iCloud leaks are making retro tech more popular, Polaroid camera sales soar as people seek to keep pictures private

In a world where private photographs are instantly shareable and stored in the cloud, privacy is a rising concern for many people.

Now, celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and members of the public alike, are embracing retro technologies in order to keep their pictures private - and on paper.

Sales of Polaroid cameras, which were particularly popular in the 1980s, and produce a developed film image, have risen by around three quarters in less than a year.

Kaley Cuoco, who stars in The Big Bang Theory declared: ‘Polaroids are the way to go.

'No one can get those.’

Her comments were made following a recent spate of iCloud leaks, which saw private photos of more than 100 celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, leaked online.

Creed O’Hanlon, chief executive of Netherlands-based The Impossible Project, which took over manufacturing Polaroid cameras in 2008, told The Guardian: ‘In the past 10 months we have seen a 75 per cent increase in the 18 to 25 demographic, with teenagers turning their backs on digital, for something more tangible.’  

THE RISE AND FALL OF POLAROID 

Polaroid was founded by Edwin H Land who, in 1926, quit Harvard University to research light polarisation.

After founding his firm in 1937 he came up with the idea for an instant camera in 1943.

By 1956, his cameras were a hit and the one millionth rolled off the assembly line.

The first cameras used rolls of film, but in 1963 the company introduced Polacolour, the first instant colour film.

By the end of the 1960s it is estimated half of US households had a Polaroid camera.

In 1973, the iconic SX-70 Land Camera was launched - the first fully-automatic, motorised and folding camera that instantly produced colour photos.

The Sun 600 model became popular in the 1980s and The Muppets starred in the adverts.

In the 1990s the Polaroid Captiva was made in a special Spice Girls edition and the smaller iZone was rolled out for small instant portraits.

Despite innovations in the 1990s and 2000s, the company was hit by a rise in cheap digital cameras.

It went bankrupt in 2001 but The Impossible Project has now taken over manufacturing Polaroid cameras.

‘Over the past six months, we have doubled the volume of films we sell and refurbished more than 30,000 classic Polaroid cameras. 

'Next year, we expect these numbers to double.’

The popularity of the retro camera has been attributed to people’s love of Instagram, as well as the number of celebrities embracing the devices, including Lana Del Rey.

A Polaroid photo forms the front cover of Taylor Swift’s new album, 1989, making the format fashionable again.

Stephanie Sian Smith, a freelance photographer who shoots for magazines Vice and i-D, said: ‘Young people today are more nostalgic than ever and they love the old film look - hence the rise of Instagram. 

'The cameras look cool and the pictures remind us of something from the past.’

The revival has taken some analysts, who declared analogue media formats dead, by surprise. 

Just like Polaroid sales, vinyl is also experiencing a revival, with the largest number of records sold in almost 20 years.

The Polaroid company was founded in 1937 and its cameras proved such a hit that around half of households in the US had one by the 1960s. 

The format was used by some of the 20th century’s best loved artists and photographers, including Andy Warhol and David Hockney.

But after numerous iconic models and innovations, including instant printers in the 1990s and 2000s, by 2001 with the arrival of cheap digital cameras - and later smartphones - the company behind the iconic camera filed for bankruptcy.

Source: Dailymail