I’m sorry Kodak…
Dear Kodak,
As an iconic contributor to consumerism it is weird that you didn’t see it coming. But, like it or not, in the consumer’s Bible the customer is always right. And the consumer has chosen digital, a path you didn’t really manage to follow…
I will not miss the stains of developer on my clothes, the chemical fumes inhaled during the days or months spent in the darkroom. I might miss the ‘Brownie’ I got for my 10th birthday, but that is sheer nostalgia… I miss a little the inevitable ripening process between taking a picture and actually seeing it appear in the tray. That time, sometimes weeks, allowed the image to settle into an idea, into memory. When the contact sheet finally revealed the truth, it was often disappointing, revealing the flaws, the poor positioning, the lack of focus, the laziness. But it also brought to light/life moments of satisfaction, when everything in the frame miraculously fitted together.
Dear Kodak. I confess I participated to your demise. Nevertheless I am extremely gratefull for what you gave me during all those years. I dedicate the story ‘Dear Colleagues’ to you. And even if the last seven pictures of that set were made with digital, they are heavily indebted to your history.
But a picture is a picture, regardless how it was made. I’m interested in pictures. And as it seems you’ll go on producing film, I might even go back to it once in a while. For memory’s sake…
BELGIUM. Aalst. 17/02/1980: Carnival.