Greetings Impossible friends, and welcome back to 8 Exposures, our very popular instant film Q&A series. This week, we’re happy to bring you UK photographer Amy Siân Green…
1) What kind of Polaroid camera(s) do you use?
My SX-70 gets used the most and is my most beloved. I also have two 600 Onestep cameras, one of which used to belong to my dad. They take turns on breaking, usually because I keep getting sand inside them by accident. And who could forget my poor little I-Zone that hasn’t been used since I was ten years old…
2) Why do you like instant photography?
I like that I’m using the same medium that my grandfather used to use. I like that I can hold a Polaroid taken in the late seventies next to a Polaroid taken forty years later and the difference is miniscule.
Funnily enough it’s the slowing down that I prefer when it comes to instant photography. There is a tendency to shoot digital at speed and in multitudes, but with film you have to take your time. And even once the photograph has shot out of the camera, you can sit and wait for the picture to develop in your hands. It’s the magic of the darkroom, without the chemical headache that you’d think an art student would have gotten used to by now…
It’s weird and wonderful and there’s nothing quite like it.
3) What is your earliest memory of instant film?
I remember being around six years old and my grandfather was letting me play with his Polaroid camera, so I raced next door to photograph my aunt and uncle. It’s the first photograph I ever remember taking and I still have the slightly tattered image to this day.
4) What’s your favorite Impossible film type?
I love the PX 600 Black Frame film so so much, but I’m a sucker for colour, so I’d have to say PX 680. My SX-70 has always preferred the higher ISO film and recently the new colour protect film has just blown me away so that’s always good!
5) What are your favorite subjects to photograph?
People. I think instant film is a great medium when it comes to portraiture. With the SX-70 you have to get quite up close and personal with the subject and it lends an intimacy that can sometimes be lost in some of the more distant mediums. I love trying to catch someone when they’ve dropped their guard—which is pretty hard with an SX-70 so it’s all the more rewarding when you do.
Also the sea. I have a love affair with the sea…
6) Tell us about a project you’re working on.
I’m ¾ way through a Polaroid 365 on Flickr at the moment and I’ve really enjoyed reminding myself of how much I love instant film, especially in Autumn. All those pumpkins and colourful leaves were made for polaroids.
7) Who are your favorite photographers, instant or otherwise?
Elliott Erwitt and Annie Leibowitz have always amazed me, & Cathleen Naundorf has such a great approach to fashion photography with Polaroid film. Lou Noble really made me see instant film in a whole new light, especially when it came to portraiture, & The Gentleman Amateur has this crazy gift when it comes to bringing out the best in expired film. I love seeing any updates by His & Hers, Rommel, Supercapacity, Anniebee, Coeurenbois, and the rest of Flickr’s great instant photographers.
8) If you could take a photo of anyone or anything what would it be?
My grandmother. She was very shy as I remember, and I’m sure she’d have the same reluctance as my mother when it comes to standing still infront of a camera, but a year or so ago I found these beautiful photographs of her from the 40s, and I’m insanely jealous that I never got the chance to see her like that; from behind the lens. I can imagine the polaroid in my head plenty; I just wish it existed.
About Amy
I’m a 22 year old photographer from Wales, in the UK. I love drawing and working in the darkroom, but I love my SX-70 just that little bit more.
To see more of Amy’s photos, visit her Flickr photostream. You can also follow her on Twitter at @amysgster.
