This morning in lower Manhattan, Eastman Kodak filed for Chapter 11 at the bankruptcy court after a decade-long struggle to turn profits in this era of digital photography. If you follow any photography news, you’ve probably read countless articles speculating when this day would happen, but it doesn’t make the pill any easier to swallow (especially when one of the listed ‘liabilities’ is $245M of US retirement pensions. hoo boy.).
Regardless of what happens, I’ll always have love for Kodak. Their films and iconic colors and contrasts elicit nostalgia and inspiration, plus they have captured so many wonderful memories for me and millions of others. There’s no way I could express myself about the gratitude I feel for Kodak better than David Gonzalez did today on the NYT Lens Blog. Be sure to check out his tribute to “Life – and Kodak – Remembered.”
While I try and resist the urge to stockpile Portra and Ektar, Ektachrome and Tri-X, please admire the wonderful Kodak-created images from our Flickr pool below. Please feel free to argue about what you think is the best Kodak film in the comments — even Kodachrome (may it rest in peace)!
“Land Mark, Williamsburg” by Ravi Jolly:
“Coney Island Lights” by Barry Yanowitz:
“Fifth Avenue Diner” by Jill Harrison:
“I C E” by 12th St David:
“No Parking, Williamsburg” by Shawn Hoke:
“Waiting for Summer, Coney Island” by Larry Beckhardt:
“Tower” by Peter Kruger:
“Red Hook Cranes 6″ by Alex Rabb:
Untitled by John J. Genna:
Shawn Hoke
4 weeks ago
Hmm, favorite Kodak film is a tough one. I want to say Ektar, because I love its punchy colors. It’s almost like a C41 slide film. But Ektar is not good for skin and portraits. I think the new Portra 400 is the best color negative film I’ve ever used, you can shoot it anywhere from 200-1200 ISO w/o negative effects and it’s such a pleasant looking film.
I REALLLY love Tri-X though. I would miss Tri-X, but I think I can replace it pretty easily if we lose it. The one thing I’m really worried about is their developing chemicals like Xtol, Dektol, and D-76. I *think* they’ve already spun those off, so the chemicals should be safe. I hope!
Fantastic pictures, Jill.