Today I received my last roll of Kodachrome film back from the lab. It was a strange feeling because since “going digital” five years ago, I haven’t shot a roll of film.
But, when it was recently announced that Dwayne’s Photo Lab in Parsons,Kansas (the only Kodachrome processor left in the world) was going to discontinue it’s Kodachrome processing this past December 30th, I decided to search my film freezer one more time in hopes of finding a random roll of that magnificent film that certainly helped me create some of the best photographs of my career. As luck would have it, there was ONE loose roll!
I headed out on the afternoon of December 28th to shoot that last roll. Deciding what to shoot was a bit frustrating as I was now used to the digital idea that since “pixels are free”… shoot like crazy. I found myself trying to be being a lot more selective about what I chose to shoot. It’s a discipline that now seems to be all but forgotten.
I tried shooting that roll carefully and thoughtfully. Ironically, my last frame was this sunset reflection.
And, in retrospect, it seemed the appropriate metaphor.
Hi Arthur:
I can hear Paul Simon singing in your image.
Best,
Alan
That’s the reason I still love photographing with film! It slows me down, way down. I take more in but less comes out. I’m not sure if quality really has any correlation to quantity-or if I just prefer to have fewer images to go through an edit! Haha! So sheer laziness? Or just mindful, photo playtime? I haven’t decided yet, but I do so much love the magic of film. Maybe I’m just a romantic-grudgingly living into the now/future.