Poladroid: retro photo fun

The internet really is full of a lot of crap, yanno? For all the great things you can say about the internet — the wonderful information and connections and ideas and whatnot — mostly it’s just a giant time sink, massively full of drivel through which you have to wade hip-deep for days before you can find that one bright, sparkly bauble.

I want to show you my latest bauble. Pretty, shiny thing — almost entirely pointless, but undeniably clever and it made me smile. What more can you ask for? It’s called Poladroid, and it’s my favourite photo toy since Flickr.

You take an ordinary photo like this:

**pauses for oohs and ahhs of adoration to subside**

… and you drag-and-drop it into the little Poladroid widget that looks just like an old polaroid camera and sits pleasantly on top of whatever you’re working on, waiting to be of service. (You have to download the applet to your computer, but trust me, it’s totally worth it!!) When you drop your photo in, the Poladroid makes this satisfying old-skool click and whir, and then it spits out your digital polaroid. At first, it looks like a big sepia blur but as the image slowly resolves — just like a real polaroid — you can grab and shake your polaroid with your mouse. Too cute by half! And in the end, you get this:

Just the faintest tint of sepia, and how great are the textures? I love this, and now I’m actively looking for cool shots that need the Poladroid treatment. Fun!!!

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