One of the strongest childhood memories most of us have, me included, is of cameras coming out at family gatherings. And during the 1970s and 80s the camera that typically came out most often was a Polaroid.
It was undoubtedly the theater of the device’s operation plus the immediate output that appealed to us kids. There was no need to wait a week to fully see the results, just a couple of minutes.
Prior to the instant gratification digital photography gifted us, an image emerging through the cigarette fog of my grandparents’ living room and appearing on the milky white Polaroid paper felt like magic being witnessed.
Recent Polaroid-branded cameras have done little to dispel the market dominance of Fujifilm Instax, however, which snatched the ball from Polaroid in the mid 2000s and ran with it.
But could all that be set to change with the introduction of the Polaroid Mod? Is there still time and opportunity for the instant print pioneer regain the crown? And why am I suddenly re-enthused after so many years?
Because the Polaroid Mod finally feels like a step forward. And by giving the filter-enabled smartphone generation a relatable creative option via its lens encircling mode dial, thereby making it easy to quickly switch from fully auto capture to hands-on experimentation.
Deliberate double exposures, split frames, the ability to freeze motion with flash plus light painting style effects can be accessed via a dial twiddle. When the current trend is to embrace photographic imperfections as somehow more ‘authentic’ than a perfect shot, the Mod, with all the built-in quirks that come with Polaroid prints, feels like a camera for our AI-weary times.
Because one of the best things about photography is not just the possibility to freeze time and, with it, a passing moment, but also its ability to enchant us with the process. Polaroid cameras and instant print photography deliver on both accounts, while giving us something tangible, affordable and accessible.
Though the price per print still gives reason to grumble, it feels like a price worth paying. No wonder they are being embraced by successive and otherwise very different generations.
