Holga Blog

My SX-70

This is our first article with super-duper-bonus-futuristic-mechanised-twitter-interactive-elements. The article was more experimental to see if the twitter community could get involved directly..it seemed to work ok! We should be experimenting in future with more twitter-interaction goodness.

A fellow Holgablog writer, Derek, mentioned something interesting about the increasing popularity of the Polaroid.

We all know that polaroid have ceased production of all types of films, so why has demand suddenly skyrocketed for old Polaroid cameras (especially the SX-70), and the interest in polaroids is the highest it’s been in recent memory? Is it the old ‘you want what you can’t have’ adage? Is it a case of fashion catching up? Is interest that high in the Impossible Project that people are buying cameras hoping for the best?

I think it’s a bit of all of them.

Fashion

An artists impression of the youth of today (yes, that's an upside-down polaroid in her hand)

There’s definitely a fashion trend building momentum.  Derek mentioned that he sees polaroid becoming the new ‘lomography’, with hipster kids bombarding flickr asking where to get integral film after paying well over the odds for an ugly 1986 plastic box on ebay. For Polaroid week 2009, I didn’t get a chance to take lots of pics, but went to a pub with a few mates armed with my Polaroid and was surprised by how many people were willing to pay me upwards of £5 ($10) for a single photograph – they were drunk student revellers and seem to represent this ‘lomography’ demographic. I wonder if this is part of the 80s retro trend returning Ray Ban Wayfarers, pink neon leggins and Frankie Says Relax slogan t-shirts to highstreets across the nation. Perhaps the Polaroid represents part of this look, and might fizzle out, but maybe if they get a taste for the instant joy they might appreciate the inimitable experience of taking Polaroids. The Polaroid is a social experience. Once you take the picture a group gathers in anticipation awaiting the emergence of the image. It is instant but with a tangibility and permanence that the digital click – erase lacks.

Now or Never

Before writing this piece, we had thought about the fact that people always want what they can’t have, it’s human nature and has been repeated endlessly across generations.  Even this week, stock of Kodachrome has been depleted at many stores at the announcement that Kodak are ceasing production.

The same thing happened with Polaroid.

There is another ’slant’ to this though, it’s not just about wanting what you can’t have.  When it was announced that Polaroid were shutting down, it wasn’t just the current polaroid users that stockpiled the film, it was new users who thought it was ‘now or never’ (plus about a million capitalists who saw eBay as their route to early retirement!). These ‘now or never’ users are as interwoven into the future of polaroid as ‘roid veterans.

Hope

Perhaps the popularity increase is a fashion trend but there is hope.  The Impossible Project is gaining momentum, and they are now taking giant strides in re-engineering integral film.  Their press coverage over the last six months has helped them gain many new supporters, and there is a real feeling that they can accomplish their goals by 2010.

If you want instant film right now (and can’t wait until 2010) do not despair. There are still many options out there. My favourite alternative is the Fuji peel apart pack film. Old Polaroid Land Cameras readily take this pack film (although the film can be a bit tight and the cameras have to be adapted to take AAA instead of the no longer available 4.5 volt batteries). I own a Polaroid Land 440 and it is a fantastic piece of equipment, and even after 40 years still works perfectly. There is something indescribably satisfying about taking photographs in this way.  Cock,click,pull,wait,peel. Smile.

There are other options, including the Diana Instant Back from LSI, which takes Fuji’s version of the integral film: Instax, or a polaroid packfilm back for a holga. PolaPremium also have a stockpile of film available.  You can always chance your arm on eBay too, although prices are starting to rise considerably.

Popularity=Good?

Is this increasing popularity a good thing or not? If the interest continues it might make the product economically viable for the impossible project to produce and keep producing instant film, even though such popularity seems problematic at the moment, driving up the price of film because demands is outstripping supply (on ebay a pack of 10 can go for £20 / $40).

There was recently an article in The New York Times about the Impossible Project and the amount of vehemently anti-Polaroid comments: that it has had its day and that digital was better etc, were dwarfed by the 1000 or so people who sent in scans of their Polaroids.  There is still a lot of polaroid love out there, and not just from the ”hardcore’ enthusiasts.

What say you? Do you use polaroid cameras? Can you still find film? Do you were jeggings? Is Polaroid part of your photography future?  Is it like any other trend: in a few years it will be the diehards remaining when everyone else has moved on to something else?

Some thoughts from our Twitter:

Look Further

• Polapremium.com : Reliable source for polaroid film (but slightly pricey)
• Flickr Polaroid Group
• Reliable Sellers of polaroid ’stuff’ on Flickr
• NYT Article on Impossible Project
• Great Polaroid FAQ by Option8
• The Land List: Polaroid cataloguing project.