Years ago I created a collage
of favorite photographs.
I glued them in a haphazard way on top of a big old ugly $15 dime store print that once hung over our couch.
Even now I think it was a great idea and I remember pasting away and thinking, “How artistic if I do say so myself!”
I loved it so much that I eventually had the collage framed and was assured the priceless photographs were safely under protective glass.
“This collage of family and friends will live on through generations,” I thought.
And yes, that inventive impressive self indulgent collage is over the desk in Bill’s “office.”
And every now and then I look once again at a dimming past.
Literally!
Some of the photos are not only dimming,
they are disappearing!
Many of those faded fotos in my collage were taken with an early Polaroid camera in the 1960’s or maybe even earlier. The miracle was that the camera itself would process a picture and spit it out for at you. Then you waved it in the air and blew on it to “set” things – or at least I did.
I suppose being under glass and exposed to sunlight would “unset” or affect images. Or maybe I shouldn’t have shaken the photo to hurry things along.
Is there a Polaroid camera now with a re-set button?
I want to hit RE-SET!
The fading fotos from yesteryear are following my life cycle and we will all fade away together.
Are you watching your life fade away too?
If you are wondering if they even make Polaroid cameras anymore, the answer is Yes! Instant film is coming back into popularity!
From Polaroid’s Comeback, by Mark Rogers, Photographer: “Polaroid cameras have recently been coming out of storage. …With instant film so popular, there are now once again hundreds of these small, square-shaped photographs around — and your favorites should be preserved and displayed the right way. Just like standard photographs and prints, instant film can suffer the same damage as standard film. However, a little more care should be taken when handling the still-developing film — according to Polaroid, the more closely the photographer followed the instructions, the longer the photo will last. Tip: Shaking the photo does not help a Polaroid develop faster. In fact, it could actually damage the developing photograph!…Standard photography preservation practices apply: keep the photos away from light, heat and moisture; most organizations maintain that Polaroids will fade in as just as much time as conventional photographs…”
Virginia Views 