A Loss of Words

Photo and words by Colie Parks

This is me, at a loss of words, after learning that Polaroid was shutting its doors on the production of all Instamatic film. Following this picture I frantically order 12 packs of 600 film – leaving me broke but happy…

Unlike many of my fellow Polaroid patrons I am new to this photographic format. As a graphics design junky I had always worked with digital. Shame on me!

It wasn’t until a few months ago when Raymond Molinar, friend and Polaroid guru, first introduced me to the elegance and simplicity of this medium. Immediately I fell in love with Polaroid and knew I had to become a part of this artistic community.

I know this may make me sound like a bit of a freak, but all the same it rings true to me: at times looking through the view finder of my sx 70 seems more meaningful than looking through my own eyes. There is something nostalgic and wistfully sentimental about the 3.5 × 4.2 framing of a Polaroid picture… and don’t even get me started on the developing process. watching an image develop in the short span of 2 mins is like witnessing a miracle take place, a moment in life being reborn, a supernatural event unfolding before my eyes.

It deeply saddens me to think about the possibility of this art form one day dying out, and I must admit that there have been times when I was tempted to cut down on my Polaroid usage in order to preserve my rapidly diminishing stash of 600 film. But being artistically conservative is basically the antithesis of the Polaroid manifesto!

Edwin Land provided the world with the truest form of photography, one that mirrors life itself: instant, tangible, and un-edited.

LONG LIVE POLAROID!