From the NYTimes:
"
At first, we were merely amazed. Hundreds of readers answered our request on Tuesday for their Polaroid photographs, in response to an article in The Times about efforts afoot in the Netherlands to reinvent instant film. By the time we closed the submission gates on Thursday morning, 932 of your pictures had arrived."
Our amazement, however, soon gave way to grateful and respectful astonishment. The quality of the work was even more impressive than the quantity. Lens readers in this hemisphere, in Europe and in Asia showed an imaginative command of the medium. Their work exploited the idiosyncracies of the Polaroid formats, especially the SX-70 films: the square format, the slightly soft-edged rendition, the occasional defects from the developing process, a color palette that paradoxically seemed warmer than normal but also bent a bit toward blues and greens.
In all, Josh Haner, a Times photographer and picture editor, found that he could not winnow the selection to any fewer than 406 exceptional Polaroids, all of which are presented here. The gallery itself makes the case. This much creative energy ought to be given the film it needs to thrive.
One happy footnote: Our post on Tuesday noted that Walker Evans counted himself among the fans of the SX-70. So we were delighted when a Polaroid arrived from Bruce Jackson. It was a portrait of Walker Evans.
See the article here.
