Kodak stopped manufacturing the oldest film in its catalog
last year, but Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas kept its Kodachrome processing rig around just in case. Last week photographer Steve McCurry processed the final manufactured roll of
Kodachrome there - 33 frames taken around New York City, and three taken in Parsons. A crew from National Geographic (where McCurry made his name, specifically with the iconic "Afghan Girl" cover photo) documented the final roll's journey from the factory to processing, so you'll probably be able to find out more on it soon. Oh, and if grandma's a real shutterbug, you might want to tell her to check the attic for any spare Kodachrome rolls she has lying around -- Dwayne's is the last remaining Kodachrome processing facility in the world, and that service will stop on December 10th. Now, if it's quite alright -- pardon us while we attempt to capture a meaningful moment on our soulless
Easyshare ecosystem of products.
posted July 21st 2010 7:33PM
I have an unopened Kodak instant kodamatic camera; I wonder if there is still any media anywhere for it...
@uShak
That's going to be worth a lot 100 years from now.
Keep it for your grandchildren, they'll appreciate it :)
I hate it when these guys associate themselves with entitys and behave like this.
This individual is in no way affiliated with Microsoft's bing search engine and is acting alone.
@bingster No, last!
There will be generations that will never know what the song Kodachrome will mean *le sigh*
@bingster Lets just report this douche-bag already
Damn it, how can the last episode of "Six Feet Under" happen if Claire can't take photos on Kodachrome when she's old. :p
Goodnight, sweet prince.
@bingster Dude, I've seen you being first so many times now, I'm starting to think WoW-players have more of a life than you do.
I find it sad to see film fading further and further away. I hope someday to have my own room to develop pictures. Maybe by then working on film will be a resurging hobby. Digital cameras are nice, they're convenient but they've taken something away from the consumer, and given something aswell.
cheers to the future.
@caprice, i miss writing on papyrus with feather pens. clearly the iPad have taken away so much and given so little (as it is a great content consumption device but lacks on the creation department)
I still like my Polaroid Model 210. Made hundreds of great photos with it and had many of them blown-up. Wish I could get film for it.
@CallDon
You still can! I own a Colorpack II and it uses the same pack film as the 210. You can find it at Adorama, FreestylePhoto and B&H, but I find that Unique Photo has the best prices.
Color
http://store.uniquephoto.com/e/index.php/traditional-photography/film/fujifilm-fp-100c-3-2x4-25-instant-passport-film.html
B&W
http://store.uniquephoto.com/e/index.php/traditional-photography/film/fujifilm-fp-100b-3-2x4-25-single-same-as-polaroid-664-15200784.html
@SteveBaldmer
Thanks for the links. I haven't made any photos with the camera in 20 years, but I may order a few film packs and take some! i really enjoyed using it!
@CallDon
No Problem. I actually took the camera with me on a walk today and the colors are very nice and true to life with the FP-100C. Here are some examples.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4814716605_2f9e180777_b.jpg
:'(
@Eli Haj
double rainbow tear? what does this mean???
@BlackedOut
Soon, nobody will understand what Paul Simon was talking about in his song!
@bingster
Agian,, did you read the story????
@finishhim27
What story?
@bingster
Why won't Engadget just have a world filter so when people go to post the word "First" or some variation for the *first* post they get redirected to some random internet website? Or at least make it when people post it, it at least word filters to something like "I contribute nothing to the comment system"?
@Doctor Comrade This. Or an auto-Rickroll could happen to them.
If grandma has kodachrome in the attic it'll be way too expired to be usable. :( Maybe if grandma has them in the freezer?
As a society, we are a little too addicted to the narcotic of technology I think.
I live in Parsons. This is the only thing that this town is known for.
Does Kodak still produce film beyond the disposable cameras?
@ashwinkn
We don't even produce those anymore, those are just extras from production.
Film was suspended as of December 2009
@GenericMessage
ummmmm wut
This is a joke yeah?
Kodak still produces 35mm, medium format, and large format film, and just released a new film a year or two ago.
@ashwinkn just ignore GenericMessage
Kodak still produces both consumer and pro film, like @Namwen mentioned, one of which is the finest Ektar
@GenericMessage
what do you mean, we? don't pretend to be with Kodak.
real film is still around http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/filmsIndex.jhtml?pq-path=13318/13319
portra, E series and t-max
@bingster how's this clown not banned yet? second time today i saw this kind of meaningless stuff from him
Oh jeeezus, it's called progress people, give this crap up!
@Shalabi
You must be all of what- 20 years old (or younger) and have no clue what it means to those of us who grew up with Kodachrome film being one of the best on the market. It's a shame that people don't stop to recognize the (small) significance that things like this mean to others. One more reason to instill a "Slap a young Punk Day".
/Old man rant...
@HighestRanked2 I have (Dad's Canon EOS 650), and I don't understand either.
I used Ektachrome and Kodachrome back in the days when I was into film photography. I still have my SLRs and should dig them out for old time's sake...
Paul Simon is going to be rollin' over in his grave.
@sharkync
That would be a neat trick even if he was dead.
Wellp, I guess they took it away.
Kodachrome was (is) remarkably stable, sharp and practically grain-free. The results will still be around another 75 years from now, which is longer than most other film types and digital formats. Progress has its price.
Pretty sure there's still a lab in Switzerland where you can get Kodachrome developed.
I have a stash of it which I'm saving for a special project.
@ChrisMGS
That place is just where you send the mailers Kodak sells in Europe. Once they get the film they forward it on to Dwayne's for processing. You better start shooting what you have.
In the WORLD? There are lots and lots of kodachrome processing places in Brazil :oO Your world must be limited to CONUS hahaha :)
@TabajaraLabs
If this is in fact true, why don't you tell us who the company is that is doing kodachrome developing?
Did the film contain decades' worth of state secrets? Was it recovered from a church in Fort Walton?
Picking at nits--while the kodachrome product line was intriduced in 1935, Kodachrome 64 was introduced in 1974. Tri-X is 20 years older than that.
One of the most beautiful things that I have ever witnessed was a 10 minute reel of 50-60 year old 16mm Kodachrome footage of a train ride across the US. It looked nearly grainless, sharper than modern 35mm, and it was incredibly vibrant. It's a shame the the final nail is being placed in the coffin.