20×24 Holdings LLC is commissioning
Mammoth Camera Company of San Francisco, CA to build two new 20×24 cameras to use instant film. Polaroid Corporation built the original five cameras in 1977 and 1978 and three of those are still in active use today. Mammoth Camera, founded in 2000 has already produced one new 20×24 camera for a European client in 2009. “Additional cameras will add tremendous flexibility to our project”, says
John Reuter, Executive Director of 20×24 Holdings. “We have been limited in our ability to respond to our client’s needs with only one camera in New York.” The plan is to house one of the cameras at the new facility for the
Lincoln Center Film Society, host to the annual New York Film Festival. The camera will document the directors and actors passing through for the center’s programming, creating an archive and building toward an exhibit in 2012 celebrating the 50th year of the New York Film Festival. The second camera will be available for international travel, opening up new access to 20×24 instant photography.
Tracy Storer, founder and owner of Mammoth Camera Company says “We are very pleased at this exciting opportunity to expand the 20×24 Camera family. My experience as a camera owner and operator has allowed me to take full advantage of our manufacturing capability to make new cameras that match and even exceed the original Polaroid design. What is most exciting is participating in the renaissance of instant analog photography in a manner not seen since Polaroid’s glory days of the 70s and 80s. I look forward to seeing what a new generation of photographers will do with it.”
John Reuter agrees, “These are indeed very exciting times for proponents of instant photography. We have spent the last year rebuilding our production capability to bring 20×24 instant film back to the marketplace. Having more cameras will allow us to bring it to many more artists in multiple venues. Our friends at
The Impossible Project are also moving in the direction of larger format exploration and we anticipate some very exciting collaborations in the future.”
20×24 Holdings LLC purchased all remaining 20×24 film stock and chemistry from Polaroid Corporation in 2009. They are the sole producers of instant 20×24 peel apart instant film. The 20×24 Studio in New York City offers retail rental access to the camera and films. www.20x24studio.com
Mammoth Camera Company is a manufacturer of conventional and instant large format cameras. It also runs 20×24 Studio West in San Francisco, CA and is the sole west coast distributor of 20×24 instant film. www.mammothcamera.com
The Impossible Project saved the last remaining Polaroid factory in 2008 and has continued Edwin Land’s legacy of providing instant materials for use in the original Polaroid SX-70, 600 and Spectra cameras. www.the-impossible-project.com