The last roll of Kodachrome film ever created has wound up in good hands.
Friday, August 27, 2010
The last roll of Kodachrome film ever created has wound up in good hands.
Famed photographer and photojournalist Steve McCurry, who captured “Afghan Girl” (at left), an image that has been called “the most recognized photograph” in the history of National Geographic magazine, was given the final strip of the iconic film.
The world’s most commercially successful film for much of the 20th century, Kodachrome gained popularity beginning in the Great Depression for its vibrant colors, sharpness and durability. Tragically, the Eastman Kodak Co. officially discontinued the iconic film last year after deciding digital photography is the wave of the future. They decided to give the final roll of 36 exposures to McCurry.
So what will he do with the precious strip? That’s the subject of a new documentary from National Geographic, which follows the veteran photojournalist as he travels the world and attempts to give Kodachrome a proper send-off.
“I thought, what better way to kind of honor the memory of the film than to try and photograph iconic places and people? It’s in (my) DNA to want to tell stories where the action is, that shed light on the human condition,” the photographer said.
McCurry (who has already developed the film at Dwayne’s Photo Service in Parsons, Kan. — the last place in the world that develops Kodachrome film) pointed his camera at a number of New York City landmarks, including The Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Station, as well as famous faces like Robert De Niro. Then he headed to India, returning to where he shot some of his most notable work, all on the classic film.
The documentary, which chronicles McCurry’s 6-week trip around the world and the pressure of capturing something important in each precious image, is scheduled to air sometime early next year.
What about you? If you had the very last roll of Kodachrome film, what would you photograph?
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