Andy Warhol said, "An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have". I think the words he spoke are 50% true. A large reason why we shoot instant film isn't to feel like people "need" our work hanging in their home or to be displayed in a magazine or book. There is something intimate and special about all the instant film we have in our desks, drawers, and cabinets that only we see. What I can say for sure is that I absolutely need instant film. It connects me to the seconds of important and zen filled moments that always pass so violently quick, left to be intertwined with unimportant and stagnate memories of my 8-5 job and driving to work. Instant film takes me back to the emotion I felt the second I hit the shutter, capturing forever the way my subjects and I felt forever. 

This months Polaroid Round Up is our second entry into this series and the theme was "Portraits". For this month's column we picked one of our selected artists to win a Polaroid 660 AF Camera refurbished by The Impossible Project. The winner for this month is Steve Lovegrove! His image was the most unique submission we received and was created with a Sinar P2 Camera and Polaroid Type 59 Film which was then image transfered. It is a truly special image and deserves recognition! Congratulations Steve!

Next months theme will be "Alien".  Please send in your images for a chance to be featured! You may submit your shot here. The deadline is 10/07/16! Thank you!

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Michael Behlen is a photography enthusiast from Fresno, CA. He works in finance and spends his free time shooting instant film and seeing live music, usually a combination of the two. He runs PRYME Editions and you can check out his personal work here!