The Polaroid meets its demise

When I was a kid, I really wished we'd had a Polaroid camera. I thought it was so very cool that you could get the instant gratification of an image, when we had to wait an eternity to have film developed. I ultimately came around to my parents' way of thinking, and became the last person I knew to stop taking pictures on film.

I still find the imperfections of the Polaroid era to be pretty endearing. We used a Polaroid camera to create our wedding guest book, so while most of the photos are great some are blurry, and in others people are looking away from the camera. We could have gone the digital route, but (a) we loved the kitsch factor, and (b) we wanted to capture the moment, rather than the best of several outtakes. That's not really allowed any more - poor photos are deleted. So for that reason, I am sad to see the passing of the Polaroid, may it forever live on in yellowing and blurry memory.