Retinal: A Polaroid Project
By Stephanie Marie Hatch
23 Aug 2007
Retinal is a series of photographs I created by using a Polaroid instant camera bought at Goodwill for only three dollars. The flash goes off on every shot unless I cover it with my hand, the focus is fixed. I often use film from EBay, which can deliver defective or expired film that results in strange light apparitions and patterns. Many artists call this element of chance "happy accidents," and indeed, some of my favorite photos reveal a collaboration between me, the photographer, and the camera's film, which seems to be an entity working of its own accord.
Experimentation is always important in one's work, and finding beauty in the mundane is one of the many jobs of a photographer. When starting Retinal, I wanted to get away from the square format of photographs. The angular corners of a square often let in extra information. A person's field of vision is elliptical, and when composing a photograph, it's usually an element that strikes me. In order to focus on that initial element of interest, I created a circular filter for my Polaroid camera using blue painter's tape and a hand-held hole-punch.
The elliptical format references the human retina. The things that strike your fancy through any day may be very plain: an unlabeled sign, a lost apple, the contrast of two colors. Seeing these sights is not about holding up a square viewfinder to "frame the shot"; it is about seeing an element that strikes your mind and makes you think, recall, wonder, compare, and desire to capture that element for future reference. Even people who are incapable of seeing "outside the box" are said to suffer of a condition that suggests an elliptical plane of sight: tunnel vision.
I consider myself blessed with sight – my appreciation of vision has always been one of the driving forces behind my desire to create art. The act of seeing, even the ordinary, offers us the chance to revel in the beauty we find in small places and spaces, yielding an exhilaration that keeps us all believing in the magic and gratification of trying to save the world in a photo.
1 response
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sasha ormond said (23 Dec 2008):
love this story! you've inspired me to try something like it, if that's alright with you of course!
