Instant cameras lend old-time feel to new photos

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 12:05 AM

Megan Matthers, a 21-year-old photography major, collects antique cameras and films that she finds online and at local thrift stores. Photo by Brian Bolton.

A budding garden, friends giggling on roller skates and a plane passing through the sky during a beautiful sunrise are among some of Megan Matthers’ favorite photographs. Unlike many of her friends who also take photos, Matthers’ memories are not saved on a digital camera or stored on a flash drive; they are printed on old fashioned Polaroid film.

“I really like Polaroids because when you take a photo, it becomes more of a group interaction with the photograph,” Matthers, a 21-year-old photography major, said. “Knowing what the picture looks like in the end makes it kind of like a science experiment. It’s an awesome sense of instant gratification.”

Matthers, like many other students in the University of Nevada, Reno photography department, prefers to shoot photos with a Polaroid camera because of the instant results and unaltered sense of reality that a Polaroid offers. Making it easier and cheaper for Matthers and other aspiring photographers to take photographs, a group called The Impossible Project will start selling a new style of the cameras instant film, licensed by Polaroid, in February 2010.

The Impossible Project, based in Vienna, will cater to the niche of photographers who enjoy shooting with antique cameras. Since Polaroid discontinued its film, Matthers said the price and demand for film has skyrocketed, something that The Impossible Project aims to fix.

PolaPreminum, a company that caters to instant photography enthusiasts, charges anywhere from $15 for a 10-pack of photos, to $20 per eight photos, depending on the quality and style of camera — a price that many students say is too expensive.

Despite its rarity and increased cost, many students said they still shoot with a Polaroid camera because it helps achieve differently styled photos and offers an entirely different experience.

The quality of the film also lends to a specific style of nostalgic photography, Matthers said. Older film often has a yellow tint which can create an old-time feel to the photo. Improperly stored film (such as in the wrong temperature) and other ways to handle film can also modify its outcome.

“Outkast started the worst rumor ever,” Matthers said jokingly, referring to the Outkast song “Hey Ya” which tells listeners to “shake it like a Polaroid picture.” Shaking the photo mixes the ink, which causes the photo and colors to come out distorted, Matthers said.

Also different from digital photos, a Polaroid captures the moment simply how it appears and uses chemical reactions in the film to create the image, rather than digital photos, which often have their lighting and quality doctored.

“They are just fun and so much different,” Kelci McIntosh, a 22-year-old photography major, said. “They aren’t color corrected and it’s instant — that specific candid moment.”

Catering to students who specialize in natural and antique photography, The Impossible Project worked out a deal with Polaroid, renting their former factory and using the old machinery to create new film and material for the vintage cameras, Marlene Kelnreiter, a spokesperson for The Impossible Project, said by e-mail. The Impossible Project will release its black and white film in February 2010, followed by color film later in the year, both available in shops and online around the world. The Impossible Project will also release a special edition film for a new Polaroid camera aimed to launch in the middle of 2010.

“The Impossible Project was founded because of too much love for Polaroid photography,” Kelnreiter said. “We didn’t want to watch this unique invention dying without doing anything, letting the world become purely digitalized and flawless. We love the characteristics and the sensuality of Polaroids.”

The new film, which is being developed from scratch, will have a unique printing style but will still maintain the iconic characteristics of a Polaroid including the frame and smell, Kelnreiter said. Although The Impossible Project has yet to list prices for its new film, the goal is to keep the price at a low average, Kelnreiter said.

Polaroid was once so amenable and affordable that the photography professor Peter Goin worked out a five-year deal with Polaroid where the art department donated fine art photographic prints for film that students could use, Goin said. Although students benefitted from the prints, the chemistry-driven photographs required certain temperature management the department did not have, which resulted in a huge loss of material, Goin said.

Though Polaroid no longer sponsors the photography department at the university, many students still use their film and cameras for specialty projects and effects.

“It’s the nostalgia,” Matthers said. “The film is very expensive, but I save it for special things.”

Tara Verderosa can be reached at tverderosa@nevadasagebrush.com.