me on a hot day photo shoot ~ (embiggenable)
all pictures embiggenable
IF, AT THE TIME OF MY ENTRY INTO THE picture making life, the Photo Gods had called me aside and declared that I could proceed but only if I limited my picture making to Polaroid materials, I probably would have declined and stuck to sketching. However, if the Gods had set forth the same condition in 1972-the year the SX-70 camera / Time Zero film was introduced-I would have been happy to agree.
That written, lest you think that I would have been stuck with just the SX-70 camera and film, the fact was that, by 1972, I had Polaroid film backs for all of my “real” cameras-35mm, 120, 4x5, and (by 1973) 8x10 cameras. ASIDE the 4x5 Polaroid Type 55 film produced a seriously nice 4x5 instant BW print and a best-I-ever-used 4x5 negative. END ASIDE
My use of Polaroid professional films was primarily for my commercial picture making activities. Even though I did use the SX-70 / Time Zero tandem to make pictures for commercial clients, they were my go-to picture making tools for my personal picture making pursuits. And, using it as such was a pure joy. Especially due to the fact that passing around an actual print just moments after the picture was made is surefire crowd-pleaser if ever there was one. The SX-70 camera is the most fun camera I ever owned.
While I am on the subject of Polaroid, I can honestly write that if those same Photo Gods were to limit me to owning only 1 photo book-a book of pictures, not writing-that book would be THE POLAROID BOOK ~ Selections from the Polaroid Collection of Photography.
The Polaroid Collection of Photography is comprised of over 23,000 Polaroid pictures from over 2,000 photographers. The book features approximately 300 pictures made with a wide variety of Polaroid cameras and film. Each picture is accompanied by the artist’s name. The book Index has small icons of each picture with artist name, picture title, date made, and film type. The reproduction and production values are outstanding.
My only-one-photo-book-stranded-on-a-desert-island choice of this book is based upon the fact that; 1) the photos display a wide-ranging approach, aka: vision wise, employed in the making of pictures, 2) most of the pictures could be labeled as straight photography, 3) there is not a single word of art-speak anywhere to be read, and, 4) I could view the pictures in this book in a 1-picture-day manner until the end of time and never, ever come close to being bored.
The book is highly recommended and for those who might need (picture making wise) a kick in the butt, a knock upside the head, or a broom to clear out the cobwebs.