Tag Archive for: Polaroid

Polaroid One-Step set for a comeback in 2010

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This may be proof that miracles really can happen. The Summit Global Group, which bought the licensing to the Polaroid brand two years ago, announced last week that it will revive manufacture of the very popular Polaroid One-Step camera. They plan to resurrect the film version of the camera, and, for those who prefer a bit of the new-fangled with their nostalgia, also to produce a digital version.

But what’s a Polaroid camera without a bit of film to shake? The folks at The Impossible Project have been brought on to produce a limited edition of Polaroid branded instant films.

Both the camera and film have a projected release date of mid-2010, much to the delight of Polaroid shooters everywhere.

Pending sale of Polaroid Collection images

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If you haven’t yet heard, 1,300 images from the famous Polaroid Collection, with a pre-sale value estimated at between 7 and 11 million, are slated for auction by Sotheby’s this spring. Although this story has been developing for a while now, many photographers who have work in the 16,000-piece collection remain unaware of the upcoming sale and the events that led up to it. Take a look here and here to read a couple good summaries of what’s going on and how the sale came about.

Although a Minnesota judge has approved the sale, artists who have work in the collection may have some recourse, as explained on A.D. Coleman’s blog, Photocritic International. Coleman posts helpful information for photographers who may wish to establish standing in the case.

It’s safe to assume that the artists who gave or loaned work to the collection never thought the images would be put on the auction block to potentially compete with other work in the market. Beyond those who are personally impacted by the piecemeal sale of collection, the auction poses many important questions about the ownership and intellectual property rights of artists and the responsibilities, both legal and moral, of institutions to maintain collections and notify artists when the status of the collections changes.