Kodak Homepage's Posts
A Tribute to KODACHROME: A Photography Icon
It was a difficult decision, given its rich history. At the end of the day, photographers have told us and showed us they've moved on to newer other Kodak films and/or digital. KODACHROME Film currently represents a fraction of one percent of our film sales. We at Kodak want to celebrate with you the rich history of this storied film. Feel free to share with us your fondest memories of Kodachrome.
© Steve McCurry
Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl, at Nasir Bagh refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, 1984.
I've had the profound privilege of working with the world's greatest photographers in my role here at Kodak. I serve as the company's liaison with the pro community, and I've gotten to know the best of the best. Each one has their Kodachrome story.
I thought I'd share with you some reflections on Kodachrome from a small sampling of these great artists - Steve McCurry, Eric Meola, and Peter Guttman.
Listen to what Steve and Peter have to say as they reflect back:
"Before digital, Kodak was already shifting gears--moving away from the boundaries of KODACHROME (long lab times, fewer labs, a more environmentally friendly, as well as constrained, chemistry)" said Meola. "E100SW and E100VS were a natural evolution of the KODACHROME look, and made my life a lot easier. And they kept all the great things about KODACHROME --long latitude, fine grain, great color--and made it easier for me to get processed anywhere. In some ways, those films were natural predecessors to the digital age."
Steve McCurry, whose picture of a young Afghan girl captured the hearts of millions of people around the world as she peered hauntingly from the cover of National Geographic Magazine in 1985, offered these words:
"The early part of my career was dominated by KODACHROME, and I reached for that film to shoot some of my most memorable images," said McCurry. "While KODACHROME Film was very good to me, I have since moved on to other films and digital to create my images. In fact, when I returned to shoot the 'Afghan Girl' 17 years later, I used Kodak's E100VS film to create that image, rather than KODACHROME Film as with the original."
© Peter Guttman
From Peter Guttman: "Kodachrome was for me the visual crib in which my photographic dreams and visions were nurtured. The rich hues, and startlingly lifelike textures imbued within this elegantly crafted film provided a vivid training ground for sharpening my vision of the world. The initial draw to Kodachrome was its unrivalled archival durability, but I shortly realized the magnificent renderings of reality that the film was capable of. I credit Kodachrome as my most reliable tutor, educating my eyeball with an awareness of the delicacy of light and the subtleties of color.
With the strict discipline of a Kodachrome vision firmly under my belt, I felt free to playfully experiment with other films. I have in recent years become enamored with Ektachrome 100VS which has now become my film of choice for its dazzling hues, deeply saturated color and intense sharpness--all optical tools that serve me well in portraying our planet's stunning diversity."
View our slideshow of great KODACHROME moments.
© Eric Meola
"There are in life a few constants, but far too few. The sun rises in the morning and sets at night, and Kodachrome was what was always there to help us record those sunrises and sunsets and to brilliantly capture that ephemeral distance between light and shadow.
We would win awards with it, and the images that the light burned into its emulsion were a paean to this film, as much as the film was part of the soul of the photographers who used it and the unparalleled images they made with it.
We waited up nights to open those golden boxes--like young children surprised with glee and knowing we could drift asleep again and that all was right with the world, and that there was still Kodachrome, and almost nothing else mattered." - Eric Meola
Read more about what others thinking...
Josh Root of photo.net
Stephen Schaub of Figital Revolution
Daniel Bayer of The Kodachrome Project
- Audrey Jonckheer, Kodak Worldwide Pro Photographer Relations
Weddings: Pictures tell the story
Wedding photos are treasured through the years and by generations to come. Theses pictures tell the story of each couple in a unique, romantic way. Every couple has their own ideas about how they want their wedding captured. For that reason alone there are many styles photographers use: traditional formal, romantic, photojournalistic, artistic, candid, black & white, color.
June is the start of summer, the start of the wedding season for the US. During this month at Kodak we have a few things going on to help kick-off the season. Today, we are featuring images from Isabel Lawrence Photographers illustrating their unique style of wedding photography.
We are also very excited to be providing an exclusive single-use camera for Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. Jump over to our Plugged-In blog to read about the camera - after you finishing reading here first though!!
Wedding photographers have a very difficult task - they are the ones who have to tell the story through photos. They need to be able to capture the special moments and the small details that could be forgotten. Having single-use cameras at your wedding will help your guests tell their story.
