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A Polaroid update
Yes, someone still makes Polaroid instant cameras, and the film that goes in them.
A couple of years ago, I bought a new Polaroid OneStep+ camera, and wrote about it. I haven’t used it as much as I had hoped — I have gotten spoiled by the excellent cameras in my last three Google Pixel phones, and the Polaroid pictures, to me, look a little muddy. But it’s still fun to take an instant photo, and I ordered a new pack of film yesterday, for the first time in probably a year. I think when it arrives, I’ll use it on a sunny day to take some photos of the square and courthouse.
If you didn’t know that Polaroid cameras were still being produced, you’re not alone. But I think it’s an interesting story. (Much of what follows is repurposed and updated from my two-year-old post.)
The original Polaroid, founded by visionary Edwin Land, created the field of instant photography. In 1943, Land — who was already an inventor and entrepreneur — was on vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his 3-year-old daughter. He took photos of the beautiful scenery and she, with her innocent wonder and curiosity, wanted to know why she couldn’t see them right away.
Land, a chemist who had created the Polaroid company to sell a filter for polarizing light, was prompted to develop an instant photography system…
