Type 55

Does anyone remember Polaroid Type 55? It was a black and white 4x5 film camera Polaroid that contained a negative. -Pretty fun stuff- It was one of my favorite while in school to use. It has sense been eradicated from production and has been increasingly difficult to find.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how much digital photography has removed the "hand" in photography. The control, manipulation and creativity that using a view camera forces you to incorporate has all but disappeared. When I think back to the last time I used mine, I become cognizant of how much slower and deliberate my work was. How emphatic the process was in comparison to now.

I would liken it unto Luthier, who painstakingly carves and assembles an instrument from wood that had been hand chosen and finished to a company who can design an instrument on a computer based on math and formula. The latter would never truly grasp the purpose of each curve and line as the Luther would.

Anymore, in the end all that matters is the end result. I believe that it is because of the accessibility of digital cameras that photography as an artistic medium is less admissible.

The Image above is one I took with said Type 55. I would take the film and remove the backing and chemicals and close the paper enclosing back onto the image. After it would dry I would peel it apart again, and the papers would stick and give it the texture you see. (Old expired Type 55 now can cost up to $100 for 20 sheets!)