April 23, 2011

Almost Instant


I've been thinking lately about how I came to take photos (lots of photos).

I made a pinhole camera when I was little. And, I had a Kodak Instamatic in middle school. By college it was a Pentax K1000 (and endless pictures of friends drinking beer). As it happens, I got my first digital camera when I was living in Thailand AND having a baby. Plenty of material there.

Digital compressed the learning curve. No more film frugality. No more waiting weeks for prints (having forgotten why they came out well or horribly). But, digital is just too instant, too perfect. Too many.

Polaroid is like that pink stone up there. Right between film and digital. Almost instant. Imperfect. And a bit dear. At $3 a print there's no blasting away at a subject. You have to think about it. Look at it. Really look at it. Set it up and hope for the best. It's the most rewarding picture taking I've done. At last.

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