"Making single-use cameras available to wedding guests is a great idea," said professional wedding photographer Isabel Gomes. "The candid snapshots that guests take provide the happy couple with another perspective and tell the complete story of the wedding and the reception, complementing the vision of their hired photographer. Some of these images are classic, reminding the newlyweds that, yes, everyone really did have a great time. Doing so with a KODAK camera means you can trust that you will get great images every time."
Back to our homepage images, do you see the stories emerging? Do the images say wedding to you? Should they? What style are these photos, what styles do you like?
Tell us what you think. We'd love to hear from you (really, this is a subtle hint - add a comment!!)
© Isabel Lawrence Photographers
© Isabel Lawrence Photographers
© Isabel Lawrence Photographers
© Isabel Lawrence Photographers
© Isabel Lawrence Photographers
About Isabel Lawrence Photographers
Isabel & Lawrence
Isabel and Lawrence share a few of their most closely guarded secrets in our Tips and Project Center. Check out the "insider info" techniques ranging from smart to whimsical, they will help take your photo skills to the next level!
Isabel Gomes and Lawrence Gund are a husband and wife wedding photography team with more than 40 years of combined experience. They are true artists who use film to capture the beauty of life, love, family and friends. Isabel and Lawrence use a wide range of cameras to create artistic techniques that will hold the timelessness of the moment.
Isabel Lawrence Photographers are based in Los Angeles, California. Their work has appeared in publications like People, In Style, Town & Country as well as on WE TV's Platinum Weddings and the Oprah Show.
Isabel's photographs have appeared in several galleries and museums including the Ventura Museum of Art and the Latin Art Museum. Her photographs were also featured at Photokina in the Kodak pavilion in 2006.
Lawrence is an award winning photojournalist who has photographed for the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly.
Isabel and Lawrence regularly teach workshops on running a successful wedding photography studio, and on using alternative cameras like pinhole and plastic toy cameras.
Visit their web site: http://www.isabellawrence.com
Read their blog: http://www.isabellawrence.com/ilpblog.html
We would like to offer special thank you to Isabel and Lawrence for providing such wonderful photos and tips.
Repetition & Patterns
Impactful & Powerful
Filling the frame with the repeating patterns places emphasize on the patterns creating an impactful, powerful image
Rhythmic
When images have repeating patterns it causes a natural movement for the eyes to follow throughout the image. Typically, this is a pleasing, soothing movement for the eyes.
Dramatic scale
Change your perspective of the patterns to add a dramatic scale effect to the image. Make the image become larger than life.
The next time you're wondering around with your camera find the repeating patterns. Take pictures from different angles.
What repeating patterns do you see today? How would you photograph them? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
Shot Tower Encased
Kristine Kowitz
"This is the old Shot Tower which can be found protected inside a mall in Melbourne, Australia. It has a steel and glass structure encompassing it. I took this while on holiday in Melbourne late 2007. It was an old factory that produced lead shot."
Spiraling out
Pauletta
"After waiting in line for hours to see the Sistine Chapel, this is the last view before exiting the Vatican Museum. I will forever be in awe of the masterpieces."
Sensual Geometries
Luca Pellanda
"A modeled architecture -- molded in the superlative way to recall the curves of the female figure. I took the picture last August at the British Museum."
Ceiling
Bree Moon
"I took this picture of the ceiling of the Guggenheim on a memorable trip to NYC with my best friend!"
Big Wheel
William E. Davis Jr.
"This was taken on vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey."
Cannes Film Festival Movies - Past and Present
The Cannes International Film Festival has hosted the worldwide premieres of many of the most-celebrated feature films in history. This small, seaside town in the French Rivera has unveiled such major films as Federico Fellinii's La dolce vita; Robert Altman's MASH, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. All of these masterpieces have another common denominator: they were all created with Kodak motion picture film.
Today, our homepage is featuring photographs from movies past and present which were shown during the Cannes Film Festival. We hope you enjoy our retrospective of Cannes!
The Man Who Wasn't There
Awards Won at Cannes
Best Director: Joel Coen
L-R Tony Shaloub and Frances McDormand. Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon, copyright USA Films 2001
The Man Who Wasn't There premiered at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival. Written by Joel and Ethan Coen, the story takes place in 1949 and follows barber Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) who is dissatisfied with his life in a small northern California town. His wife Doris' (Frances McDormand) infidelity presents him with an opportunity for blackmail but his scheme uncovers darker secrets that eventually lead to murder. The Man Who Wasn't There earned Roger Deakins ASC, BSC an American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Award and a BAFTA Award, as well as an Oscar nomination®. The Coen brother's screenplay was recognized with Golden Globe, Writers Guild of America, and the London's Critic Circle awards nominations.
Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC was born and raised in a small seaside town in Devon, England. He completed his education at the National Film and Television School. After graduation, Deakins focused on documentaries for some seven years, on subjects ranging from the wars in Rhodesia and Eritrea, to a nine-month trip on one of the entrants in a yacht race around the world.
"Joel and Ethan had been talking about their 'black-and-white film' for years. I think they felt it should be black and white for the period and also for the noir-ish idea, but maybe there was no specific reason. It's how they write. When they finally gave me the script (The Man Who Wasn't There) to read, I thought it was a funny and absurd story but there is something about the main character that is touching and haunting ... it moves you." Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC
Deakins decided to record The Man Who Wasn't There on the Kodak Vision 320T film 5277. He describes it as a low contrast negative with a tight grain structure that worked with the black-and-white title film used for making prints.
Mystic River
Awards Won at Cannes
Golden Coach: Clint Eastwood
Sean Penn in a scene from Mystic River (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. ©2003 Warner Bros. Entertainment)
Mystic River premiered at the 2003 Cannes International Film Festival. The story revolves around childhood friends Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins) and Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) who spent their days playing stickball on the street in their blue-collar neighborhood in Boston. Nothing much ever happened on their street, until Dave was forced to take the ride that would change all of their lives forever. Twenty-five years later, the three find themselves thrust back together by another life altering event - the senseless murder of Jimmy's 19-year-old daughter. After premiering at Cannes, Mystic River went on to capture six Academy Award® nominations with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins taking home Oscars® for their performances.
Tom Stern, AFC, ASC was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. While attending St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he photographed a film for a friend. He later enrolled in the graduate school film studies program at Stanford University, where he concentrated on lighting. Stern began his career working as a gaffer/first assistant on medical films and documentaries.
"There are different ways to make movie images look 'real.' One way is to make it grainy and use a handheld camera, a sort of vérité style. But I saw Mystic River as a very formal story with informal characters. I felt an appropriate way to do this would be to have a formal image but to have the lighting look as though it were accidental, so it didn't call attention to itself. That was our intention. Everybody worked extremely hard to make it simple. It would please me if Mystic River would seem to be one of the simplest films ever made." Tom Stern, AFC, ASC
Mystic River was captured on Kodak Vision 500T 5279 film for nights and interiors and Kodak Vision 250D 5246 film for day time exteriors.
Broken Flowers 2005
Awards Won at Cannes
Grand Prize of the Jury
Bill Murray in a scene from Focus Features' Broken Flowers. (courtesy of Focus Features)
Inset image: (L-R) Director Jim Jarmusch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes, ASC on the set of Focus Features' Broken Flowers. (courtesy of Focus Features)
Broken Flowers premiered at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival. The film stars Bill Murray as an aging ladies man who receives an anonymous pink letter informing him that he may have a 19-year-old son. He hits the road on a revealing and humorous cross-country journey to visit four former lovers. He is forced to confront errors of his past and the possibilities of the future. Broken Flowers was directed by Jim Jarmusch, and was shot on location in New York and New Jersey. After premiering at Cannes, Broken Flowers was recognized at the Independent Spirit Awards, European Film Awards, British Independent Film Awards, and at the Czech Lions, among others.
Fred Elmes, ASC studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology, intending to pursue a career as a photojournalist. He went on to earn a degree in filmmaking at New York University. Elmes began his career shooting documentaries before deciding to continue his studies at the American Film Institute.
"Having a film in Cannes is a brilliant moment in any filmmaker's life. It puts you in an elite class. It helps chart your course. And winning ... when you win at Cannes you are truly acknowledged by your peers. Being at the Cannes Festival with a winning film is like living a fantasy come true. My first time at Cannes, with Wild at Heart, I had packed a pair of shorts and my tuxedo, and I was sleeping on someone else's floor. Toward the end of the festival, I had the opportunity to meet Sven Nykvist (ASC), a filmmaker I had long admired. He was serving on the jury that year. We had a cup of coffee and talked about our films. I was completely in awe, and he was very cordial. A day and a half later, Wild at Heart won the Palme d'Or for best film. I saw Sven at the celebration afterwards, and he told me that when we had spoken, he knew we had won but couldn't let on. That was a beautiful moment. You never forget the day your film won at Cannes. That feeling is etched on your brain forever." Fred Elmes, ASC
Elmes decided to record the dream sequences on 16 mm Eastman Ektachrome (7240) film that was cross-processed. For the entire rest of the movie he decided to use the 500T (Kodak Vision2) 5229 negative, because he wanted a very consistent feeling in terms of grain, sharpness and the color palette.
