A Kodak moment ..

I've just read that today's the birthday of George Eastman. Mr Kodak to you and I! He invented basically 'Photography for the masses' and it's him I have to thank for the Kodachrome I took with me when I travelled around the world a few centuries back! Here's an appropriate shot of a taxi in Brazil - a tribute to one of the great Gods of photography! Happy Birthday, George! A definite Kodak moment...

Time machine..

Oh, my God, Doctor, what is it? A kind of Tardis? Have aliens finally landed? Who is that giant woman? And what does Kodak mean?

Keep calm, son! That's not a space-ship, it's an enlarger! A what, Doctor? An enlarger, dear boy! A Vivitar colour enlarger. Believe it or not in the old days, if you wanted prints, you had to lock yourself away for hours in a dark room with one of these bad boys and bucketloads of smelly chemicals! Oh, wow Doctor, so it is a Tardis - it's a time-machine from photography long ago! Ha, yes, my son, I suppose it is. That and the Kodak sign. Kodak were one of the companies that produced the paper to make the prints, you see. Ah, yes, they're all signs of an era long ago and far away and, do you know, that enlarger's gone from having a price tag of £393 in this photograph to being sold on ebay last week for £19.99. Old technology, see. Wow Doctor, that's amazing! But, doctor, one last question. Yes, my son? What's a print?

On the horizon..

I can't ever remember using the digital zoom on my little Nikon Coolpix compact - it's normally set to wide and macro - but I love the shot I got on that setting yesterday. Ok, it's not perfect, but this Liverpool skyline will forever remind me of a fantastic day on Formby beach with my girlfriend Lesley and the two dogs. We walked for two hours yesterday, watching young families taking photos in the sunshine, and in all of that time I saw .. two cameras! Everyone else was using their phone to capture their memories. Just holding up their iphone or android and capturing a digital memory that will .. well, will what? Be printed? Shoved on Facebook? Used as a screensaver? Who knows, but just don't ask Kodak! With everybody shooting digitally they've shut down their film division, and the end of the little yellow box is nigh. Scary times!

I had a conversation on Friday that was rather chilling, too, and it actually made me wonder if there'll be such a job title as Stills Photographer in a few years time. A couple of PR executives both said, in seperate conversations at a Networking Event, that they just had no need/demand/budget for Professional Stills Photography any more. (My bank balance can vouch for that, by the way!) However, photography is the only thing I know and, with my 34th anniversary as a photographer coming up this week, I'm starting to think (Hope!) that it'll stay the only thing I know. Jeepers! Who knows what's on the horizon?...

We did the rest...

"Gosh! What's that, Dad?"
"That? Ah that, son, is a Kodak Instamatic!"
"Huh?"...
"It was a type of camera, son. Used to be made by a big company that could supply your every need as a photographer. Film, papers, chemicals and yes, even the cameras themselves."
"Wow, Dad. Can I get one? Can I? Can I?.."
"No, son, 'fraid not! They've just gone out of business. Imagine, big company like that, based entirely in the world of photography. Bust! Gone! Ko - Dodo..."
"Tut! Gee! So, what happened, Dad?"
"Digital happened, my boy. Digital...."
"Digital? Digital? How'd that kill 'em off?"..
"Well, son, it's like this. They used to have this catch-phrase, see.
'You press the button, we do the rest'"
"Yeah? And?..."
"And, well .. 'the rest' doesn't happen anymore, son. These modern folk, they just click and click and click and all those images ... sniff ... well, they never, ever become real photographs."
"No??..."
"No, son, they just stay on cards, sticks, hard-drives and discs until them peeps just lose 'em on a bus! Cryin' shame!"
"It is, Dad! It is! Good job that Martin O'Neill kept so many old negatives, eh?"...

©Martin O'Neill 2012

Snap decision..

I stopped to take a picture of this faded shop sign whilst I was in Greece last month. It was a bit of a Kodak moment, really...

Kodak moment...

Well, it looks like there might be some hope for Kodak film users, after all. Not Kodachrome users obviously, that stuff's been well and truly killed off - but it's awful to hear of the damage that digital is causing these day. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally 'digi' myself now, even though I still complain about its plastic appearance but, along with the recession, it's been the demise of an awful lot of businesses (A lot of awful businesses, too, so it ain't all bad!) It batters at my door daily, though. My markets are disappearing, the number of 'amateur' Wedding photographers has gone through the roof, and photographers' rates have nose-dived. I'm regularly asked to shoot an entire Wedding, and provide an album and all images on CD for less than £400! (No, I don't do it!) Still, I must take some glimmer of hope from the fact that I'm still in business after 33 years, when even the giants like Kodak are crumbling around me. It's a real Kodak moment...

The end of an era...

Ooh, now that's what you call a birthday present! I've been booked to shoot a Wedding on my birthday this year, and just happened to be passing the venue yesterday. Check it out! Croxteth Hall, in Liverpool. My very own Dowton Abbey! Can't wait to get shooting!

Sad to hear about Kodak's continuing demise. I've seen all manner of magazine, newspaper and retailer go out of business in the digital age, but to know that it's 'got' Kodak too is really rather frightening. The Kodak moment is over and, like Croxteth Hall, the old way of photography has passed into a bygone era....