R.I.P. Polaroid

Some sad news to report:

BOSTON (AP) -- Polaroid is dropping the technology it pioneered long before digital photography rendered instant film obsolete to all but a few nostalgia buffs.

Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures, such as a portable printer for images from cell phones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, televisions and DVD players.

This year's closures will leave Polaroid with 150 employees at its Concord headquarters and a site in the nearby Boston suburb of Waltham, down from peak global employment of nearly 21,000 in 1978.

The company stopped making instant cameras over the past two years.

"We're trying to reinvent Polaroid so it lives on for the next 30 to 40 years," Tom Beaudoin, Polaroid's president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said in a phone interview Friday, after the company's plans were reported in The Boston Globe.

Polaroid failed to embrace the digital technology that has transformed photography, instead sticking to its belief that many photographers who didn't want to wait to get pictures developed would hold onto their old Polaroid cameras.

Global sales of traditional camera film have been dropping about 25 percent to 30 percent per year, "and I've got to believe instant film has been falling as fast if not faster," said Ed Lee, a digital photography analyst at the research firm InfoTrends Inc.

"At some point in time, it had to reach the point where it was going to be uneconomical to keep producing instant film," Lee said.

Privately held Polaroid doesn't disclose financial details about its instant film business.

Polaroid instant film will be available in stores through next year, the company said - after which, Lee said, Japan's Fujifilm will be the only major maker of instant film.

Meanwhile, Polaroid is seeking a partner to acquire licensing rights for its instant film, in hopes that another firm will continue making the film to supply Polaroid enthusiasts.

lovelovelove,
Cyn

The Brown Sisters

I was at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) on Tuesday and I came across a photo project entitled The Brown Sisters by photographer Nicholas Nixon.





"Each year since 1975, Boston-based photographer Nicholas Nixon (b. 1947) has made one black-and-white photograph of his wife, Beverly (Bebe) Brown, and her three sisters. Using a large eight-by-ten-inch view camera positioned at eye level, he always photographs the women in the same order from left to right: Heather, Mimi, Bebe, and Laurie. Although he makes multiple exposures, Nixon selects only one photograph to represent the women each year.

Working within these limited parameters, Nixon has created a compelling investigation of both portraiture and the passage of time. Taken as a whole, the 31 photographs made between 1975 and 2005 reveal not only incidental changes in background, lighting, and dress, but also the gradual, incremental aging of the women. Nixon's disciplined approach to photographing the Brown sisters also records the evolving demeanor of the women and suggests their changing relationships with one another. While the photographs have roots in the tradition of the family snapshot, Nixon's artistic rigor and the Brown sisters' commitment to the project transcend this heritage to create a moving testament to the dynamism and complexity of human relationships."

Pretty amazing, don't you think???

I'm almost compelled to start a project like this on my own. Who's in???


lovelovelove,
Cyn

Kirsten Dunst for Miu Miu SP/S 2008

I know a lot of people have a distaste for Kirsten Dunst but I like her. I don't particularly like this Miu Miu collection (it's too costume-y for my taste) but I think Kirsten looks great in this campaign. It is very Alice in Wonderland but darker and more stylized. I love the dark, rich colors and high contrast against Kirsten's snow white skin. The campaign was shot by fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

Your thoughts???






lovelovelove,
Cyn

M.I.A. for Marc by Marc Jacobs

Following in the footsteps of Dakota Fanning, Michael Stipe, Sofia Coppola, and Meg White as models for Marc Jacobs (and his diffusion lines) is M.I.A. for the Marc by Marc Jacobs SP/S 2008 collection. The campaign was shot by Juergen Teller (as usual.)

Ads are popping up in the February issues of magazines on newsstands now. I saw photos from this campaign in the newest issue of Lucky Magazine.

Marc Jacobs always seems to choose the most obscure or "of-the-moment" celebrity to model for his campaigns. I personally like M.I.A. and MbMJ separately and I must say that this is a very interesting match. I normally picture M.I.A. wearing a large over-sized t-shirt and some technicolor leggings but I surprisingly like her in menswear esp. in the blue oxford and brown tie. The particular ad you find below is pretty understated and muted. The other ad that I have seen has a more colorful and "pop" sensibility with M.I.A. modeling sunglasses and a bright yellow clutch. I'll try to post photos of that later.

Your thoughts???


lovelovelove,
Cyn

Dreams of Flying

"Dreams, dreams of when we had just started things
Dreams of me and you
And it seems, it seems
That I can't shake those memories
I wonder if you have the same dreams too..."

Jan Von Holleben must've had grandeur, extensive dreams as a kid, full of power and might, complex yet light. If not, I can only imagine that his photographic creations are not only beautiful and fun for kids, but have some connection to his own childhood. Perhaps his ongoing project Dreams of Flying from his hometown in South West Germany is what he wakes up from each morning, since I imagine one wishes things to be more simple once they become more complex. Just as in life when you mature into an adult, it is almost always that you hope to once again breathe the imagination you created for yourself when all you had where a couple of sofa cushions, comforters and time on your side.

Check out these select photos,
and I'm sure you'll want to join in on the fun!









If you're my best friend, you'll find me his book, Dreams of Flying, which is currently sold out! If you're my best friend but are simply broke and at a lost, let's meet up and create masterpieces inspired by Von Holleben and allow our dreams to come to life as well (duh).

Better yet, let's make a video of our love:


xoxo,
philip