An old photograph of an old house in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The cold winter chill created a unique look during the developing process. Polaroid Spectra SE with "image" instant film.
It was the hardest feeling to put my camera to rest. Upon receiving the news from retail photography stores around my area that Polaroid's 500 Instant film was being discontinued, I rushed to my cell phone and to the yellow pages to see if there was any store left in the greater Toronto area that had any packages left over. None. I was disheartened, and sat by my computer wondering what I could possibly do to continue this website. I could go digital, in fact everyone was telling me that it is the most reasonable solution. I thought about it some more, but knew that I could not achieve the same essence of a moment that I am able to capture with a Polaroid picture. I could just stop writing was the other option, but because of the wonderful stories (at least I think they are) I have written already that would seem like a waste.
The difference between digital photography and Polaroid photography, to me, is best summed up by professional photographer Matthew Modine. He said:
"There's a discipline. When you take someone's portrait, you don't have to take 50 photographs, just find that one so that when you release the shutter, that's the image that you took."
I wrote Polaroid corporation an e-mail asking them as to why they discontinued the particular film I used. Their response was honest and concise: Digital photography is more popular. They offered me film if I had a different camera and so I received a ten pack of their "image" film. My Polaroid Spectra SE camera can utilize this type of instant film.
In the end I decided to continue writing stories using my other Polaroid camera with "image" instant film with my Spectra SE. I opened my dresser drawer in my room and looked at my large Captiva SE camera one final time and placed in with the rest of the collection of old cameras. I removed the Spectra SE and closed the drawer. and played around with it in my hands, opening and closing the lens, adjusting the hand strap on the side.
So although the significance of the title of this website correlating with the type of film I was using is long gone - I will still continue on.
