(492) Week 01 - The Photograph

A film by Charles and Ray Eames for Polaroid

My chosen resource for the material photograph is a video made by Charles and Ray Eames for the SX-70 Polaroid camera. It essentially is meant to inform the prospect user how this amazing new product can work for them and change how they view photography, bringing the viewer and the subject closer than ever. The Polaroid was in fact a true revolutionary invention; the thought that you could take a photograph and it would instantly develop is something that still amazes today, and perhaps even more magical than digital cameras. Despite having gone out of production in 2005 and Polaroid ending its film production in 2008, it remains an iconic symbol of many people's lives. Most of the few photographs I have of my late grandmother are Polaroid’s. The switch from analog to digital was done very swiftly due to how accessible it was, how easily it could be transported, how it took up very little space and how it reduced waste both in terms of film production and photo developing. In my opinion, the Polaroid offered the same kind of wonder and power to the user that the digital camera does, the aesthetic is entirely different but the aims and process were quite similar, they both simplified photography for the general population removing the complicated task of photo adjustment and costly developing materials. When I was first introduced to my father's 1970's Olympus analog camera, he spent over three hours explaining how I needed to set all of the variables to take a picture; it was the only camera in the house. All I wanted to do was take a few photos of my friend before she moved to Vancouver! When I got my first digital camera, it was as simple as a Polaroid. Point, click and view!