that kid in 2009 again who was fascinated by the photos in my mothers binder, but now It was filled with my stories. Seeing my images materialized puts in a rapture. I love the freedom I have with transferring from digital to polaroid as I can make cool shots and experiment with colors and so on. I understood however that the true polaroid experience is not knowing how the picture would turn out. When clicking the shutter button of a camera you take chance unsure of if what you see will be fully captured. Ironically I ended up getting the worst one a Polaroid Now because it was on clearance. ( I promise I am not cheap, but a deals a deal.)
I decided to first use My Polaroid Now during thanksgiving last year and it was a great experience. Everyone was looking at me crazy initially as they were getting barraged by camera flashes throughout the night. I made some mistakes in terms of lighting and distance which resulted in really crazy looking photos. I also printed out some photo with my lab for my older cousin so he could have baby pictures of his son. I loved seeing everyone's reactions to their photos it was like we were back in time before we had easy access to photos. I will make it a tradition to bring my polaroid camera to every future family event to a pinch of wonder to those spare moments.
I really cherish the photos I have taken and printed for my personal collection. I love the diversity of media I have ranging from personal photos to comic panels that express who I am. I can't wait when I am a dad and granddad, I'm gonna pull out my collection and watch my kids eyes glow with fascination and answer all the questions they have about the photos, even the one's where I am covered in paint acting a fool.
