The End of a Photographic Era

If you haven't heard by now, Kodak is going out of business.  The company filed for bankruptcy and are closing their doors for good soon.  Now, they have been a staple diet for everyone around this nice blue planet of ours for such a long time, that I don't think I have ever not heard the word 'Kodak' and not associated it with cameras, the film industry or any other part of film since I was little. 

However, it's a matter of the company not marching on with the times that brought about its demise.  Kodak invented the first digital cameras before they came out on the market, but they didn't market them at all.  They wanted to keep people who were diligent and kept their allegiances to film within that market; and this company became the biggest producers of camera film in the world; even with the digital camera took over and people who once loved film changed over to digital cameras.  

Even I changed over from my worthy, brilliant Pentax Z10 film camera to my digital little Canon PowerShot A590 and it was a little painful, but I love my little camera now.  It takes the best photos and it's nice and light, fits in my bag and has a myriad of settings in it to suit my needs.  With my big film camera, I found it seized up in cold weather, got hot and sweated a lot in hot weather, I was forever carrying around a number of lithium batteries (because I never knew when it was going run out of juice; as one minute it worked and the next it didn't) and then there was the film.  If I kept the film for too long and didn't use it, it 'got old' and was unusuable.  And once the digital cameras came into use, I found that film for my old Pentax Z10 became so damn expensive to buy - let alone develop - I didn't bother buying the dreadfully expensive batteries (at $25 a pop, who'd want to?) and wasting my money on the film as it was just too bad if the shots didn't work out.  Also, it took up so much time trying to get them developed... so many days in the week to be out and about sending it in, then collecting it; only to find that half your shots were useless.  But that was the fun of having a film camera.  You got good at what you did; and quickly.

Kodak just didn't keep up with the times and was lost on the path that was paved with electronics, the internet and other digital items that have come our way.  The public have forgotten who they are - unless you still use a film camera - and it's such a pity; as I still have some of the film in my Pentax that I need to get out and developed as the battery died; and I'm not sure if it's used up or not.  I might just open the back door of the camera and pull it out... or better still go into Photo Continental and ask them to help me get my photos developed.  Actually, I just phoned up and found out that K-Mart don't have their dark boxes around anymore - these are boxes that are used to open cameras inside of when you know you have a film in it but you don't want light getting in.  They can help you develop what's left on the roll if you wish or just destroy it by letting the light get to it.  It's such a pity because due to Kodak going out of business, K-Mart has to close up their film photography section of their stores.  This takes two weeks.  So, it looks like I'm stuck with going to Photo Continental at Creek Road to get my camera checked out.  Damn!  I was hoping to it looked it locally.

Well, I do hope that Kodak stays a part of our lives in some way or another.  I also hope with their bankruptcy, they can work on newer innovations that can bring them back from the ashes.  Even though they may not be around anymore, and will be missed dearly by more than one generation of people around the world, I'm sure they have a few other plans (a few other Aces up their sleeve).  Until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here.