Digital claims another victim?

The word on the street lately has been that Polaroid will be discontinuing its instant films.  It seems that it’s official.  First of all, what this means is that if you already have a stash of their instant films then treasure them and put them to good use.  What this also means is that supply and demand will begin taking effect and I’m sure there will be some bad people taking advantage of that.  Price gouging, anyone?

This news is all over the Internet including articles like this one.  Many artists are mourning the loss of such a unique and loved film medium.  But there appears to be some hope yet.  There are places that are trying to save the medium like here, and here.  Fuji produces similar instant films and thus far haven’t announced plans on discontinuing them.

But Polaroid has an iconic appeal like no other.  Anyone of a certain age certainly has memories of the wonderful magic of snapshots taken with an instant Polaroid camera.  But today there is no denying digital is giving many films a run for their money.

The Polaroid films also have some quirks that make them appealing to so many artists.  You can manipulate them in so many ways.  I remember in my high school photography class the first Polaroid manipulations I did were of a yellow fire hydrant and the front of a school bus, both using the already extinct SX-70 film.  I’ll have to search to see if I can find them somewhere.

{ 2006, Vintage Polaprinter Machine, Expired Polaroid 669 }

{ 2006, Watercolor Paper Transfer, Expired Polaroid 669 }