July 24, 2010

The Last Roll of Kodachrome

NPR has a story about the very last roll of Kodachrome ever produced. Kodak gave the roll to photographer Steve McCurry, who took that iconic National Geographic image titled "Afghan Girl" in 1984. The roll was dropped off at Dwayne's Photo Service, which is the last lab that can process Kodachrome. The contents of that role, according to NPR, will be the subject of an upcoming National Geographic documentary. It may seem like a lot of attention for one little roll of film, but the end of Kodachrome for photography is one of those "end of an era" moments that has come to pass. It's kind of like the shift from old Underwood typewriters to laptops--there is always something a little different with any new technology. I am by no means someone who laments the onset of digital photography. And while I was never a Kodochrome user (my favorite was probably Tri-X or maybe Agfapan 100), I can certainly attest to the fact that film absolutely had its own unique character and feel.

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