#edwinland

📸 “All photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” – Susan Sontag

Photography changed forever the moment a little girl asked her father, “Can I see it now?” That father was Edwin Land, and that question led to the invention of instant photography. Long before Steve Jobs taught the world to "think different," Land built a company that fused art, science, and business—and gave us the Polaroid.

From pioneering polarized lenses to creating the iconic SX-70, Land's story is one of bold vision, relentless invention, and a deep belief in possibilities. He didn’t just capture images—he captured time.

🧠 Read the full story on my website: 👉 Genius and His Magic Cameras – The Attic

#41 Mårten

I met Mårten two years ago at a dear friend’s 50th Birthday party. Mårten was looking for a Russian teacher to brush up on his Russian. I had been slowly withdrawing from teaching but thought that teaching privately might be fun - Mårten was fun. While having cake and coffee at the party I nearly dropped my spoon as I realized that Mårten and I had met before - on a trip to Moscow exactly twenty years ago. I was was an 18-year old on an excursion with my class and Mårten was traveling with his group of adult language students - we had the same Russian teacher. Then it all came back to me; on the last night of our trip, on the night train from Moscow my ankle had gotten swollen and infected from a tiny old cut. My teacher quickly fetched Mårten, the doctor! He examined my ankle and told me to get penicillin as soon as we arrived back to Finland.

Twenty years later, I have been visiting Mårten weekly for almost two years now. At first we only studied Russian but as the political situation progressed we moved to other mutual fields of interest, like genealogy. It turned out that I’m related to Mårten’s wife. 

I teach Mårten Russian, Mårten teaches me all about DNA and how to read hundreds of years old church books. We study, drink coffee and share all the news of the previous week and then sometimes Mårten plays the piano for me, he’s very talented. Ours is a friendship where an age difference of over 30 years plays no role. Mårten and I share the same curiosity and enthusiasm towards life. I hope our time together will never end.