I’ve been a little bit fascinated by polaroid pictures recently.
There’s something magical about them. I think it’s that they evoke memories in a way that pristine megapixeled shots never really do. Memories are hazy, dream-like; Polaroid shots give me that same sensation.
But also, it might be because it’s evident that a polaroid photo will not last forever. The image will fade, just like the memory. Its transience brings it fleeting yet urgent importance, and knowing it will be gone makes me want to savour it more.
ALL THAT IS GOOD 
Well said ! 🙂
ya you are right , but Polaroid camera give results immediately . 😉
results don’t come quite immediately – waiting for the picture to develop magically is also part of the multi-sensory experience 🙂
Hi, I do agree that Polaroids do evoke special memories because they literally are a snapshot of a moment in time. As the photo and the memory recede into the past, the photo becomes a type of marker, an artifact of the moment.
However, I think there is one thing you mention that I slightly disagree with, though these things are obviously quite subjective. Firstly, and you are not alone in saying this, you say Polaroids are dreamlike. Perhaps that is the way they appear, but I doubt the Polaroid Corporation intended it to be that way. Indeed many people bought the cameras and films for the convenience of getting instant prints, in a time when printed photographs were common. The quality of other film based cameras was vastly superior for most things but Polaroid offset this superiority with the convenience of getting prints right away. I purchased my first Polaroid camera back in the 90s. I was a student and had recently inherited my Dad’s old camera. It was frustrating to go to and get the photos processed to wait and see how they turned out. I knew Polaroid used to make instant cameras but my memories were of the old peel apart film, so when I looked around for their current products, they had a very affordable 600 camera, and there was no need to buy flashcubes or wait specific times to have the photo developed. I bought the Poaroid and I used it quite often. At the time there was no danger of Polaroid film being discontinued and I took many photos, though a lot of them were fairly boring. Even though I was a student, and did not have a lot of money, I never thought the film was expensive. I already knew what it cost, so I didn’t moan about the cost of film. On and off for some years I used thay Polaroid but I stopped usong it after a while.
When I revisited the Polaroid they had stopped making the film, and the products made by The Impossible Project are not as good as the original Polaroid film. However, they do give you the dreamlike feeling you are describing. There is a washed out low saturation in the images. They take about 40 minutes to develop and then you get a flawed, hazy image. It is not even a representation of the moment. It seems as if the photo caught something you must have missed at the time, a surreal look at reality. I hope Polaroid cameras and film stay alive well into the future but I fear even current instant film will eventually be discontinued because demand will inevitably die. Prints are good, but many people find digital photographyband sharing their images online much easier.
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