Polaroid Saved?
Those of you who are familiar with my blog know that I have been enjoying a rekindled love affair with Polaroid Instant Photography over the past few months after learning that the Polaroid Company has ceased production of both their instant cameras and instant film. I’ve mentioned a few times how I’ve been hording Polaroid film and have been collecting Polaroid cameras in an effort to “get it while I can”. In the past few days I’ve been hearing about a new project that is underway in Europe that is working to save Polaroid film and come up with an inventive way to start up manufacture of the film again. Pink reader Meredith pointed me to an article that explains how The Impossible Project, headed by Florian Kaps, is hoping to take the business of manufacturing Polaroid film into his own hands so that production of the film can be revived:
For a generation, the Polaroid camera gave near-instant pleasure to millions of users around the world, chronicling everything from births and weddings to the downright explicit. But when digital photography came along in the 1990s – with instant images and the ability to edit and delete pictures before they see the light of day – Polaroid was doomed, its iconic white-framed snaps apparently defunct. When Polaroid announced last February that it would stop production of its instant film, it seemed the much-loved camera was gone forever. But within weeks, a group of users had started a global campaign for the format to return. And now, thanks to an unlikely saviour, their pleas have been heard. If all goes to plan, the Polaroid factory in Enschede, Amsterdam, will soon be making film again thanks to its new owner, an eccentric Austrian artist and businessman named Florian Kaps. Mr Kaps, 39, has dedicated the past five years to instant photography. He set up Polanoid.net, the biggest Polaroid gallery on the web, and the first ever Polaroid-only art gallery in Vienna, called Polanoir. Now he plans to save the film. “The project is more than a business plan; it’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create turnover,” said Mr Kaps. Dubbed “The Impossible Project”, the development of new film for Polaroid cameras launches today. Working with the Manchester-based black and white photography company Ilford, the machinery is in place to produce film of two exposure types, each compatible with both the classic SX-70 cameras popular with artists and the more modern 600 series. Work has begun on a prototype. By hiring 11 of the original Polaroid team from the factory floor, Mr Kaps aims to mass produce both colour and black and white film under the Impossible label by December, coinciding with the projected date that existing stocks will run out.
Please, sweet baby Jebus, let this be true. I fear The Impossible Project sounds too good to be true … can a group of individuals and a handful of Polaroid employees really revive the manufacture of Polaroid film? I’m willing to be hopeful but I’m not really counting on it just yet. This is great news tho … just this weekend, I snapped a bunch of really amazing Polaroids and it just kills me to think that one day soon, there may be no more Polaroid film to use anymore. There is still much interest in Polaroid film, the Washington Post published a new article lamenting the loss of Polaroid film just yesterday. I’m deffo keeping my fingers and toes crossed that Kaps and his crew will be successful in this very ambitious endeavor … but in the meantime, I’m still gonna be stocking up on Polaroid film whenever I can. Whether the manufacture of Polaroid film can be saved or not — I still plan to take as many Polaroids as I can, while I still can.
Tags: Polaroid Instant Film, The Impossible Project
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January 19th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Aaahh! I really hope this will be successful. I took pictures with my polaroid camera this last Christmas and I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to capture wonderful moments after they got rid of the film. :(
January 19th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I ran a Photo Lab several years ago and I loved Polaroid film. It was the most clear film I worked with. I rarely had to “fix” the photos. To this day I still swear by Polaroid. I have the cutest pink Polaroid digital camera that I take with me every where. I would absolutely love for them to continue with film, Id definately keep buying it for my other camera.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
It says Enschede, Amsterdam which of course should be Enschede, the Netherlands. Funny that people think Amsterdam (where I’m from) is a country :)
January 19th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Oh hurray! Love Polaroid. I bought all I could at the local drugstore when I found out they were going to stop. Hope I will be able get more in the future.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
@boxofbirds — you can still find plenty of Polaroid film at Target and similar stores, at least here in the US
January 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I drawn to anything with a rainbow stripe on it …
January 19th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Polaroid has a new camera out with the same idea of shot and a photo in your hand in seconds. It made it’s debut at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. Enjoy!!!
http://www.polaroid.com/pogo/us/howzc.html
January 19th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
@Rhiannon — yep, know all about it (http://pinkisthenewblog.com/home/2009/01/instant-gratification-for-a-new-generation/) but it’s not even close to the real thing
January 20th, 2009 at 2:55 am
Amsterdam is not a country.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:05 am
You can go to the Polaroid website and make your digital pictures look like Polaroids. http://www.poladroid.net/ It’s not the same, but it does give you that sense of nostalgia