Isle Of...

The November 2008 issue of Esquire, one of my very favorite magazines (it's not just a boys' club, you see), was subtitled "The Endorsement Issue." In addition to picking a candidate in all 482 races for office in the Nov. 4 election-- a feat in itself-- the magazine's writers and editors wrote short endorsements of such gems as "The Desert," "Expensive Toothpaste" and "Boston Creme Pie," in little blue boxes sprinkled throughout the margins of features and articles.

"Ask yourself, What do I endorse? Not just which political candidates or positions or parties, but what things in your life-- people or practices or works of the imagination-- do you think should be valued and are worthy of your endorsement?" writes Esquire EIC David Granger in his Editor's Letter.

I endorse more things than I oppose, although you'd never know it. We're more apt to complain than to praise. As such, I introduce to you, dear readers, a new feature in which I tell you precisely what I love (or isle of-- but you got that all along, yes?) right this very minute. And I promise that henceforth they'll have shorter introductions.

Isle Of... Poladroid

Poladroid is a free application for Macs (with a Windows version forthcoming) that sits atop your desktop and, in an aesthetically and sonically pleasing manner, converts your ordinary photographs into classic Polaroid images. The application itself takes up very little desktop real estate-- it's just an image of a Polaroid-style camera. Drag and drop your photos onto it, and with a close approximation of the iconic Polaroid sound, it literally spits out a new image-- a brownish-gray square. That's one of the coolest parts. True to Polaroid form, these photos have to "develop." Just sit back and watch the real image fade into clarity. Even more realistic, the final product isn't as clear and crisp as your everyday digital camera pics. Like Polaroids, they have a kind of muted, faded quality to them. Even the cream-colored edges of the pictures are realistic-- look closely and you can see they appear textured.


The application isn't perfect for every image, as you don't have the ability to choose your crop. Vertical photos where the subject isn't concentrated to the center of the frame end up something like this:


Still. It's pretty badass. Even if you are limited to ten photo conversions per launch of the application (modeled on the fact that Polaroid film was ten exposures per cartridge). But maybe, much like the Nintendo Wii asking you, "Why not take a break?" Poladroid is gently urging its users to eschew technology for awhile. After all, isn't a desire for Polaroid-style snapshots really a return to the low-tech? Maybe Poladroid thinks you should go outside for awhile, get some exercise, maybe even practice your real-life photography skills. It will still be there when you get back, waiting to convert ten new photos into pieces of instant nostalgia.