Photographer Daniel Bayer, who had started his now-famous Kodachrome Project back in 2004, recently issued a statement saying he would “continue gathering images through The Kodachrome Project until its end date”. The statement comes after Kodak’s announcement of retiring the iconic film after 74 years of production. Daniel Bayer started his project five years ago, being fully aware that “it was only a matter of time before Kodak would discontinue producing this film”. He has travelled far and wide throughout the United States to capture “the best images possible” before it becomes too late, and now hopes to produce a book and exhibit next year to “visually celebrate the 75th anniversary of Kodachrome Film”.

Website: The Kodachrome Project

Press Release

Kodachrome Project Aims to Preserve Era of Film Photography

Kodak Will Cease Producing Kodachrome Film, the Unofficial End of the Colorful Era

ASPEN, Colo.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—On Monday, June 22nd, Eastman Kodak Corporation officially announced it would cease production of Kodachrome 64, the last remaining variation of Kodachrome Color Film. Kodak and Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, the only lab in the world that still develops the film, have agreed to continue processing until December 2010, Kodachrome’s 75th anniversary next year.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before Kodak would discontinue producing this film,” said Aspen, Colo.-based photographer Dan Bayer. “I also knew there would never be another film that can match the quality and style of an image captured on Kodachrome. That’s when I decided to shoot poignant essays on it before it was too late.”

Bayer officially began The Kodachrome Project in early 2004 (www.kodachromeproject.com), traveling far and wide to get the best images possible before Kodak ceases its production, and encouraging other photographers to do the same.

“I created the web site as means to elevate awareness, so I was encouraged when it got such a big following,” says Bayer, who says the site now has over 300 members since its launch and a large amount of hits. “I’ve discovered a huge Kodachrome community through the Internet. It’s been amazing helping and inspiring photographers all over the world to keep the irreplaceable quality of Kodachrome film alive.”

“I made a decision to start working in color on the basis of what I could do with Kodachrome, so the film remains dear to my heart,” said Magnum Photographer Alex Webb shortly after the announcement of Kodachrome’s demise. “I began using it seriously in Haiti and along the U.S.-Mexico border. The intensity of Kodachrome, combined with its smoothness and restraint (almost seems like a contradiction), seemed uniquely suited for these places and subsequent forays that I made into the world of the tropics.” Webb will publish his last dance with the film in a book on Cuba in November of this year.

Since June 2006, Bayer has traveled from the most remote regions of the Rocky Mountain West to the Inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. Bayer will continue gathering images through The Kodachrome Project until its end date, but hopes it will live on in the images he’ll produce for a book and exhibit that visually celebrate the 75th anniversary of Kodachrome Film.

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