Helmut Newton Polaroids

Last year, Taschen released a book of Helmut Newton Polaroids. As did many photographers, Newton used Polaroids to test a shot before shooting actual film. His widow, photographer June Newton (a/k/a Alice Springs) edited the book.

I fondly remember using the Polaroid 110A and 110B converted with Polaroid backs for test shots … and then the dinky 600 just for fun … and then the Spectra with which I must have taken hundreds upon hundreds of shots, none of which were test Polaroids, but instead just for the thrill of instant gratification and spontaneity. And, we used the Spectra for casting calls. Then, of course, there was the folding SX-70 Land Camera that produced images which were a medium unto itself. (Remember image and emulsion transfers?) I also have the Highlander roll film camera — it was a camera my father used. I digress! The story of Polaroid could continue, but this post is about Helmut Newton’s test Polaroids, of which he kept a significant collection.

Here is a sampling from the Helmut Newton book: