Polaroids

Every Opus is characterised by a gallery section of stunning portraits taken on the legendary Polaroid 20 x 24 Studio camera.

This huge piece of photographic equipment, 5ft high and weighing 235lb, was originally developed to enable the accurate reproduction of works of art such as paintings and tapestries. However, seeing the superbly-detailed 20 x 24in (50 x 60cm) prints the camera produces, photographers soon started to use it as a creative tool.

The Studio camera uses a continuous roll of film rather than separate sheets; the negative is destroyed in the process, so each print is a genuine one-off. The patterning around the edge of the image (produced by the developing chemicals) is similarly unique to each print. As for the distinctive sepia tinting, this is the result of deliberately using mismatched components, a quirky film combination that produces some beautiful imagery.

For The Official United Opus, the Studio camera was brought over to Manchester from Prague especially for the assignment. Over two days, Walter Iooss Jr., one of the world's foremost photographers used this unique large-format photographic technology to portray Manchester United heroes of the past, present and future as you've never seen them before.