On any given day, the average, teeth-barring smile requires 26 muscles. What’s more, it takes a maximum of 25 seconds to snap four photos of you and your friends on an iPhone, and another five seconds before half of the subjects in the photo suggest that they look vile, awkward or demonic. In the 1970’s, while a friendly smile still required 26 muscles to muster, a single photograph took upwards of 3 minutes to spew from a Polaroid camera’s mouth and develop into something visible.
Polaroid pictures were praised for their instant, three-minute developing speed in its early years. The photos were waved side-to-side to reveal their slightly blurry or over-exposed content. It’s likely that some of these photos ended up on the kitchen refrigerator to greet you before pouring every glass of milk. Or else they’re probably centered in a family photo album chalk full of outings and their accompanying dates scribbled onto the white space beneath the photo.
Last week, Once Again, a thrift store in Fort Collins that remains underrated to the neighboring thrift store giants like Goodwill and The Arc, answered my Polaroid prayers. From atop a shelf in the electronics section of the store, an original, Polaroid 600 camera jumped towards me and pulled me by the shirt collar to the cash register. Unscathed and without a scratch, the camera which could have been assembled as early as 1983, is fully functional despite its potentially not-so-brief retirement. Considering that the other electronic items on the same shelf included a vintage Kodak that looked as if it spent a good amount of time in a dog’s jaw and a AT&T brick-like cellular phone without the keys for numbers 3,6, and 0, I celebrated my find the only way I know how: inhaling bread and wine.
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| Polaroid 600 and Impossible Color Shade film |
For $7.50, I purchased this grandfather of cameras. As Polaroid discontinued their brand in 2008 as a result of slowed business, I worried I’d never take any Polaroid pictures of my own. But with some searching online I found that Impossible Film still produces Polaroid 600 film. Impossible distributes on their website, the-impossible-project.com/ for as low as $23.49. They also have film available for purchasing on Amazon and eBay for the same price. Whether you prefer the ultra-vintage Silver Shade (Black & White), or ‘70s-reminiscent Color Shade film, Impossible provides either packages with a total of 8 photos each.
Of all the photo albums I’ve leafed through in my family, my attention is always first grabbed by the raw, candid nature of Polaroids. I, too, am an offender of documenting far too many irrelevant events (and meals) with my iPhone or DSLR Nikon D60. I suppose the difference between photography 40 years ago and today is that the “instantaneous” film became the much more instantaneous jpeg file. These are two different animals—film and digital; the first providing all that’s fresh and candid, the latter providing wider opportunities and infinite do-overs (memory cards permitting).
Despite my inherent finger-happy nature in regards to snapping photos, I’ve had to issue some self-restraint with my eight precious Polaroid photos. In two days, I’ve taken two photos. With only a flash and an exposure meter for darker and lighter photos, my Polaroid 600 has spit out both photos with the soft, over-exposed appeal that they’ve long been known for. One factor that reminded me of just how old the camera is was that it took around 10 minutes for the photos to develop. Nonetheless, my elderly soul is grinning with maybe even 27 muscles, as I continue looking for the best photo-ops in Polaroid form.
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| One of the premiere photos from my Polaroid 600 |
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