Babel
Awards Won at Cannes
Best Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Technical Grand Prize: Editor Stephen Mirrione
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
Brad Pitt in a scene from Babel. (Photo by Eniac Martinez © 2005 Paramount Vantage)
Inset Image: (L-R) Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC and director Alejandro González Inárritu on the set of Babel. (Photo by Eniac Martinez © 2005 Paramount Classics)
Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett,premiered at the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival. The story begins with a tragic incident involving an American couple in Morocco that sparks a chain of events for four families in different countries throughout around the world. Tied by circumstance but separated by continent, culture and language, each character discovers that it is family that ultimately provides solace. The film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and photographed by Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC, was shot on location in Japan, Mexico, Morocco and the United States. Following its successful showing at Cannes, the film went on to earn numerous accolades, including seven Oscar® nominations.
Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC was born and raised in Mexico City. He studied cinematography at Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, and began his career shooting commercials.
"Being at the Cannes Film Festival with Babel was an incomparable experience. It's a festival you hear about all your life, as a student and as a filmmaker. Filmmaking is taken very seriously there, and it is a big show and that helps make it exciting. I was able to enjoy being right in the middle of it, with Alejandro (González Iñárritu) and the actors, but I was not in the spotlight, so I could enjoy it immensely. At the end of the screening, the audience reacted with a long standing ovation. That was a very emotional, very special experience. Cannes is just a great celebration of filmmaking. I'm very happy that this year, a film I made with Pedro Almodóvar, Los abrazos rotos, will play in competition at the festival." Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC
Prieto decided to shoot scenes in Super 16 on (EASTMAN EXR 100T) 7248 film, (EASTMAN EXR 50D) 7245, and (KODAK VISION2 500T) 7218 for night interiors. Other films that were used included KODAK VISION 800T and KODAK VISION 500T 5279 film.
Agora
Photo by Teresa Isasi
Agora, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar's second English language feature after The Others, is set in ancient Egypt and marks his fourth collaboration with Mateo Gil, the highly-acclaimed scriptwriter. The high-budget European epic stars Oscar winner Rachel Weisz as Hypatia of Alexandra, the western world's first female philosopher and astronomer, and her slave Davus, played by Max Minghella, who is torn between his love for her and his desire for freedom.
Renowned director of photography Xavi Giménez had long harboured an interest in the human aspect of Amenábar's movies. "Alejandro uses photography as a tool to express the emotion intrinsic to a story and I wanted to secure the experience of working with him. In our early conversations we talked about avoiding a fantastic aesthetic interpretation, but after a great deal of research we understood that we couldn't escape the striking nature of 4th century Alexandria's with its social contrasts. We had to evoke the same sensation as if it was a big modern city and that's why we placed the camera in the middle of its social collapse, shooting like a tourist or ENG camera operator sent to capture some big city argument. The audience needs to be aware of a current reality; to feel involved in what's happened and what's happening. So we pushed further to tell them: 'this is your camera' and 'this is what you shot on your recent vacation'. But we couldn't avoid an emotional interpretation of social and sentimental events which allowed us to enter into a more suggestive narrative language with pictorial images."
The Giménez chose KODAK VISION 3 250D 5205 for daylight exteriors and interiors and, after stock tests for night shoots, he and FX supervisor Felix Vergés settled on KODAK VISION3 500T 5219.
Drag Me to Hell
(L-R) Alison Lohman and Lorna Raver in a scene from Drag Me to Hell. (Photo by Melissa Moseley/Universal Pictures c 2009 Universal Studios)
Inset Image: Cinematographer Peter Deming, ASC on the set of Drag Me to Hell. (Photo by Melissa Moseley/Universal Pictures c 2009 Universal Studios)
During the mid-1980s, Peter Deming, ASC collaborated with Sam Raimi on Evil Dead II. It was Deming's second feature credit. He has since created a diverse body of work including films such as Lost Highway, Mullholland Drive, Scream 2 and 3, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Recently Deming reteamed with Sam Raimi on the psychological horror film Drag Me to Hell, which will screen at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival. It's the story of a twenty-something woman who is given three days to live after an ungenerous moment as a bank manager.
Deming used three film stocks: KODAK VISION3 500T 5219, KODAK VISION2 250D 5205 and VISION2 200T 5217.
