Lot 52

The first Polaroid Camera I used was my father’s SX70. I loved that Camera, the way it looked closed, the way it looked open, the sound the film cartridge made when inserted, the sound the film made when released from the camera, how it felt to hold, the immediacy of it, the joy of making a picture instantly — I loved everything about it. To me, all of this felt like the future.

Eventually I fell in love with SLR’s, and then with my Rolleiflex and spent a few decades using them almost exclusively. My father’s SX70 sat unused in a cabinet. Upon his death in 1998, I found his Polaroid again and have used it on and off ever since. Over that past 25 years my interest in photographs and photography has grown, as has the variety of Cameras I use.

Since 2001, the production of photographic editions has increased in my studio. The pace of development of digital cameras has been extraordinary, as has the volume of images one is able to produce. The tools have become more precise – almost flawless in their execution – while my Polaroids offer something altogether different. Something unique, imperfect and warmer.

There is a hint of nostalgia about Polaroid Cameras and Prints. At one time an advanced technology, a glimpse of the future — they are now simultaneously from the past while they have found their way back into contemporary photography.

As for what I shoot, my images are for the most part an extension of my other projects. There is not a definitive series per se, except in terms of size and format. I take pictures of what I’m interested in and I use whatever I can get my hands on.

As Gary Winogrand once said, “I photograph to see what the world looks like in photographs.”