Shake it like a Polaroid picture

Polaroid recently announced that it will no longer manufacture instant film by the end of 2009. When I heard this news, I became nostalgic and, I must admit, a little teary-eyed (ok, ok, so I cry at Hallmark commercials, too) Polaroid film not only documented much of my childhood, it also sparked my interest in photography. It provided instant gratification long before digital. I remember waiting in anticipation as a child, shaking the film like crazy, watching the image appear before me like magic. And later, in my high school and college photography classes, I had so much fun making Polaroid transfers.

While this news is not at all surprising (after all, when was the last time you took a Polaroid picture?, it is a bit sad. And while Polaroid goes the way of the mix tape, I'm fondly pouring through all my old family Polaroids.....Here's one of my brother and me from March 31, 1983...