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Shake Your Polaroids While You Still Can

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12 2008 10:00 AM

Submitted by punk. Edited By punk.

TAGS: polaroid, instant film, instant camera

Polaroid announced on Friday that they will close their instant film plants in the US, Mexico and the Netherlands, ending almost 60 years of production and a photography icon. President Tom Beaudo hopes these changes will help “…reinvent Polaroid so it lives on for the next 30 to 40 years.”

Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures such as a portable printer for images from cell phones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, televisions and DVD players.

…

Polaroid failed to embrace the digital technology that has transformed photography, instead sticking to its belief that many photographers who didn't want to wait to get pictures developed would hold onto their old Polaroid cameras.

Instant camera and film enthusiasts won’t be left up a creek: Fujifilm will still produce its instant film, and Polaroid is currently seeking partners to purchase the rights to their own brand so that someone else can carry on the legacy.

punk wonders if there are any instant-film photographers on SG, and what their thoughts are.

32 Comments

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scylis

Anchorage, AK

November 2004

FEB 12, 2008 10:33 AM

i had been wondering when this was going to happen. it honestly seems like it's a little late in coming, but still kinda sad, for nostalgia's sake.

OhSoOrdinary

Iraq

July 2006

FEB 12, 2008 11:05 AM

I'm totally sad! These are the best to have at parties. I hope someone decides to pick it up and keep making them.

Subrosa

San Francisco, CA

July 2004

FEB 12, 2008 11:20 AM

punk said:
punk wonders if there are any instant-film photographers on SG, and what their thoughts are.

Margot_Dent is an excellent Polaroidist, actually.

Nessuno

Washington, DC

May 2006

FEB 12, 2008 02:11 PM

I never used polaroid, but this saddens me because it's a part of photography's history that seems to be passing. Like black and white film, which is now a pain to get or develop.

Cassiel

Aurora, CO

September 2004

FEB 12, 2008 02:26 PM

I have a newer Polaroid camera, but I wish I had my grandmother's old one, because that one had the film that still had the gelatin emulsion where you could fiddle around with it and make yr photo look like the cover to Peter Gabriel's Melt album.

halfjack

Allston, MA

June 2005

FEB 12, 2008 03:29 PM

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cairo

SUICIDEGIRL

Maryland, USA

FEB 12, 2008 04:38 PM

halfjack said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

MrCrisp

Charleston, SC

August 2004

FEB 12, 2008 04:40 PM

time to horde film for my holgaroid, apparently.

Sick

Minneapolis, MN

June 2003

FEB 12, 2008 04:44 PM

All the great films are getting discontinued; Kodak stopped producing Kodachrome and HIE some time ago. Terrible losses. You just can't get a lot of the same effects with digital.

Sick

Minneapolis, MN

June 2003

FEB 12, 2008 05:06 PM

Sick said:
All the great films are getting discontinued; Kodak stopped producing Kodachrome and HIE some time ago. Terrible losses. You just can't get a lot of the same effects with digital.

Let me rephrase: you can get the same effects by spending much more time and/or money.

Morgan

SUICIDEGIRL

Morocco

FEB 12, 2008 05:10 PM

halfjack said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Agreed.

J24U

Danvers, MA

February 2006

FEB 12, 2008 06:12 PM

Subrosa said:

punk said:
punk wonders if there are any instant-film photographers on SG, and what their thoughts are.

Margot_Dent is an excellent Polaroidist, actually.

I believe Cherry is a polaroid enthusiast as well.

Gillionaire

Manchester, NH

February 2007

FEB 12, 2008 08:51 PM

I think this is sad. I have fond memories of my grandparent's old polaroid camera.

strndniowa

Grimes, IA

May 2007

FEB 12, 2008 09:34 PM

I will miss those- and kind of made the photog work just a little bit still- digital is just too easy...and the peel off sheet was cool in it's own way

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

FEB 13, 2008 03:48 PM

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

At least production hasn't entirely halted. They were saying the same thing about 120 film when I first got my Holga. I firmly believe that film will prevail.

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