Polaroids are fading away
Rocky Mountain News
Published May 9, 2008 at 4:32 p.m.
Updated May 9, 2008 at 6:13 p.m.
Photo by Rocky staff
Top to bottom: Chris Schneider: Listo, a chihuahua puppy, greets Duncan, another dog at Commons Park, May 7. Marie Griffin: Flashtacular Tulip on April 4. Darin McGregor: A parking meter casts a shadow in front of a vibrant yellow wall downtown.
Sorry, OutKast. Our days of shaking it like a Polaroid (picture) are nearly over.
Earlier this year Polaroid Corp. announced that by the end of 2008 it will stop production of its instant film. The problem is that "instant" these days makes folks think of digital cameras, not pricey film packs.
The first Polaroid camera was sold in 1948 and its popularity spiked in the '70s. Photographers from Andy Warhol to Ansel Adams, not to mention countless artists, were fans of the medium.
But before the instant film fades out entirely, we asked Rocky photographers to hit the streets armed with a Polaroid camera and a pack of film. We asked art writer Mary Voelz Chandler to assess its role in art, and spoke with Christina Ianni, a Denver-based artist who in the 1990s began working in the processes of emulsion transfer and image transfer with Polaroid products.
Want to dust off your cameras and shoot your own Polaroids? As of press time there are still a few film packs left on polaroid.com. Time is running out - you better shake it!
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