A vintage postcard with handwritten message and postage stamp. Green text above it reads, "Welcome To Sara's Graphic Props Portfolio."

STORY

Dr. Land & The Instant Photograph

It was 1943, Dr. Edwin H. Land had just taken a photo of his 3-year-old daughter when she turned to him with wide-eyed wonder and asked, “Why can I not see the picture?”

That innocent question lit a spark in Land’s mind — a vision of a future where moments could be held instantly. Four years and countless experiments later, Land, at 38, unveiled the Polaroid Model 95.

Until then, photos took weeks or months to develop. But in just 60 seconds, Land’s camera transformed time itself. This became Dr. Land’s most significant contribution to science, following his invention of polarizing glass in 1936 at age 27.

Flat lay of vintage items and documents on a wooden table, including a newspaper, postcards, photographs, film canisters, and handwritten notes.

The Project

I had the pleasure last summer to be one of Annie Atkins’ workshop students in Ireland.

We learned that creating graphic props is so much more than just design. We explored graphic tools, different time periods, and character psychology to aid a film tell its story.

I chose to explore the life and work of Dr. Edwin Land; highlighting one of his many inventions with a series of props:

1.  Postcard to a friend describing his idea of the instant photo.

2. His personal notebook of ideas.

3. Boxes of test film he and his team took in the lab while tesing the instant camera.

4. One of the 535 Patent forms he acquired during his career.

5. A newspaper front page of him showcasing Polaroid’s instant camera for the first time.   

Hand Drawn Arrow
A white piece of graph paper with torn edges, labeled 'The Props' in large gray text.
A vintage postcard featuring a black and white illustration of a steam locomotive, with handwritten message and postage stamp on the back, postmarked June 18, 1943, from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Open album with four Polaroid photos taped inside, handwritten notes, and a piece of paper with a typed message. The photos appear to be dark images or possibly negatives. There is also a notebook with additional photo images and a black pen.
Collection of opened notebooks, sketches, pens, and papers with handwritten notes, drawings, and photographs. The notebooks contain sketches of shapes and scenes, as well as personal notes and reflections. There is a small purple note with a handwritten message that says, "You will do great, honey. Love." A green paper with a butterfly drawing and the word "DAD" in colorful letters is also visible.

Collection of vintage Kodak and Polaroid film boxes and packages, including lab test labels from 1944.
Two images show a white tabletop with vintage Kodak Kodachrome film boxes, a partially visible brown envelope with a pink stamp, and an old camera in the upper right corner. The top image has a yellow note sticker in the upper left corner. The bottom image includes part of a barcode sticker at the bottom right.

Historical documents, including a patent form for a photographic emulsion patent, blueprints, and letters, along with a vintage typewriter. The documents are related to patent applications by Donald L. Brown and Edwin H. Land, associated with Polaroid Corporation.
Collection of four vintage documents including a memo routing slip, handwritten letter from Polaroid Corporation, and patent diagrams for a camera invention from 1945.
Historical documents and folders related to the development of the light-sensitive instant photograph, including patent papers from 1945 and orange folders with the U.S. Department of Commerce seal.

A black-and-white newspaper titled 'The Boston Times' with the headline 'Pictures in Sixty Seconds', featuring a photo of a man holding a photograph. There are several smaller articles, advertisements, and two black-and-white Polaroid photographs taped to the page's top right corner.
Three copies of a vintage newspaper titled 'The Boston Times,' with headlines about photography and events, displayed on a black background.

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