the reason i like polaroid film (iconic quality of the picture, aside) is the method behind taking and having a polaroid.

 

yes, there is the immediate gratification of it but also there is the permanence of the polaroid. you can't delete it, you can't deny the existence of it. unlike a digital picture, it doesn't disappear into the technological ether. it is material. you take it in your hands and it is yours.

 

polaroids are bound to physical limits and the mystery is in how the picture turns out, the pleasant surprise or disappointment in that. so much of the mystery of life in this digital age has been lost, and taking polaroids has always been my way of regaining some of what it is that is slipping away.

 

why should anyone care about polaroids? well for me, so many of the simple moments of my life have been captured by it: the serious, the ridiculous (this is an example of the ridiculous, if you were wondering), and everything in between. for me, it has been the way that i have preserved my memories and it is the way that i keep them real.