Sunday, January 29, 2012

So Long, Kodak


Kodachrome
Gives us those nice bright colors
Gives us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah! 
Paul Simon 
Kodak is declaring bankruptcy, so I hear.

Kodak popularized photography for regular folks. As a young boy, I got a Kodak Brownie for Christmas one year. Its flash attachment screwed onto the side of the camera.  The round silver reflector accepted flash bulbs that had to be replaced after each shot.  Ouch! Be careful! It's hot. The heat of the flash would bubble and deform the glass of the bulb.  The roll film came in a yellow heavy foil pack.  You had to go into a closet to change the film in the dark. The film was advanced by turning a knob until the next frame number showed in a little window.  A great little camera.


Kodachrome was the standard for color film, the film against which all other film was compared.
Kodak also pioneered the first digital SLRs, based on a Nikon body.  My first digital camera was a Kodak DC260, in 1998. The company I now work for as a portrait photographer was once Kodak's largest customer.  Now we shoot only digital

I know some folks who still use  film - mostly large-format photographers.  Filmosaurs.  I used 35mm film cameras for years.  Although I occasionally used Kodak Ektachrome or  Kodachrome 64, my film of choice was Fujifilm Provia.   When I switched to digital in 2004, I finished the roll in my film camera and I've never used film again.

These images were captured on film.  I offer them as a tribute to Kodak and the passing of an era.

Mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

4 comments:

  1. A sad passing, but understandable. When I got my first digital in 2006, I never touched my little point & shoot film camera again...I think it still has film in it - wonder what's on it?? It took great travel snapshots. APS, easy, no closet required :-) But not as easy as upload and delete.
    ~rws

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  2. My only experience with film was snapshots. My first serious photography attempts began with digital.

    As for Kodak, from what I have read, it was mostly bad management that brought them to bankruptcy. Still, a sad moment in photography history.

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  3. I am waxing sentimental. My first camera was a 110 and I worked at Harmon's during the heyday of 35 mm when automatics first came into being. Good times with film, I have shoeboxes full.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ann
      Great to hear from You. I didn't know you worked at Harmon's. Didn't you use to use an old Nikon F you got from Larry Burns?

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