The end of an era

December 30, 2010 marked the end of an era - the day, the last Kodachrome film was processed. Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas/USA was the last lab on the planet to process the legendary Kodachrome. It stopped developing the iconic film on December 31, 2010.

Rajasthan, India by Steve McCurry

While the use of this film was rather easy for a photographer, its processing was quite difficult. Only specialized labs were able to do so. At the peak there were only 25 labs worldwide that were actually able to process the films. In switzerland, for example, there was only one in Lausanne. However, back in 2009, Kodak decided to stop producing the film as well as the chemicals needed for its processing. So it was just a question of time until the era of the Kodachrome came to an end.

Dwayne's Photo, a family run business in Parsons, was the last place where photographers could have their film roles developed. But this is now history! Just before they stopped processing, thousands and thousands of films were sent to Dwayne's. According to US newspapers, there was even one guy who sent in more than 1'580 films - just in time. One of the last one to get his film processed was Steve McCurry, the well-known photographer. He has published some of his very last Kodachrome pictures on his website. However, the very very last film role processed was the one of Dwayne Steinle, i.e. the owner of Dwayne's Photo. A well deserved memory.

Featured Artwork

Artist: Steve McCurry


Website: stevemccurry.com

Blog: stevemccurry.wordpress.com

 

Title: Rajasthan


Facebook: stevemccurrystudios

Twitter: McCurryStudios

 

Location: India


Instagram: stevemccurryofficial

Tumblr: stevemccurrystudios

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