"Some images of the spots that gave me the most tingles."

May 7, 2008 8:58 AM

I though documenting my early sex life would be a perfect reason to use Polaroids to do something other than take naked pictures, yet to still play on the sexual identity of the medium. I lived in Alexandria from 1980 to 1999. These were my formative years and they determined the way I dealt with women. A guy documents the spots in his old neighborhood (SFW) where he got kissed, dumped, laid or confused as a kid, and tries to work out "what went wrong." (via, via — both NSFW)
posted by nebulawindphone (13 comments total)

Joanna Angel?

There's something about Polaroids that makes instant pictures so much more special for me. Something to do with all that caustic goo and 'instant old' look that seem to give them more to remember by.

I used to run a photo lab during the years of when consumers went from film to digital in a big way. We still dealt with Polaroids and at some point, I was able to get piles of the stuff for really cheap. So, I got a hold of a case of discount, short-dated Polaroid film and gathered up a load of cameras and had a party where we gave out cameras and film.
posted by Extopalopaketle at 9:36 AM on May 7

This treads a fine line between amusing and highly creepy and desperate.

Any place I've ever lived, there have been areas nearby that I knew nothing about. There is a strange sense of loneliness to being a few miles (or less) from your home and completely unfamiliar with the surroundings. I don't live far from the locations on this map, and it's strange to think about all the drama playing out in contiguous sections of the burbs that I know nothing about.
posted by phrontist at 9:37 AM on May 7 [2 favorites]

Phrontist nailed my feelings as well.

I always get that feeling whenever I take off or land at an airport, and you have those few seconds of skimming right over the ground at low altitude, close enough to see all the houses/cars/people going about their business. It always makes me wonder about all the individual dramas that are playing themselves out simultaneously, all the time, everywhere.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:53 AM on May 7 [4 favorites]

Struck me as kinda creepy, too, while still somewhat fascinating.

Also, this:

After that whenever I was in a relationship I used nude photos as a way of hitting on girls

Really? Does that work? So what I was missing in my barren youth was a Polaroid camera and an invitation for someone to get naked?
posted by maxwelton at 11:57 AM on May 7

so, it's like girls gone wild, but with polaroids? wtf.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:18 PM on May 7

I like this project. I appreciate the simple, declarative text and the direct, flat photography. There's a lot of resignation and melancholy, but most effectively - there's a lot of restraint.
posted by xod at 12:46 PM on May 7

I really like it, too. It's honest.
posted by lunit at 12:54 PM on May 7

Yeah, the desperation and the overt "I don't know how to deal with chicks and I don't care" attitude are kind of gross.

I think phrontist's response nails what attracted me to this. It fascinates me that in a big enough city, every square inch is sacred to someone — that the places that strike me as dead and desolate are going to be alive forever in someone else's mind as That Place Where....

This project captures a bit of that feeling. I guess that's enough for me to like it despite the grossness.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:08 PM on May 7 [1 favorite]

art & porn. hmm
posted by semmi at 3:12 PM on May 7

This is great. I should go around and take polaroids of all the shrubs I've woken up in.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:16 PM on May 7

hey, that's my brother! finally, metafilter has earned him my respect.

jk, brother, jk. the rest of you should check out some of his other stuff. he offers more than your average hipster party photo blog.
posted by mosessmith at 4:38 PM on May 7

That's all well and good, but why are you documenting your early sex life? No-one cares, you narcissistic twat.
posted by pompomtom at 8:25 PM on May 7

She then told me I could take as many pictures of girls naked I wanted to as long as I didn't touch them. I went around to all the girls who liked me and took Polaroids of them. After that whenever I was in a relationship I used nude photos as a way of flirting with girls, without cheating on the ones I was dating. I think I felt like after a lifetime of being ignored by girls, taking these topless photos seemed to be some sort of validation. After taking these Polaroids for 8 years I have hundreds of them and am trying to turn them into a book which would feature the pictures as well as short blurbs like these. A few of them are online here.

How about that.

Really? Does that work? So what I was missing in my barren youth was a Polaroid camera and an invitation for someone to get naked?

Well, prepare to feel stupid. The short answer--before you click on the link so you can prepare yourself a little mentally--is yes. That's all you were missing.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:08 AM on May 8