The abstract Polaroid photography of GrantHamilton

August 29, 2007 6:58 AM

The abstract Polaroid photography of Grant Hamilton.
posted by nthdegx (15 comments total)

Nice find, nthdegx. He seems to have used the lofi quality of the Polaroid to his advantage - the film introduces color variation in uniformly color objects during the development process, and normally that's what people hate about polaroids, and he's used it to give flat monochromatic surfaces som texture. Very cool.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:25 AM on August 29, 2007

Mostly pretty cool, though ones like the Mobil sign just look like a toddler took them.
posted by DU at 7:37 AM on August 29, 2007

That was fun, thanks. Photography like this usually drives me crazy, but I really liked this and this.
posted by phaedon at 7:37 AM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

Interesting. I have seen some of these sorts of things in person, and digital reproduction really loses a lot; it isn't just the color, etc., it loses the presentation and feel of the exhibit. One of the sad things about the rise of surfing photographs is the death of cohesive, well presented exhibits that mean something as a whole, where any individual photograph may not really resonate on its own. On the upside, it has allowed so new presentation methods (some very interesting flash stuff out there) but these have not been exploited well and often yet.
posted by Bovine Love at 7:42 AM on August 29, 2007

Mmm me likey. I find it so hard to spot patterns and textures that would make a nice abstract shot, I'm so jealous when I see it come easy to someone.
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:42 AM on August 29, 2007

These are really awesome.
posted by mattbucher at 7:49 AM on August 29, 2007

Some of these resemble an unblurred Mark Rothko painting.
posted by silby at 7:53 AM on August 29, 2007

On the upside, it has allowed so new presentation methods (some very interesting flash stuff out there) but these have not been exploited well and often yet.
posted by Bovine Love at 10:42 AM on August 29

I agree. But people are discouraged from using the because (a) people complain about the interface, and (b) its seems as though flash degrades the image quality somewhat.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:57 AM on August 29, 2007

Definitely a unique sense of style and a simple presentation of everyday objects delivered from a fresh, unassuming point of view. Beauty is everywhere, if we only know how and where to look!
posted by stocknowledge at 9:47 AM on August 29, 2007

I've been following his Flickr stream for months, it's good stuff.

But I'd argue that the work wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the mass presentation and browsing possibilities afforded by Flash and the web in general. Were these little images mounted and hung in a gallery, I believe they'd fall flat.

But seeing them en masse and at different sizes (thumbnail, full size, larger than life) gives them an entirely different quality. It's a perfect blend of old school, one-off photography and the endless repetition of the network. I dig it!
posted by aladfar at 9:51 AM on August 29, 2007

But seeing them en masse and at different sizes (thumbnail, full size, larger than life) gives them an entirely different quality.

Often this kind of small scale work, particularly if it is texture/color focused, are placed en-masse and in particular patterns so that they relate to each other. Presentation of more modern-type art like this usually goes well beyond some framed prints on the wall. It was this sort of presentation that I was talking about.
posted by Bovine Love at 10:21 AM on August 29, 2007

I wonder what polaroid he's using...
posted by klangklangston at 10:27 AM on August 29, 2007

klangklangston: He's tagged the photos with "sx70" which I'll assume is the SX-70.
posted by cowbellemoo at 11:43 AM on August 29, 2007

aw man, it's like a transformer....I want one!
posted by cowbellemoo at 11:54 AM on August 29, 2007

I was expecting to hate that - nice surprise.

(I remember we had an SX-70 when I was a kid - and yes we shook it like a polaroid picture;)
posted by vronsky at 12:06 PM on August 29, 2007