by Claire O'Neill

Polaroids may be retired, but Denver-based photographer Matt Slaby hasn't stopped using them. Contrarily, he takes them all the time. The instant, lo-res quality of his personal work provides a contrast to his professional, digital assignments. And, because he takes them all over the country while covering various stories, the images together present a unique vision of America: black and white, blurred, seemingly vintage but contemporary.

  • Political activist in favor of seating Washington, D.C., as a voting entity in the U.S. Congress
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    Political activist in favor of seating Washington, D.C., as a voting entity in the U.S. Congress
  • Jeremiah Reed of East Chicago, Ind., holds a portrait of Barack Obama, painted by Omar Spanma, as crowds filter onto the National Mall before Obama's inauguration.
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    Jeremiah Reed of East Chicago, Ind., holds a portrait of Barack Obama, painted by Omar Spanma, as crowds filter onto the National Mall before Obama's inauguration.
  • Slaby's neighbor Shakira, age 5
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    Slaby's neighbor Shakira, age 5
  • Photographer Parker Eshelman
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    Photographer Parker Eshelman
  • Virginia Gov. Mark Warner on the floor of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
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    Virginia Gov. Mark Warner on the floor of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
  • Barack Obama and his family along with Joe Biden at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
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    Barack Obama and his family along with Joe Biden at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
  • At a 60th surprise birthday party for Slaby's mother
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    At a 60th surprise birthday party for Slaby's mother
  • Delegates at the 2008 Republican National Convention
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    Delegates at the 2008 Republican National Convention
  • Nicole Harrison and her two boys, Logan and Lain, along with her niece, Cadence Jurgens, residents of Greeley, Colo. They had just come out of the house they are remodeling to watch an immigration policy reform rally as it marched by on May 2, 2009.
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    Nicole Harrison and her two boys, Logan and Lain, along with her niece, Cadence Jurgens, residents of Greeley, Colo. They had just come out of the house they are remodeling to watch an immigration policy reform rally as it marched by on May 2, 2009.
  • Arthur "Red" Holloway, a retired truck driver, eats in his Denver home following open heart surgery.
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    Arthur "Red" Holloway, a retired truck driver, eats in his Denver home following open heart surgery.
  • Dwaneise Simmons (right), a Howard student, Washington, D.C.
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    Dwaneise Simmons (right), a Howard student, Washington, D.C.
  • Singer and performer Amie Rau
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    Singer and performer Amie Rau
  • Scenes from the Rocky Mountain Fifty Caliber Shooting Association's 2009 Machine Gun Shoot, held on private land near Cheyenne Wells, Colo.
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    Scenes from the Rocky Mountain Fifty Caliber Shooting Association's 2009 Machine Gun Shoot, held on private land near Cheyenne Wells, Colo.

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An Abe Lincoln impostor next to a Barack Obama painting creates a strange sense of suspended time. Flags, guns, neighbors grilling, political conventions, front-yard portraits: Slaby captures the candid moments that typify life in America.

He calls his Polaroid series "Along The Way," but he says it's a working title — which is appropriate, because the series itself is a work in progress. It's always growing and always changing, but it still provides a thread of consistency through all of his work.

View more of Slaby's Polaroids, as well as the rest of his work, on his Web site. Be sure to check out his series "My Diving Bell:" road trip photos taken through a small car window.

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