On 11 July 2026, around forty people arrived at Berlin Photo Studio for the first PolaWalk. Some already knew one another. Many did not. Some had used instant film for years; others were holding a Polaroid camera for the first time.
We divided the participants into ten small groups and gave each group a Polaroid Go camera with film to share. The format created a simple limitation: not everyone could photograph everything. People had to look, choose, wait and pass the camera to someone else.
That limitation became the centre of the event. The walk was not about producing as many images as possible. It was about making attention visible.
Why organise a PolaWalk?
Photography events often begin with equipment: which camera, which lens, which settings. We wanted to begin with a relationship. A shared instant camera changes the social rhythm. One person sees something, another holds the camera, someone else steps into the frame, and the photograph appears slowly in the hands of the group.
Instant photography is physical in a way that most contemporary image-making is not. The photograph cannot be duplicated endlessly at the moment it is made. It occupies one small surface. It can be passed around, written on, lost, protected or placed in a book.
For Berlin Photo Studio, this is close to the reason we work with analogue photography at all. The material creates a pause. The pause creates a conversation.
Forty participants, ten small groups
Keeping the groups small helped the event remain personal. Each group could choose its own route and its own subjects rather than following one large line through the city. Some people photographed architecture and signs. Others turned the walk into a sequence of portraits. Some photographs were carefully planned; others happened because someone laughed at the right moment.
Each Polaroid Go became a shared viewpoint. The camera was the same, but the intentions changed each time it moved into another hand.
The event was supported by Polaroid and created together with Safelight Berlin. Their involvement made it possible to place real instant cameras and film into the hands of the community rather than turning the day into a product demonstration.
The uncertainty of instant film
A Polaroid image does not arrive as a finished digital preview. It emerges. During that time, the photographer cannot correct focus, change exposure or take back the exact moment. The result may be darker, softer, stranger or more beautiful than expected.
That uncertainty is not a technical failure. It is part of the medium. Instant film rewards clear light, realistic distance and attention to the flash, but it also leaves space for accident.
During the walk, the small prints became conversation pieces before they had fully developed. People compared colour, exposure and framing. A photograph that might have disappeared inside a phone gallery instead became an object around which the group gathered.
Not a competition, but a shared archive
The first PolaWalk was never designed only around a winner. A prize can add play, but it should not become the meaning of the event. The larger idea is to build a community archive from the different PolaWalk chapters.
Participants can submit photographs from the event for a fanzine. Professional scans allow the small originals to enter a publication while the physical Polaroids remain with the photographers. After several editions, the selected work can grow into a broader community photo book.
A fanzine changes the life of an image. It moves the photograph from a private object into a sequence. One person’s street corner can sit beside another person’s portrait, and together they begin to describe a day that no single participant could see completely.
What we learned from the first edition
The event showed that a simple structure can hold a large group when responsibility is distributed. Small teams made the walk easier to navigate and gave quieter participants more room to join the conversation.
We also learned that instructions should remain short. Too many rules can close the eye before the walk begins. The most useful guidance was practical: understand the film limit, use the flash when needed, protect the developing image and give everyone a turn.
Finally, we learned that the return matters as much as the walk. Bringing people back into the studio gave the scattered groups a place to reconnect, compare photographs and become one community again.
The story continues
The second PolaWalk took place on 12 September 2026, connecting Safelight Berlin and Berlin Photo Studio through shared cameras, photographs and conversations.
The next date will be announced soon. Bookings are currently closed. Follow @berlinphotostudio for the announcement, explore the PolaWalk archive or submit your September photographs through the fanzine open call.
Why a small photograph can create a large memory
The Polaroid Go print is physically small, but that scale changes the way people approach it. You bring the image closer. You look with another person over your shoulder. The photograph behaves less like a public screen and more like a private note.
During the first walk, this physical scale helped strangers become collaborators. People asked to borrow the camera, waited for the flash, protected the developing image from strong light and decided together who would keep a particular print. The object created small negotiations that would never happen if everyone photographed only with a private phone.
This is why the future publication matters. Scanning the images for a fanzine does not replace the originals; it connects them. The book or zine becomes a map of different encounters, while each physical Polaroid keeps its own marks, fingerprints and personal destination.
FAQ
Do I need to own a Polaroid camera?
No. The first edition used shared Polaroid Go cameras in small groups.
Do I need instant-photography experience?
No. The format is beginner-friendly, and practical guidance is given before the walk.
Can I submit more than one photograph?
The project is designed to collect work from participants. Follow the current submission instructions on the PolaWalk page for each edition.
Will there be another PolaWalk?
The next date will be announced soon. Bookings are currently closed; follow the PolaWalk page or follow @berlinphotostudio on Instagram for updates.
Who collaborated on the first event?
Berlin Photo Studio organised the event with support from Polaroid and in collaboration with Safelight Berlin.
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