Death of an Icon

June 22, 2009 is a day that will live in infamy. At least as far as old fart time photographers are concerned. It's the day that Kodak announced the last production run of Kodachrome 64 film. Yes, that old industry icon that Paul Simon sang about in his 1973 hit by the same name will cease to exist later this year. Those "nice bright colors" and "the greens of summer" is no more. No longer will it make us think "all the world's a sunny day."

More after the jump...




Kodachrome has been around since 1935 and became the world's first successful color commercial film. It was a main stay for photographers who used it in the field and studio as well as remote location work. It was used by military photographers in World War II to document the conflict as both a still and motion picture film. I myself have used it by the miles. It had a long shelf life and could remain useable under a wide range of harsh conditions making it an excellent all purpose film. Kodachrome 64 was the last remaining Kodachrome film.

Kodachrome is full of outstanding features but its E-6 development process is complicated. It isn't one that is tackled by even the most experienced photographers, and as a result,the film is mainly sent to processing labs for development. This lead to the innovation of newer color films that were easier to process, making workflow more efficient and less time consuming. Kodak has even introduced 3 new professional films this year, however, the characteristics and look of those films are not that of Kodachrome. The closest films would probably be Kodak Professional Ektar 100 Film and Kodak Professional Ektachrome Film E100G. There are already digital programs available that attempt to mimic the famous Kodachrome look.

According to Kodak, "Due to declining customer demand for Kodachrome, continued production of this film in no longer viable." Kodak says that the film makes up less than one percent of revenue for the company. Over the years the company has seen declining sales due to the increased popularity of digital products and film uses have turned to products that are cheaper and quicker to process. Kodak expects the current supply to last until yesterday the end of 2009. Dwayne's Photo Service will continue to process the film through the end of December, 2010. Dwayne's is the only remaining certified processor of Kodachrome film.

I'm sorry to see this historic film go but there is no doubt that it's place has been established in the hearts of photographers worldwide. As silly as it may sound, I have bought a couple of rolls just for keepsake and sentimental value. It's a film that I have depended on personally and although I haven't used it for several years, it was always nice knowing that it was around. The final result is that, Mama has taken our Kodachrome away and it will be missed by many.

More to come...