My Polaroid Selfies, 1981 Book I
ISSN Volume 2, Number 8: Melinda Camber Porter Archive of Creative Works
by Melinda Camber Porter
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Pub Date Nov 15 2017 | Archive Date Dec 31 2017
Description
MY POLAROID SELFIES: 1981 Book 1
by Melinda Camber Porter
My Polaroid Selfies: 1981 Book 1 by Melinda
Camber Porter
Volume 2, Number 8 (Blake Press)
Hardcover:
(ISBN: 978-1-942231-58-5), 8½x11, $49.99 (2017).(192
pages, 210 photo illustrations, index, and bibliography)
Ebook: (ISBN: 978-1-942231-59-2), $3.99
(2017).
See Melinda Camber Porter on YouTube…
Melinda Camber Porter was fascinated by the Polaroid Camera. The fact one was able to get instant feedback and not wait days or weeks to get one’s traditional photography developed. She could now take pictures of herself and see if it showed what she was thinking, instantly. Today, of course, we call this a ‘Selfie’. These 48 Polaroid photos were taken by her with her Polaroid camera purchased in 1981.
It took Edwin Land over 50 years to develop and commercialize the Polaroid Camera, we are informed in the Foreward by Michael Edelson, Professor Emeritus of film and photography at Stony Brook University. Edelson states, “Melinda Camber Porter, as usual, was inspired by William Blake who spoke so often about the face and its binding to the soul. In fact, the only way to achieve a personal wholeness, he felt, was through unifying the body and spirit. Gazing at these images requires the viewer to undertake a languid journey of intimate exploration. These Polaroid photographs function just as diary entries for her. One writes the most inner secrets onto the pages. Some, beside hiding the book, also maintain a closed lock with a key that only one person possesses. Here the pages are open and free; no lock nor hiding place. Only patience and an open eye is needed to reach the true faculty of knowing, the faculty of many experiences as William Blake pointed out.”
The Polaroid Corporation once a billion dollars company, died a slow death with the digital age, but has again returned 40 years later to fascinate all: “Melinda Camber Porter had an ability to transcend the element of time in all of her creative works; representing imagery and writing about personal experiences that could ultimately be an overall expression of the human experience. She understood this Polaroid phenomenon of documenting the self before it was coined the “selfie” by the Millennial generation,” states, Storm Asher in her 2017 Foreward, as an Artist and a Millennial Polaroid Photographer.
Melinda Camber Porter passed away of ovarian cancer in 2008 and left a significant body of work in art, journalism, and literature. The Melinda Camber Porter Archive wishes to share these conversations with the public to ensure the continuation and expansion of the ideas expressed in her creative works.
Advance Praise
Professor Michael Edelson states, “Melinda Camber Porter, as usual, was inspired by William Blake who spoke so often about the face and its binding to the soul. In fact, the only way to achieve a personal wholeness, he felt, was through unifying the body and spirit. Gazing at these images requires the viewer to undertake a languid journey of intimate exploration. These Polaroid photographs function just as diary entries for her. One writes the most inner secrets onto the pages. Some, beside hiding the book, also maintain a closed lock with a key that only one person possesses. Here the pages are open and free; no lock nor hiding place. Only patience and an open eye is needed to reach the true faculty of knowing, the faculty of many experiences as William Blake pointed out.”
It took Edwin Land over 50 years to develop and commercialize the Polaroid Camera, we are informed in the Foreward by Michael Edelson, Professor Emeritus of film and photography at Stony Brook University.
Storm Ascher writes, “Melinda Camber Porter had an ability to transcend the element of time in all of her creative works; representing imagery and writing about personal experiences that could ultimately be an overall expression of the human experience. She understood this Polaroid phenomenon of documenting the self before it was coined the “selfie” by the Millennial generation.” Storm Asher is an Artist and a Millennial Polaroid Photographer.
The Polaroid Corporation once a billion dollars company, died a slow death with the digital age, but has again returned 40 years later to fascinate all.
