Meet Bret Watkins

Bret, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey into Polaroid photography began when I was gifted a polaroid camera from fellow filmmakers. I didn’t grow up with a polaroid camera so the whole experience was something new and foreign. One of my first shots was of the Wiltern Theater in Ktown at sunset. After the shot, I waited patiently for the image to develop in front of my eyes. Once the image finished developing, I was blown away by the color rendition as well as soft tones. There was also something about being able to capture a moment in time and see it develop in my hand minutes later that was really special. Polaroid has such a cinematic, dreamy quality to it that I haven’t found anywhere else. You could say that was when my passion for polaroid photography began.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For me, the road has been a never ending winding road of possibility. I feel like I’ve grown so much in the two years as a photographer, a technician and an artist. I would say the only struggle I’ve come across is my own insecurities with the quality of my polaroids and putting myself out there for people to see my work.