Brendon Parker
Instagram: brens.polas
Orchid for Reine (2021)
Polaroid Color i-Type film “Spectrum Edition” with graphic designed backdrop
4.23”w x 3.48”h
NFS
Garden Flowers (2020-2021)
Polaroid Color 600 film with graphic designed backdrop
4.23”w x 3.48”h (each photo)
NFS
Take Control (2020)
Expired Polaroid “Summer Fruits Edition” film with graphic designed backdrop
4.23”w x 3.48”h (each photo)
NFS
I just turned 20 and I’m a graphic design major at Delta from Tracy, California. Although I am a child of the digital age, I create art by capturing the small beauties in quarantine life on Polaroid instant analog film shot in vintage Polaroid cameras. The following entries are a collection of my favorite shots, digitally scanned and overlaid on complementary backdrops I designed in Adobe Illustrator
I’ve worked with graphic design for several years, but my foray into photography began in July 2020 following my dear grandmother Reine’s passing from pancreatic cancer. In the difficult process of sorting through her belongings, my mother discovered the very Polaroid SX-70 camera my grandmother captured memories with in the early 1980s, stashed away in a filing cabinet. I feel somehow connected to her as I use her camera. It may be wishful thinking, but I like to imagine she can see through the lens as I capture a photo.
Photography helped carry me through this terrible year, now that my usual hobbies and joys have been torn away by the pandemic. Through it I have found the joy of creating art, not for others’ approval, or even to be “good” at it, but for my own fulfillment. Confined to the home and neighborhood walks, with no breathtaking destinations to travel to, I’ve instead found beauty close by. Be it flowers from around the neighborhood or my own cats, there’s always some new and beautiful perspective to capture.
I enjoy pushing the technical boundaries of this dated and imperfect medium. Unlike digital photos which can be altered or enhanced with an infinite number of programs, all effects must be created with manual and physical techniques. I greatly enjoy experimenting with various filters and lens attachments, color gels, double exposure, and even manipulating the emulsion paste as the photo develops.
Though instant film is quite an obscure format, it’s amazingly versatile and enjoyable to work with. I can’t wait to continue experimenting with techniques, and plan to take some courses in photography to strengthen my skillset.