25T18 Polaroids: Helmut & Heather

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E17, B12.

Another favourite place in Berlin (and there are many) is the Museum für Fotografie, near Zoo station.

Yes, there are “Big Nudes” (literally), and there are many other nudes, many of which I can’t post here. However, what is unmistakable are the long threads connecting Helmut Newton’s photography with fashion and his focus for the power of women in image. I return to his Berlin foundation and the Museum for Photography for sharp reminders of that Newton perception. 

The idea of an “instant image” (and branded successfully by Polaroid) has been around since 1947. In an age of film cameras and mobile tech was decades away, Polaroids became handy. In the intervening years and decades, artists and photographers used Polaroids as working tools and experimental testbeds for ideas. Helmut Newton used Polaroids as part of his preparation for many fashion photography sessions. 

The “Polaroids” exhibition includes Newton’s collection of images, as well as works by 60 other artists and photographers. They document the allure and longevity of the “instant” medium, which is still in use today.

On Instagram, I found the creative work by Heather Malesson and Charles Johnstone. I’m pleased for them, because their recent work using the medium is also recognized in the “Polaroids” exhibition in Berlin. If my feelings about “single stationary images” remain true, then I’ve got to be grateful to Instagram as an open venue through which I’ve found many creative artists. 

Berlin’s Museum für Fotografie (Helmut Newton Foundation): “Polaroids” 2025 exhibition & group show, 7 March to 27 July. A display room on the ground floor. On the opposite wall is a small collection of Polaroids.
“Hello, Ralph …”
Let’s go upstairs …
June Newton (aka Alice Springs) & Helmut Newton. Polaroid by Aline Cheung at Restaurant Davé in Paris, 1990.
The moment I saw this, I thought of Veruca Salt’s “American Thighs”: can’t fight the seether. Polaroid by Helmut Newton for “Vogue” 🇺🇸 in Monaco, 1979.
Cindy Crawford for “Vogue” 🇺🇸 . Polaroid by Helmut Newton in Saint-Tropez, 1991.
Cindy Crawford for “Vogue” 🇺🇸. Polaroid by Helmut Newton in Monaco, 2003.
“The Girl in the Fifth Floor Walk-Up”, by Charles Johnstone & Heather Malesson, 2014.
“The Girl in the Fifth Floor Walk-Up”, by Charles Johnstone & Heather Malesson, 2014.
“Escape”, by Charles Johnstone & Heather Malesson, 2021.
“Escape”, by Charles Johnstone & Heather Malesson, 2021.
Museum für Fotografie, from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station (track 4).

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 25 May 2025. I received neither request nor compensation for this content. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

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