Perhaps one of the few in Ukraine, or at least in Lviv, I first got acquainted with Polaroid back in 1993 when relatives from France gave it to me as a gift. But I never really got to fully enjoy this technological marvel in a young and still very post-Soviet country. I remember sometimes having to stand in line for milk or fish – instant camera cartridges were impossible to find here no matter how hard I looked. And the two packs of 10 shots each that came with the camera didn’t last long. Especially considering the specifics of the technology, which I didn’t understand at the age of 7.
Ostap Protsak and his Polaroid
So, after taking a few photos and saving a frame or two "for later," I forgot about Polaroid for many years. Especially since the company, which went bankrupt in 2008, didn’t really remind anyone of itself.
My second encounter with instant photography happened in 2015 when a good friend from the Czech Republic told me about the Impossible Project – a company that bought the equipment for making film and essentially recreated the technology, since the use of old chemicals was banned by US and EU laws due to their harmfulness.
Fortunately, I came to instant photography when the market already had the second generation of films – with a more stable formula, higher contrast, brighter colors, and fewer defects. This allowed me to have far fewer disappointments than other enthusiasts. And they often get disappointed. Because even if the film worked "perfectly," the camera could still let you down.
Only in 2016 did The Impossible Project release a new camera for Polaroid cartridges. It’s quite expensive ($225), so most enthusiasts and professional photographers use old cameras (sometimes refurbished with replaced parts) that are 20-30 years old or even older. I’m no exception, so I go on photo walks either with the same Polaroid 636 that relatives gave me almost 25 years ago or more often with an even older Polaroid Impulse AF.
But in reality, all possible disappointments and the high cost of film are compensated by the magic of Polaroid. When you press the button, you get a photo and eagerly spend the next 15 minutes waiting for the result. How did it turn out? Was it overexposed? Maybe underexposed? What’s the framing? Did everything important fit into that magical little square? These and many other questions swirl in your head until you look at the developed photo.
The results vary. They can delight you or, on the contrary, disappoint. Wrong colors, different composition, quirks of the chemicals or light – all this can create a completely different picture than you expected. Sometimes the photo conveys reality much better than you even wanted. Sometimes – on the contrary – it adds unreality and charm: blurred edges, low contrast, play of shadows and highlights, completely different colors – all this makes Polaroid photography a very special kind of art. When you look at your own successful photos, you understand why artists like Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, and many others loved working with Polaroid. After all, even the legendary Steven Klein recently did a Polaroid photo shoot with the even more legendary Madonna for the equally legendary Vogue Italia.
And even if the photo turns out a little different than you wanted and there’s a small moment of disappointment – it’s not the end. You just need to set it aside for "better times" in a box (the best place to store photos is a box or album in a dark drawer or nightstand) and look at it with fresh eyes after some time. Believe me, then you can catch a completely different kind of beauty that you didn’t see right away and understand Polaroid differently.
And indeed, as the founders of The Impossible Project like to repeat, in our digital age we have begun to underestimate the art of photography. Nowadays, anyone can consider themselves a photographer with a smartphone and VSCO installed. In every photo, you can adjust colors, reframe, change contrast, brightness, tones, and many other parameters. And, ultimately, if the composition is good but the colors are off, you can always make it black and white and see some new feature.
I say this because I sometimes do the same. Along with instant photography, I also shoot with my iPhone. Mostly street photos or macro. This compensates for what Polaroid can’t give me. Here, among several shots, I choose the best one, crop it, apply presets to get the most out of the photo and make it as beautiful as possible. Here you get pleasure not only from the process of taking photos but also from selecting and editing them.
With instant photography, it’s different. The process is the priority because nothing can be changed afterward.
Only one moment and a well-composed frame. Only one moment and consideration of all necessary nuances before pressing the button. Mistakes are very costly in the literal sense, so I rarely allow myself to retake the same scene. Moreover, when shooting with Polaroid, you have to remember many nuances: the specifics of framing for each camera, weather and time of day (too much light is bad, just like too little), outdoor temperature (if the air temperature is below 18ºC, keep the camera warm, and immediately store the finished photo in a warm place, for example, an inside chest pocket), light and its quality, the position of the light source itself (unless you want to experiment and create something artistic, the light source should always be behind you).
Is it difficult? Yes! Expensive? Yes! Exciting? Yes!
And how much thrill! How much joy you feel when you see a beautiful successful photo with a magical unexpected result! And even the film’s flaws, which sometimes appear as white-blue stripes or spots at the bottom or edges of the photo, you perceive as an additional magical finishing touch to your mini-masterpiece!
Have no experience with instant or analog photography? Try it! It’s so interesting and captivating. Too expensive Polaroid? Take Lomo. Want sharp, only high-quality results and bright colors? Then Instax is suitable! There are plenty of options! Especially since you can rent a camera cheaply, basically spending only on film!
Love and make real photographs because in today’s digital world there are fewer and fewer things that are simply pleasant to hold in your hands!
Ostap Protsyk
