Mama Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away…

Among the other sad news of the week, was a short piece I almost missed on NPR about Kodak’s decision to no longer manufacture Kodachrome film.

I have become as lazy as most Americans and have embraced my digital camera. It’s easy, quick and I can take lots of bad photos for little or no cost. For my artistic side, this is not a good thing.

When I was younger and had more leisure time I fancied myself as an above average photographer. I even had a show at a local bank. I loved working in black and white. I was inspired by Ansel Adams, whom I heard speak near the end of his life. He drove home the idea that the initial image was important, but the manipulation done in the dark room was where real artistry is achieved. Black and white allowed me to explore his theories at little expense.

When I was feeling flush and frisky, I would experiment with Kodachrome or Ektachrome transparency films. Since I liked to photograph the natural world, my film of choice was Ektachrome for its ability to capture blues, greens and other cool colors with such vibrancy and almost grain-less clarity. For me, Kodachrome was reserved for photographing people and the most amazing sunsets, sunrises and other “hot” images.

Time and life and other interests have caused me to put my old Nikon SLR in the closet. Every once in a while I fantasize about pulling it out and spending days exploring my current world through its lenses. Sadly, I haven’t done so. Yet. But when I do, I will mourn the loss of one more link to our manual, analog past. Twitter and Facebook and email do not replace handwritten letters. Texting is not a phone call. MP3s and CDs can’t duplicate the richness of vinyl. The internet is not a newspaper. A blog is not a diary.

Easier is definitely not always better and I fear these small losses of reality as we digitize ourselves are lessening us in some intangible way.

Sigh.