Death


In September 2003, Kodak issued a press release announcing that the company would stop making and selling slide projectors by June 2004 due to declined usage.[1] Manufacturing of Kodachrome ended in 2009 and then in March 2012, Kodak announced that the company was taking three other types of its slide film off the market.[2] A dirge begins to play for the medium of the slide.

  • Snuff Film Snuff Film Documentarian Paige Sarlin went to Germany to film the last Kodak slide projector coming off the assembly line. Her documentary is aptly called "The Last Slide Projector."[3]
  • Funeral Sarlin witnessed Kodak workers performing a funeral for the projector. Here are the pallbearers. (image: still from "Historic Moments") Funeral
  • Goodbye, Kodachrome Goodbye, Kodachrome Steve McCurry requested that he be the one to use the final roll of Kodachrome. The National Geographic photographer had shot thousands of rolls on the slide film and had used it for his famous image of an Afghani girl. He donated the images from the final roll to the George Eastman House during a press conference on June 13th 2011. (image: nationalgeographic.com)
  • A Disappearing Way of Life A Disappearing Way of Life McCurry decided to make the theme of the roll "disappearing ways of life". This image is of a man from a nomadic tribe in India. The lives of those in the tribe are changing due to increased development. Some are now forced to become day laborers.[4] (image: Steve McCurry)
     

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[1] “Split decision: Pamela M. Lee on the demise of the slide projector.” Artforum International Magazine, Inc. 2004.
[2] Chris Gampat. “UPDATE: CONFIRMED Did Kodak Just Discontinue All Their Slide Films?” The Phoblographer. March 1 2012. Web.
[3] “Historic Moments.” Paige Sarlin. 2006. Film.
[4] “Steve McCurry Donates Last Kodachrome Images” eastmanhouse.org. 2011. Web.