Impossible is Nothing - Experimenting with Polaroids
A month or so ago, I stumbled across Clive’s vintage iconic SX70 Polaroid camera all neatly packaged away in a box. I remember being excited at the thought of shooting a moment and turning it into a printed memory. I set about finding film to capture photos of a ‘Rite Royal Knees Up’ an intimate gathering to celebrate the wedding of Megan & Harry. The day turned out to be one of the best weddings I had never been invited too!
Polaroid film is expensive at circa £18.00 for 8 x photos I wanted every shot to be perfect. With Polaroid photography, ‘it’s time to embrace failure’. The real beauty of a polaroid is… it isn’t perfect. We live in a world striving for perfection with ‘look at my perfect world’ selfies, flattering filters and editing out our wobbly bits. Polaroid is keeping it real and curating mini pieces of artwork one click at a time. The SX70 doesn’t always do what you want it to do. It loves light (don’t shoot inside), don’t stand too close to your subject (about 1.2 meters away), it doesn’t like white walls and the light/dark knob shouldn’t be changed to reflect the light - it likes to sit almost halfway between the two - a little on the darker side.
To make the most of borrowing the SX70, I enrolled on an ‘Experimenting with Polaroids Art Class’ at the London Institute of Photography just off Brick Lane with the uber talented Rhiannon Adam. Rhiannon’s a professional photographer and polaroid expert. She’s written a book called ’Polaroid The Missing Manual - The Complete Creative Guide’ Thames and Hudson. It’s a fascinating read for photography fans and polaroid geeks. The book includes an incredible quote from the creator and entrepreneur of ‘one step photography - Edwin H Land, ‘Imagine the Future and Make it Happen’. The more you think about it, capturing a moment and printing in one click is genius. There’s a fascinating back story about the patent for Polaroid covered in the book.
We got 40 mins to shoot some Polaroids with a Vintage SX-70 SLR, one of the most sought after folding cameras. I love shooting street art in Brick Lane, so off I went to capture some moments with a camera that had a naughty sticker on it. Just around the corner, the road was blocked-off for a community street (or block) party ‘invite only’. I didn’t try to gate crash but would have benefited from a zoom lens camera at this point. Off Brick Lane, I met a lady selling fresh pineapple juice who was fascinated with the camera and wanted to be in the shot! On my way back I walked past a van… the doors flung open and there was a musician in the back who started to bust a tune by playing his drum kit.
For the SX70 there are two types of film that you can use; Polaroid’s SX70 and Impossible’s SX70. The images above were taken from a digital shot (first image using a digital SLR) and printed onto Polaroid film using an Instant Printer (bottom images). The Instant Printer copies images onto instant film - some are compatible with smart phones. The image bottom right is printed onto a Polaroid film and the remaining three are printed onto Impossible Film. You can see the colour difference. Different films, old versus new and Polaroid versus Impossible have different colour tones. Whilst the film is expensive, you can do so much more with a Polaroid in terms of creative techniques. By taking apart the image and retaining the transparent window you can lift your photo onto almost any surface. Working with Impossible, the film should be no more than two weeks old and for Polaroid film, no more than a month old. The technique for an emulsion lift broadly includes; submerging the transparent image in warm water and removing the chemicals gently with a paint brush. This takes some time so patience is important. It’s quite therapeutic. Once the image is clean it’s placed on an acetate and flipped onto a piece of paper.
When ready, remove the acetate and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles. The emulsion is very delicate. Once finished and fully dry, you can protect the image against UV by applying a thin layer of matte acrylic gel medium with a clean paint brush. With a bit of practice, using the above technique you can make the most beautiful mosaic art works. The black polaroid backs can be submerged in bleach to curate another interesting effect similar to oxidised iron.
I hope the above inspires you to pick-up a camera (borrowed, old or new) or take a class in something you love. You don’t need expensive kit to enjoy or shoot incredible photographs. Key take-outs from this inspirational day; 1. Imagine the Future and Make it Happen 2. Embrace Failure 3. Impossible is Everything use this film for colour emulsion lifts and last but not least 4. Never Shake a Polaroid!