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Six polaroid 20x24
Six 20 x 24 cameras exist as of late 2007; aside from New York, one is leased to Boston-area portraitist Elsa Dorfman (a Q&A with Dorfman is coming soon to bwphotopro); another does long residencies at various art schools; one is a San Francisco studio, another is based in Prague and the sixth camera is a museum piece, at Harvard.
However, New York's camera is by far the busiest, especially as it closes in on its third decade as a rental facility.
"Advertising and editorial work comes to us mainly because the photographers want to use the camera, and then the art directors' get enthusiastic about it," Reuter notes.
David Levinthal, known for his images featuring dolls and figurines, has done many major commercial 20 x 24 projects. One was for IBM, in which various computer peripherals were suspended in an outer space scenario. The other project was an art book published by the H. Stern jewelry company (similar to a project by Albert Watson) and distributed by Rizzoli. Levinthal spent at least 10 days shooting each project.
Levinthal says he does almost 100% of his work with the 20 x 24 Polaroid and is drawn to it because of the "interactivity of the process. Being able to see my final artwork instantly is wonderful, especially working with small objects as I do, where a slight change can dramatically affect the image." (Indeed, especially considering the lenses are in the 600mm to 800mm range and that Levinthal works at extremely close distances to his tiny subjects.)
Reuter and studio manager Jennifer Trausch work closely with photographers, providing as much or as little help as they want.
The easy-going Reuter was (initially) interviewed in the middle of one of Wegman's weeks of work at Picture Ray, as Reuter's young daughter posed for a Wegman photo with a seriously professional Weimaraner; both dog and child were wearing wigs.
The New York 20 x 24 Polaroid studio rents for $1,500 a day, with half-day rates also available. Each exposure costs $75. The studio is located at 588 Broadway in the heart of SoHo.
Don’t put off using the facility, if doing so appeals to you, especially if you want to work in black-and-white; the future availability of film stock is far from certain. Polaroid went bankrupt in 2001 and the new owners are focused on consumer electronics and licensing the venerable name. Their commitment to film-based instant products of all kinds is unclear, at best. Reuter says he has enough color stock to last several years but only enough black-and-white to get through 2008.
And to work in black-and-white, remember, the formidable Mary Ellen Mark is already well ahead of you in line.
Polaroid 20 x 24 Studio, New York City: 212-925-1403. [
www.polaroid.com]