Voices

Online Magazine of the Missouri Historical Society

Spring 2009

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• President's Note
• Down But Not Out
• Clem Wilding, Bird Carver and Painter
• Beer, Skittles, Cooties, and Guns

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• Community Stories
• Digital MHM
• Talking to Us
• Slideshow

 

Enter Slideshow »

Just as I was beginning this project, I learned that the Polaroid Corporation is planning to discontinue many of its instant films. One of these, the Type 55, is an interesting peel-apart 4"x 5" black and white instant film that yields a positive instant print along with a negative image. Type 55 is known for its beautiful black and white tonal qualities, but even more so for the particular “rough” look of the film edges. To me these characteristics make it possible for the film to be edgier and more interesting than traditional film or digital media.

These St. Louis landmarks have had their images reproduced many times, so my aim was to capture these wonderful places in a unique manner. To this end, I adjoined multiple shots of the same site together in a way that could allude to time and memory––how we may experience these places throughout our lives and vicariously through the stories from the past.

St. Louis Landmarks Photographs and text by Cary Horton