afternoons in the monterey backyard

for the love of color

while i will always love and appreciate the art of black and white photography i gotta say it's COLOR that really gets me jazzed. in the following photos polly captures the vibrancy of color in the dullest of places. the first is the same forgotten ford i captured with the polaroid, the second a portrait of patrick and ethan and lastly, me, emerging from a left behind trailer. i will say it is strange for me to be on the other side of the camera but that's what partnership is all about.

p.k.o.

this blog has been, for the most part, a place for me to showcase my photographs both digital and polaroid. well i finally got my hands on some of polly's prints from our adventure days during her visit. she also sent me some other photos shes taken in the great cities of new york and st.louis. i have a feeling someday soon polly and i will collaborate our creative energies in a big beautiful project. i don't know exactly how that will manifest itself quite yet but i am confident that whatever it is will be awesome.

anyway, check out these beautiful black and white's from my favorite photographer and dear dear friend. i will be posting some of her color shots as well.

the work of ms. paulette kissinger omura:

male model

all is not lost

by the end of 2008 polaroid will be no more. i am in the process of gathering as much film as i can but that won't solve the inevitable question: is this really the end of instant film?? many polaroid enthusiasts all over the world, myself included, are finding this to be a hard reality to grapple with. the response: incite a movement to get the formula for instant film licensed to another party so that the art of instant is not lost. at first i felt like this was slightly futile. change is inevitable and the death of polaroid should be no different. but after reading an article in the new york times magazine,(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16wwlnConsumed-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=polaroid&st=nyt&oref=slogin)
i realized how detrimental this change is. instant film is its own medium - it's not digital, it's not 35mm. it is unlike any other form of photography. instant film captures a moment without haste and leaves no negative, no remnants of its existence. in my travels across the united states i have found polaroids to be a sharply direct and honest way to capture space and land. the transitory nature of polaroid photography allows the immediacy of the moment and memory to be solidified. and unlike a memory card full of digital photos you can delete and duplicate at will, instant film is something to be savored and appreciated. on a roll of polaroid 600 film you are limited to 10 shots; each photo you take is a one time opportunity for greatness. you do not have the luxury of shooting something ten times to pick out the best shot later. there is a certain deliberateness to polariods that makes the whole experience that much more valuable.
with that in mind i have decided that all is not lost in the future of instant film. the new york times article led me to this wonderful site: http://savepolaroid.com/ where a number of other polaroid lovers have put together an effort to urge the higher ups to live and let live. go to the site, download an action pack and start making a ruckus.

on another note:
climbing haystacks may result in tiny cuts on the palms of your hands.

more at the frontier drive-in