axel
Super Member
Well, I just discovered today that Kodak shelved another one of its great products.
Apart from the fact that the big Rochester K is on its way to sort of "force us" to drop the original Kodachrome, apart from the fact that the same big K has ceased all research related to consumer products, well, this time Kodak shelved (among other films) the Technical Pan - one of its most fascinating and versatile film: orthochromatic b/w with a variable contrast/sensibility related to the the developer used in the end. Absolutely NO grain possible and a transparency that makes one forget the images were taken on a film.
A few years back, Kodak shelved the Elite b/w printing paper - the most stunning, thick and rich (in silver) printing paper ever. The reason? Not enough profit. They weren't losing money on it mind you, no, not at all - they weren't making enough on our (professional) heads. The same year the Elite vanished, Avedon published his last full-fledged b/w book which sported an ostensible "all prints made on Kodak Elite paper". Go figure.
One day, I'm afraid soon, some nerdish self-appointed marketing genius will say that... oh! well, even though both have been THE industry standard for the past 40 or 50 years, the Tri-X and Plus-X are getting real old and corny, really, don't you think? Time for some newer superduper film that will rock your socks off and send you to high-tech nirvana - believe me, you need a change!
Sure - Avedon, Penn, Arbus and, err, whatshisname, err, yeah - Lartigue! all made their images on these films, but, hey! who gives a f*%# about those old farts now?!
If you check my professional website (http://www.axeldahl.com), you will see quite a few b/w images - if you like them, I am sorry to inform you that none of them I could do today, or even better ones for that matter - no Elite paper anymore, and now no Technical Pan either.
A strict Kodak user since 1985, it took me almost 10 years to perfect and master those intricate printing/developing processes... The disappearance of the Elite paper was quite a blow when it occured... And now I should drop the 2nd part of my craft because some punk deemed the profits not high enough on that particular film?
Research costs on these films have looooooong since been recovered so it's not a matter of loosing money, especially considering that ALL pros WORLDWIDE use these films DAILY, from the 35mm to the 8x10" format. No, it isn't that - it's just they want more PROFIT. Argh! Shouldn't cornering half of the market for the past 50 years be enough already???
There are currently twenty 4x5" boxes left in Paris - they'll be mine next week (ouch). But then what? I can do about 15 assignements with such a stock.
And what then?
Well, then they will whine and whine even more and wonder why we all wind up shooting on Fujifilm.
I am ANGRY!
Apart from the fact that the big Rochester K is on its way to sort of "force us" to drop the original Kodachrome, apart from the fact that the same big K has ceased all research related to consumer products, well, this time Kodak shelved (among other films) the Technical Pan - one of its most fascinating and versatile film: orthochromatic b/w with a variable contrast/sensibility related to the the developer used in the end. Absolutely NO grain possible and a transparency that makes one forget the images were taken on a film.
A few years back, Kodak shelved the Elite b/w printing paper - the most stunning, thick and rich (in silver) printing paper ever. The reason? Not enough profit. They weren't losing money on it mind you, no, not at all - they weren't making enough on our (professional) heads. The same year the Elite vanished, Avedon published his last full-fledged b/w book which sported an ostensible "all prints made on Kodak Elite paper". Go figure.
One day, I'm afraid soon, some nerdish self-appointed marketing genius will say that... oh! well, even though both have been THE industry standard for the past 40 or 50 years, the Tri-X and Plus-X are getting real old and corny, really, don't you think? Time for some newer superduper film that will rock your socks off and send you to high-tech nirvana - believe me, you need a change!
Sure - Avedon, Penn, Arbus and, err, whatshisname, err, yeah - Lartigue! all made their images on these films, but, hey! who gives a f*%# about those old farts now?!
If you check my professional website (http://www.axeldahl.com), you will see quite a few b/w images - if you like them, I am sorry to inform you that none of them I could do today, or even better ones for that matter - no Elite paper anymore, and now no Technical Pan either.
A strict Kodak user since 1985, it took me almost 10 years to perfect and master those intricate printing/developing processes... The disappearance of the Elite paper was quite a blow when it occured... And now I should drop the 2nd part of my craft because some punk deemed the profits not high enough on that particular film?
Research costs on these films have looooooong since been recovered so it's not a matter of loosing money, especially considering that ALL pros WORLDWIDE use these films DAILY, from the 35mm to the 8x10" format. No, it isn't that - it's just they want more PROFIT. Argh! Shouldn't cornering half of the market for the past 50 years be enough already???
There are currently twenty 4x5" boxes left in Paris - they'll be mine next week (ouch). But then what? I can do about 15 assignements with such a stock.
And what then?
Well, then they will whine and whine even more and wonder why we all wind up shooting on Fujifilm.
I am ANGRY!