The April My Project for Popular Photography, a feature on Christopher Thomas' long-exposure Polaroid Type 55 series "New York Sleeps," is up now online at PopPhoto.com.
In the neverending (till it ends) film v. digital debate, Thomas had a few great points in the interview; first, that wandering around the city with a large-format camera commands a certain respect or type of authority that you get less often taking pictures with the latest Canon DSLR. (This didn't, however, stop drivers from parking in the way of his camera.) And that having immediate Polaroid prints on hand gave him the ability to nicely bribe passersby (kids in particular) from staying out of his image -- maybe there's a lesson here about carrying pocket printers around.
But my favorite (full) quote from our interview speaks more to the haunting, timeless-feeling quality of Thomas' work, and the reason why we never want film to fully go away, even as the industry has largely replaced it by digital:
"I just love the detail of large format
and the character of this particular film. With film, especially with Polaroid, you always
have these not-so-perfect parts in the picture, not totally in focus
everywhere – I always find mistakes coming up in the emulsion. It makes it a material process.
It's existing, rather than something made up of electronic information."
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