In response to the I-1
June 8, 2016
The last five years has heralded some truly innovative technology that has really pushed the boundaries of what consumers can come to expect from the visual market. 2016 is the year of 4k video being produced on a phone, mirrorless, full frame cameras that can compete with DSLRs and ridiculous quality 100-megapixel, medium format behemoths being the trend. Gone are the days when photography, or rather the photographer, is reliant on having the best kit. Brilliant digital cameras capable of producing professional results are available from amateur level price-tags on the high street. These ‘entry level’ DSLRs do not vary much between brands in terms of their rather impressive picture quality, especially when in their respective automatic modes to the point where to be entrusted with an old manual camera today would be simply too slow and inaccurate in unfamiliar hands. When digital cameras made their first appearance, the quality of the image, although revolutionary and exciting, was completely redundant in terms of what a film camera could produce. Since it’s conception, digital technology has had to prove itself within the existing market of camera users in order to stake its claim of superiority. In order to do so, modern cameras had to be able to surpass celluloid relatively and in their own field- this is why the top end DSLRs today are called ‘full-frame’. The term ‘full-frame’ relates to the physical size of the sensor plane able to record an image- that is: 36mm x 24mm, or, in other terms: the exact size of a 35mm film frame. The sensitivity of the instruments and of the algorithms used within DSLRs today can indeed rival and at times surpass 35mm film in terms of scientifically representing an environment. Teamed with highly intelligent auto modes and a seemingly endless amount of space to record multiple images – photography has never been easier or more consistently able to produce impressive results. The question, then, if digital photography is in its prime, is this: why is experimental, analogue, chemical-based photography becoming increasingly popular? 2016 will see both Kodak and Impossible bring out new cameras to herald the “analogue renaissance”, the first of which being released only last month: Impossible’s I-1. This camera will feel familiar and nostalgic, as would anything using such an iconic and recognizable format known as a Polaroid. At its core, the I-1 is a Polaroid camera and can be used as such. Essentially, this is a point and shoot camera that produces chemically volatile images that are at the very edge of the spectrum of visual reliability. The creation of this camera in 2016 is interesting enough but what comes in the box is only half of the creature. Whilst the I-1 appears to belong in the 20th century, the second half of the I-1 exists in app form (iOS) and very much belongs to the smartphone generation. The app connects the camera to an iPhone and completely transforms the ‘Polaroid’ into the real I-1. The original automatic point and shoot is left behind as you are handed the controls to the first ever fully manual digital instant camera. The app allows the use of manual shutterspeed, aperture and double exposure, to but name a few.
The I-1’s manual mode opens up a whole range of creative options akin to what one would expect from a more traditional camera body- Impossible have given the user and the machine the ability to attempt consistency but also the film stock to completely destroy that illusion. By no means should the I-1’s audience be able to know exactly what is going to spit out of the camera’s belly. Impossible, like Polaroid before them do not create precision tools- they make a photographic toy box. What is produced from the I-1 and its 8-frame film cartridge should be unexpected and exciting. Still, the question of why technically inferior methods of making an image are causing such a stir has to be raised. The history of photography is a brief one that began in a kind of alchemy- it was a very unstable process that resulted in a skewed vision of our world on glass and paper. What made the images magical were that they did not represent the world at all but instead showed very human mistakes towards making a perfect rendering of the external scene. These same ‘mistakes’ are present within the painter’s brush strokes or the poet’s vocabulary; it is what characterizes authorship and also what is lacking from the algorithms used throughout most digital cameras produced today. The I-1 is by no means perfect- it simply shouldn’t be. The I-1 is a novel, experimental and refreshing break from the automatic nature of 21st century media.
Originally written for Open Eye Gallery. 02.06.16.
Images courtesy of Impossible’s website and Impossible’s Instagram.