Though film photography might not need another reminder of its marked decline, Kodak announced today that it is discontinuing its venerable Kodachrome line, thus ending its 74 year run. And while this news may be come as a disappointment to only a select community of dwindling users—the line makes up less than one percent of Kodak’s already diminished film sales, and only one lab in the world still processes it—it still stands as a poignant moment in the history of photography. Kodachrome’s quality is extolled by its legion of diehard fans, who swear by its unparalleled color reproduction and exactitude.
As further evidence of this fact, many of the most iconic photographs of the past century were shot using Kodachrome—a storied history Kodak is chronicling with an online tribute to the film, which includes a beautiful gallery and video interviews. It remains difficult to imagine any current line of digital camera mustering this same sort of sentimentality and aesthetic reverence, but then again, perhaps one day the digital format itself will be rendered obsolete.
[via Gizmodo, image via globetrotter1937]
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