The snapshot exists in our consciousness as a separate entity from the rest of the canon of photography.
The moments they capture feel genuine because of this separateness. Snapshots cannot be viewed or judged in the same way as a photograph, because it is simply isn't one. The sincerity present in each snapshot exists not because they are candid or masterfully staged, but because they evoke a nostalgic personal reaction, often beckoning within the viewer a fragmented image from their own memory.
If a photograph tells a story, a snapshot seems to tell only a fragment of that story, often bringing to mind more questions than answers. Celebrating this tradition is Foloroids. The premise is simple, combine a polaroid with a fragment of fiction or even just a title, see what happens. The fragments of fiction, are not from complete stories so they, like the polaroids, only offer up more questions.
its the sort of their realism and "mundaness" that make snapshots effective. I think it's interesting that though snapshots capture the "now", they never make you (at least me) think of the "now". It usually makes me nostalgic for memory or time past and occasionally it reminds me of a non-existing future; usually a dream. They always leave me wishing to be anywhere else than wherever I am.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Do you think the technical qualities, specifically, of polaroids (blur, slow shutter, washed out color e.t.c) are what makes you nostalgic rather than the fragment of life or the story they capture.
Yes I do believe that the technical qualities are a major component in the creation of a sense of nostalgia in a polaroid but only in its interplay with the captured image. The casual spontaneity and personal feel that accompanies and often define the "snapshot" as we now are as important if not more than the technical details. Another important element in the nostalgic feel is the actual physical object of the polaroid. It can't be edited, tweaked, cropped, or altered and you are able to hold the actual photograph in your hand as the image appears. Something about these features make each image so raw and genuine that the mind can't help but approach them differently than other photographs.
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