The pictures, they're alive.

I have been following the goings on with the US primary races and of course read the news in between the stories of who is doing what to whom. One notable piece to catch my eye whilst on CNN today was a story about how Polaroid will cease making its instant film for the cameras it stopped making several years ago. Sounds like their factories will wind up production with whatever supplies they have left and then that's it folks. I just took a look at the Polaroid's website and they still have their instant cameras and film listed.

Edwin Herbert Land, inventor and scientist came up with polarized film for filtering light. Although he studied chemistry at Harvard, he didn't earn a degree. His polarized film invention was good enough for him to team up with his Harvard instructor in 1932 and form a company to promote it and any other related inventions. After WWII Land was on vacation with his family when his wife pointed out it was a shame their vacation pictures had to be developed and not viewed instantly.

In 1947 Land unveiled his instant camera called the Land Camera. It first went on sale 2 years later. The camera went on to enjoy a long successful history and Land never stopped working with film and optics. Not all of his creations were successes however. In the late '70s he created Polavision, an instant movie camera.

The idea was cool but the format (about Super 8 size) was small and the the cartridge had to contain film reels and the additives to develope the whole shebang on the spot. The developed film could then be viewed on a special viewer. The camera required filming in only daylight or very well lit situations. The death of this product was the introduction to market of the first video cameras that were just as instant and could be viewed on TV screens. Hey ya can't win em all. Thanks for 60 years of real "instant" photography.