The polaroid is a “throw-away” but what exactly does it offer us? Is it the same as all other kinds of photographs? What happens to the photographer if they can see the result of their intuition or reaction or sight of an event immediately after it happens? What effect does all this have on the subjects being photographed?

In continuation of our highlighting some of the best online magazines around, today we look at a more academically focused but still stylish and emotive publication which goes by the name Polarama. It’s a visual journey of photo essays and writings on the subject of “integral” photography – instant cameras such as the Polaroid as well as comparable Fuji products are explored by image and text and considered as valuable mediators between (technologically obsolete) analogue production methods and (ever evolving) digital technologies.

As well as collections from different photographers there is an essay with a Barthesian reading of integral photography – a scholarly and esoteric yet engaging piece of writing. Currently in the inaugural publication, download issue numero uno, here. The magazine is open for submissions, so feel free to get in touch at the Polarama website. The next issue will concern: Polaroids of TV/computer screens, Polaroids of/about film, Polaroid/s and the moving image. The theme is, as ever, open to wide interpretation. That the work should relate and engage with the medium in some way is the important point here. 

Tags: Fuji, Magazine, PDF, Photography, Polaroid

This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.