POST
Nice bright colors
Thursday August 5th, 2010
A certain Paul Simon song is on everyone’s minds, since Kodak has decided to take Kodachrome away from nostalgic photographers. The very last roll of Kodachrome film was awarded to Steve McCurry, and he has recently finished his six-week journey to get the most out of every last frame. The Globe and Mail has the story, with McCurry recounting the adventure. Ironically, his approach centrally involved the use of the digital technology that has been accused of displacing valued historical treasures like Kodachrome:
Mr. McCurry relied on a digital camera to help evaluate composition, perspective and light, but choosing the moment to press the shutter was pressure-packed. Even seasoned photographers have a hard time knowing when “you’re going to get that one emotional component to the picture,” Mr. McCurry said.
It looks like some fans of the trademark colors are unwilling to give up on Kodachrome; there is fragmentary evidence of home-grown attempts to manufacture the unique film, following on the heels of the attempts to recreate Polaroid.
Our photographer Kevin Brusie has a post on his blog about his experience with Kodachrome, sharing a picture he took with the film (above). Marco Garcia also reflected on Kodachrome on his old blog (new one here). Evan Sklar is less nostalgic, and is more interested in the new ideas inspired by McCurry’s famous Kodachrome shot of the Afghan girl on the cover of National Geographic.
-Asad Haider