Go to our Cinema & Television site for more information about Kodak at Cannes
Cannes Film Festival through the Eyes of Jocelyn Bain Hogg
One of the world's oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals will start on the 13th of May - the 62nd Festival De Cannes. Kodak has been an official partner of the storied Festival de Cannes for 20 years, and is the long-standing sponsor of the Camera d'Or prize, awarded to the year's best feature-length film submitted by a first-time director at Cannes.
The festival will run until 24th of May during which time we will celebrate the rich legacy of the festival through imagery on our homepage. This week we begin with photographs from British photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg. Jocelyn takes us through a documentary journey of the Cannes Film Festival.
The photographs on our homepage Jocelyn provided were from his book Idols + Believers. This book captures a refreshing documentary view of modern celebrities, photographers, and producers of the tabloid world as well as the people who make up the fan culture that we are all a part of. His wonderful eye is able to capture this madness with a suspension of judgment that is rare with such a subject matter and explores our obsession with celebrities.
Jocelyn became interested in documenting celebrities when he was assigned to capture the media frenzy around the death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. "The germ of an idea struck me. Why was the populace so obsessed with this fairytale, a woman mythologized to the point where many believed they knew her? What is fame and why do we adore some people?"
© Jocelyn Bain Hogg
French actor Jean Rochefort greets his fans on the way to a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival
© Jocelyn Bain Hogg
Paris Hilton and her bodyguards on the Croisette, Cannes
© Jocelyn Bain Hogg
Angelina Jolie on the way to a premiere, Cannes
© Jocelyn Bain Hogg
A starlet on the Red Carpet, Cannes
© Jocelyn Bain Hogg
Crowds on the way to a premiere, Cannes
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About Jocelyn
Jocelyn Bain Hogg is an eminent British photographer who began his career as a unit photographer on movie sets after studying at Newport Art College. He shot publicity for the BBC before moving into fashion photography and now works on documentary projects. His work has been seen in numerous publications including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, the Sunday Times, Marie Claire, Stern, GQ, Esquire, Le Monde and La Republicca.
View more photographs by Jocelyn and learn about his books.
Hands of Emotion
Emotional photographs draw viewers in, instantly building a connection. It is a true gift to be able to capture the emotion in a photograph. Photojournalists create emotional photo stories everyday. So what makes a photograph emotional? It is simple; any photograph that causes a reaction is emotion. Emotions are the feelings that are generated when a person is viewing a photograph. They can be joyful, sorrow, love, hate, fear, intrigue etc.
How do you draw out emotions with your photographs?
Research
First, plan your photograph. What is the story you are going to tell? What is the subject that will be in the photograph? Find out as much as you can about the subject, if it is a person learn the story about the person and then plan the photo around what you know about them.
Composition
Composition is really where your artistic expression can be felt and what drives the emotions felt by viewers. It is the relationship of the elements within the frame. The composition of the photo is where your audience can see the image how you want them to see it. Check out our Tips and Project Center for great tips on to compose your photographs
Experiment
When I was in school for photography the first lesson they taught us was, film is cheap, shoot a lot. Well now with digital cameras there is no reason not to just keep shooting! Put the camera into a continuous shooting mode and see what happens, it is truly an experiment.
Just plain luck!
Let's be honest, some times the best photograph happens because you are in the right place at the right time. Since you never know when that may happen always be prepared with a camera in hand!
Take a minute, and enjoy the images on our homepage. Do they draw out any emotions? Tell us how, leave us a comment!
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Old and New
By: Myra Meko
I used my daughter's camera to snap this picture of my nephew's hand grabbing my mother's.
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Priorities Change
By: Norma Warden
This is my brand new grandson, Cash, in his Daddy's arms. He is my first grandchild, and was born 5 weeks early. He is home now and doing well. I literally watched the transformation in his Daddy's eyes, as he realized this little person was the most important thing in his life. He was amazed at the depth of the love he felt for his son, and I was so happy to have been there to record everything in photographs.
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Sun in My Hand
By: Igor Sivjakov
I love this picture a lot because it is artistic and unusual. The shape of this flower is amazing; it looks like a sun... :) Taken in Bukovik, near Sarajevo, 22-05-2005.
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The Butterfly Effect
By: Abdul Kadir Audah
A butterfly flew to a boy's hands at the Butterfly Garden in ARTIS Zoo in Amsterdam, Holland. I added texture and sepia tone in Adobe Photoshop
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5th Avenue
By: Nicolas Eertmans
I was on vacation in NYC mid-October 2005, and was unlucky to be there during what must have been NYC's rainiest week ever. Still, rain did not prevent me from taking pictures, like this snapshot of an ad across 5th Avenue.
