Polaroid Type 55 The lost art

The start of the digital revolution was the end of to most fine art films. This is a tragedy and a major loss to photography. Digital photography equals laziness so many times I find my self saying I will just fix it in Photoshop. From exposures to composition. There was honesty that film had people just assumed it was real. Digital is the complete opposite. You assume it’s fake or has been altered.

When I shot this photo I use this Polaroid film called Polaroid Type 55. It was my favorite film. (They do not make it any more.) You use a 4x5 camera witch takes photos like no outer camera. The best digital camera cannot even compare to this 1950s camera. The film was even better when you shoot it you would peal it apart and there would be a Polaroid on one side and a negative on the other. You would have to take the negative and put it to a salt water bath then dry it. Then you could use it to make traditional black and white prints.

How I shot this photo. It came to me from an idea I had to incorporate the sport with the person doing it. I asked my friend BJ lines if I could get a photo of his family and him before we went out and shoot for the day. I shot a few photos of them and did not develop the film. We when out to the snowboard park and I put the same film back in the camera and shot over it with him snowboarding. Dubbed exposing the film. The best part was you never knew how it was going to come out. When I develop the Polaroid and saw the results I was stoked. People now a days would say why don’t you just do it in Photoshop. If you are some one thinking this then you may never get it. That is part of thing getting lost.