Diego Uchitel: Polaroids

The look of a Polaroid influenced my work immensely as their colorations and depth have a painterly and dreamlike quality, versus the realism that an actual image does through the camera's lens. They have a magical appearance, as they deliver less intensity in coloration and pigmentations then fi lm does. The time period where Polaroids were the basis of my work was from 1982 - 2006, before the digital era became an unavoidable replacement. The work in the book is a selection of my favorite imagery stemming from a combination of both personal and commercial efforts spanning 25 years. My approach to either was universal in that my strength is in lighting and composition, which was enhanced by the Polaroid's attributes. This book is momentous for me as seeing a compilation of the body of my work is extremely emotional. The integrity that comes with a Polaroid - in that it cannot be retouched or manipulated to the degree that digital photography can be - is a principle that I apply to all areas of my life. The majority of the images is timeless and enduring, and captures the personalities and tendencies in a brief, singular and unalterable moment. I appreciate the realism of a Polaroid, which is also tinged with reverie.

Review :
The Polaroid is like the photographer's version of the painter's sketch- it's a rough blueprint rather than a finished product. So there's something very intimate about Diego Uchitel's new book, Polaroids (Damiani), which shows how much art there is to a medium that wasn't even meant to be seen.--Editors "Departures" Uchitel has collected 25 years' worth of these photographic sketches in a new book, "Diego Uchitel: Polaroids" (Damiani, $50). The project, he explains, happened organically. "Today, layouts are done on computers. But back then I'd put one Polaroid on the wall next to another one. Four or five shoots later, they'd start spreading." And so it grew. The book's images, culled from years of portrait and fashion sittings, are presented bearing their age in elegant fashion, exhibiting remnants of tape, scratches and fingerprints, like relics from another time.--Bruce Pask "The New York Times Online" Anyone who has ever posed for a Polaroid can recognize the snap of the collapsible camera and the buzz of the print. Having done the drill thousands of times for major names and up-and-comers, fashion photographer Diego Uchitel now has a book to prove it. "Polaroids" features 240-plus never-before-seen shots that have been reproduced in their original untouched form -- traces of tape, hints of wear and tear and typically muted hues included. These unrehearsed and painterly images helped Uchitel to define his style.--Rosemary Feitelberg "Women's Wear Daily"