Polaroid Launches Accidental Blue Film To Inspire More, Wilder Experimentation
Did you know blue is relatively new to human sight? The hue remains imperceptible by some civilizations—but that’s another story for another day. Today, this sense of newness transpires in the form of novel Polaroids… invented from an accident.
Polaroid has released ‘Reclaimed Blue 600’, a blue instant film that wasn’t meant to be (or was it?). Incredibly, no blue dye was added to the film to give it its strong tones of denim and cyan—it was the product of a chemical reaction that occurred by happenstance. Now, the brand is rolling packs out as limited editions to encourage fans not to be afraid of creating happy little accidents too.
Brian Slaghuis, a Polaroid chemist, was fiddling with ingredients to improve the recipe of color film, and he added more of the chemicals present in the vintage, monochromatic type. However, when he introduced something called tertiary butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) to the mix, the chemical overpowered just about every hue, save for—you guessed it—blue.
Something old, something borrowed, and something blue—all intertwined to give us something new: Reclaimed Blue.
The accident has been spun into a “milestone” by the company, as it’s a tangible effect of Polaroid’s instinct to push the boundaries of instant photography.
“As Polaroid Reclaimed Blue film emerged from trial and error, Polaroid encourages photographers and creators to experiment with this blue chemistry, to embrace its accidental quality, and to see what unique images they can capture,” the brand shares in a press release.
Indeed, experimentation is key over at the Polaroid factory, and the brand is hoping this essence will be fully developed outside its doors. Slaghuis has worked with over 200 chemicals at the lab, but he only understands “20% to 30%” of them, he tells Fast Company. Much wizardry is required to create something magical.
Reclaimed Blue is so-called due to the film’s repurposing of discarded negative layers from other Polaroid products. So not only is it blue, but it’s also innately green.
The film is now available for US$16.99 per pack of eight. Get snapping, as the blue sky’s the limit.
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[via Fast Company and NYLON, images via Polaroid]