My Polaroid Selfies: 1981 Book 1 by Melinda Camber Porter
Volume 2, Number 8 (Blake Press)
Forwards by: Michael Edelson, Professor Emeritus Stony Brook
University of film and photography, and Storm Ascher, Artist and Photographer.
Hardcover: (ISBN: 978-1-942231-58-5), 8½x11, $49.99 (2017).
(192 pages, 210 photo illustrations, index, and bibliography)
Ebook: (ISBN: 978-1-942231-59-2), $3.99 (2017).
Melinda Camber Porter Archive of Creative Works
ISSN: 2379-2450 (Print), 2379-3198 (E-Book), 2379-321X (Audio)
Melinda Camber Porter's YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIflCaF2qpHh8uQgffSXLDQ
www.MelindaCamberPorter.com
Marketing Plan
Michael Edelson, Professor Emeritus of film and photography at Stony Brook University, will hold the openning Book Party for, My Polaroid Selfies, 1981 Book 1 1981, in Greenport, New York over Columbus Day Weekend, on October 8, 2017.
My Polaroid Selfies: 1981 Book 1 by Melinda Camber Porter
Volume 2, Number 8 (Blake Press)
Forwards by: Michael Edelson, Professor Emeritus Stony Brook
University of film and photography, and Storm Ascher, Artist and Photographer.
Hardcover: (ISBN: 978-1-942231-58-5), 8½x11, $49.99 (2017).
(192 pages, 210 photo illustrations, index, and bibliography)
Ebook: (ISBN: 978-1-942231-59-2), $3.99 (2017).
Melinda Camber Porter Archive of Creative Works
ISSN: 2379-2450 (Print), 2379-3198 (E-Book), 2379-321X (Audio)
Melinda Camber Porter's YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIflCaF2qpHh8uQgffSXLDQ
www.MelindaCamberPorter.com
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781942231585 |
| PRICE | $49.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Amy B, Reviewer
A fascinating book with interesting selfies. As someone who loves polaroids, I enjoyed reading/looking at this book
Laura H, Reviewer
I do love the idea of this book, the first of three volumes of 'selfies' taken by Melinda Camber Porter on her polaroid cameras in the 1980s. She was fascinated by the way in which you could get instant feedback from a polaroid camera and not wait some time before developing the pictures, and this lead to her keeping a collection of selfies, taken roughly once a week, spanning three years.
I found the introduction / foreword really interesting, with some information about the development of polaroid cameras, as well as why Melinda was so interested in taking these photos. We are also told that within the folder Melinda kept these photos, she wrote various annotated statements which summarised how he was feeling at the time, such as 'I am depressed' and 'I am happy'. Reading this, I had expected that we would be given some of these insights, so I was disappointed to see that the photos were simply stand alone, with no textual context given. I was also surprised to see that there were not one, but FOUR copies of each selfie, which really seemed unnecessary. There was also a lot of white space around each picture - they could have been enlarged and given the reader a clearer view, as well as filling the space more effectively.
In short, I really love this concept but felt that so much more could be done with it. Instead of three volumes with each picture being duplicated four times, the whole lot could have been put into the one book. I had also expected that the pictures would have had more visual context, rather than just face-on selfies, which after a while gets a little boring. I am undecided on whether this book, hence the three stars.
Tracy D, Reviewer
Fascinating study. The artist Melinda Camber Porter took a series of polaroid self portraits in 1981. These selfies before selfies were a thing are interesting to see. I thought the presentation (both individually, as on the page as found in the artist's binder and then in series) made the study even more interesting. Also, the artist's notes as to the thoughts in her head as a shot was taken leads me to feel that she was trying to capture looks in her work (what WAS on the mind of the Mona Lisa, after all). My favorite was selfie #34, which reminds me so much of a view of a face in a Renaissance painting. Highly recommended for artists and admirers of art.
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