Jen Altman - Instant Love: How to Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids

In the words of Dr. Land himself,
One of the best ways to keep a secret is to shout it.

Thanks to Bridget and Matt at Chronicle for their guidance, wisdom, and patience.

Thanks to Brooke for the design.

Thanks to Amy for the gorgeous color-wheel watercolor illustration.

Thanks to our contributors, Mia, Fer, Grant, Matt, Parul, Leah, and Lori, for sharing their amazing creativity.

Thanks to the Impossible Project for keeping the flame alive.

Thanks to Vanessa Mirelez and Kat White for their generosity.

Thank you so much to Ryan Marshall for his work on our book trailerwe are so grateful for your talent and friend-ship. www.pacingthepanicroom.com

A huge thank you to Rabbit! for allowing us to use their song Camera in our book trailer. It would not have been the same withoutyou guys are the best. www.saverabbit.com

Thanks to our families and friends for their unending love and support.

Jen would also like to thank her husband, Dennis, who quietly and gracefully put up with her crazy while writing this book. And to her daughtersthank you for continuing to seek out snuggles even though she was attached to her computer for the better part of six months and may have onceokay, twiceforgotten to feed you. And to Amy Kay for putting the idea of this book into her head.

Susannah would like to thank her mum for tirelessly cheering from the sidelines, her sister for the use of their single-sister brain cell, and her nephew for being the best thing that ever happened to her.

Amanda would like to thank Sean for supporting her with love, tenderness, and needed hugs. She would also like to thank Alex, Paul, Kelly, and Lesley for their amazing cheerleading from across the sea.

And last, but never least, thanks to Edwin Land for inventing these amazing cameras in the first place.

Artists who shoot them do so for very personal reasons, and the journey that brings each of us to this unique medium is a tale of love, patience, and magic. Yes, magic. Everyone has a Polaroid storydo you remember the day you saw your first Polaroid image? Theres incredible nostalgia woven through those little glossy squares, like memories imprinted with washes of light. For more than sixty years, Polaroid has been a fixture at family gatherings and fashion shoots and in the wider photography world too, the iconic design of both the prints and the cameras an enduring slice of popular culture. And even when we feared Polaroid was dead, the instant-film community banded together, doing all it could to save Polaroid, making the art form seem more popular than ever.

The three of us cemented our love affair with Polaroid when our SX-70 cameras came into our lives, and we cherish them today as if they were our children, still dazzled by the images that are conjured before our eyes. The cameras click and whirr is the music we dance to as we continue along this path of instant explorationthe realization that we have thirty-five instant cameras between us is testimony to our unending love for the medium. Instant photography made each of us the photographer she is today, and weve learned more about light than any person could have ever taught us. Taking photographs is a natural high, and shooting Polaroids is the highest high of all. With every image we shoot, we improve on the last, and weve learned never to take our artistic eyes for granted, always to be looking for new ways to capture light or color or feeling. Shooting with vintage cameras requires you get to know the quirks of your equipment; we dont have the guarantee of digital clarity with our instant cameras, but thats one of the reasons we love them so much. Each print is utterly unique, and weve learned to see life in squares.

The way we shoot instant imagesslowing down, steadying our breathing, carefully considering every detailcould be a metaphor for life, a way to live mindfully in the moment and not allow ourselves to get too caught up in the past or the future. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt, but its a continual practice, just like photography.

It is our hope that youll fall in love with instant photography as we have done, because there is truly no greater feeling than walking through a new city with an SX-70 in your hands and a film stash in your bag. Throughout the book we will use Polaroid and instant film interchangeably, because even though the company no longer manufactures instant film, it made the cameras we love, and for that reason we are forever grateful to Polaroid.

Just a few years ago the survival of Polaroid film was in question. It was love and patience that saw us through that uncertain time, and its those same emotions that now give us hope for the future of this film format. We are excited about the new era of instant photography being made possible through the work of the Impossible Project and believe that the future of instant imaging is truly bright. Throughout this book, well share our personal experiences with youour best secrets for capturing the light, some of our favorite ways to display our images, and, of course, our favorite photographs.

In The Basics we detail the cameras, film, and accessories available on the market today, describing the technical capabilities of each camera and explaining how to best utilize the film and accessories. Beautiful, light-infused photographs illustrate the most commonly used cameras, with notes describing how each camera works.

In The Art of Composition we explain the building blocks of composition, so that whether youre photographing vintage bottles, a postmodern building, or taking someones portrait, youll be able to confidently create a memorable image. We also introduce our first guest contributor, Grant Hamilton, who takes us through his process of shooting colorful abstract Polaroids.

In Capturing the Light we explore how light affects instant film, including advice for successful shooting in any lighting situation, and a series of unusual lighting setups for you to try yourself.

In Storage, Display, and Projects we show you how to care for your instant prints, share our best storage solutions, and provide ideas and imagery to inspire your instant displays. This chapter also features special projects from our other fabulous guest contributors: Lori Andrews, Parul Arora, Fernanda Montoro, Mia Moreno, Leah Reich, and Matt Schwartz.

The Inspirational Portfolios in the latter part of the book showcase exactly how versatile, innovative, and jaw-droppingly brilliant instant photography really is.

And finally, the Resources chapter features our personal selection of shops, products, books, and artists, all of whom love instant photography as much as we do.

Are you ready to explore?

With (instant) love ~

Jen, Susannah, and Amanda

THE BASICS

There is an instant camera out there for everyone.