HomePhoto Essay (Poladroid Edition): Kiddieland
26. Jul, 2009 
2 Comments
Click play on the right hand sidebar YouTube player for today’s musical accompaniement, You Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone) by the 80′s rock band Cinderella.
Polaroid enthusiasts old and new protested the company’s recent decision to stop making film for the iconic instant camera. But what choice did it have? I felt a bit sad when I heard the news as well, but I hadn’t used one in years, and I’d never owned one. It’s telling that on the company’s website, January 2008 is the most recent entry from the Polaroid in the News.
If you feel like shaking the company until they see things more clearly, get a hold of yourself because you have alternatives. Smaller companies are apparently cutting deals in an alchemic effort to transmute angst into dinero, and for those who’ve grown to love their digital cameras, there’s the Poladroid software, which transforms regular digital jpegs into Polaroid-like images.
Continued . . .
While I’d heard of Poladroid, I wasn’t inspired to experiment with it until I started snapping photos at Kiddieland, which is closing shop later this year after 81 years in business. Curiously enough, Kiddieland opened its doors in 1929, which may seem like a bad time to start a business, but which seemed to work out OK for them despite the ensuing depression. I suppose people needed a diversion.
Just as the public lamented Polaroid’s loss, nostalgia has prompted Kiddieland fans to make a final visit, and the park’s busier than ever. I read somewhere that people respond to Polaroids because they look like memories. Yea, that’s a perfect description. Like the ethereal square pics, memories are faded and fuzzy, incomplete snippets.
Visit Poladroid’s website to download the software (it even makes the camera’s trademark sound). And visit their Flickr group to see more examples of Poladroids.
Also visit photo and ephemera dealer and the Found co-founder Albert Tanquero’s Flickr page Albert’s EYE to view actual vintage photography, which Albert sells in his Ebay store.
Finally, please do pay Kiddieland a visit. It’s like stepping back in time (albeit in Melrose Park).
What fun pictures. It’s amazing how the polaroid effect gives them that great vintage look.
Tate- these are amazing!!!! I had such a good time even though we did get sick. No more kiddie rides for me. It was a blast. Thanks for suggesting it.