{"id":272915,"date":"2025-11-09T22:13:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T22:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/272915\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T22:13:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T22:13:16","slug":"thats-why-i-choose-to-shoot-on-polaroid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/272915\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018That\u2019s why I choose to shoot on Polaroid\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Capture the Moment by Chris Aitken.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many semi-professionals, my photography journey began at Urban Outfitters.\u201d<\/p>\n

So begins the story of Michael Hunt, who says he has learned to \u201cembrace the imperfections\u201d of his chosen nature photography medium: Polaroid.<\/p>\n

In a two-minute video, Hunt is shown lovingly waggling the tiny \u2013 and underwhelming \u2013 landscape photos his vintage Polaroid instant film camera<\/a> spits out. <\/p>\n

Hunt doesn\u2019t exist. <\/p>\n

But Yellowknife resident Chris Aitken, who created and played him, says he\u2019s seen photographers like Michael Hunt making painfully self-absorbed videos about their work. That was his inspiration for the comedy short.<\/p>\n

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Initially, Aitken was simply testing a new lens. Then, a concept took hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started from the idea of a person who takes overly serious pictures but it\u2019s on, like, the worst platform and the result is terrible,\u201d he said, to the dismay of actual Polaroid fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not made after one specific person, but the pretentious photographer is a short doc I\u2019ve seen a couple times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having finished the video as a labour of love, Aitken had no website or social media presence for it. Instead, he saw an ad for the Vancouver Short Film Festival<\/a> and entered it. <\/p>\n

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His short, titled Capture the Moment, screened there in June. It was shown at the New York Short Comedy Film Festival<\/a> earlier this month, Aitken said, and will appear at the LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival<\/a> on November 15.<\/p>\n

He released it on YouTube<\/a> a week ago. (He also now has an Instagram<\/a> \u2013 an app whose icon was once a Polaroid camera<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Is Capture the Moment the first in a series? That\u2019s not clear yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had many people ask me about when a follow-up will be,\u201d said Aitken.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have the hat, which is the primary focal point for the costume. So I definitely wouldn\u2019t rule it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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