Kodak announced today that they will no longer make cameras. I’ve known for awhile that Kodak has been having trouble. While other camera companies transition into digital photography, Kodak was reluctant to move away from film. They will still be around, but their focus will be one printer.
The announcement made me a little sad. Kodak cameras are a big part of my childhood memories. My Dad had a Kodak camera that he kept in the glove compartment of the car. I can remember when my sisters got cameras for Christmas and their birthday.
Oh, how I wanted my own camera! It seemed so grown up. When I was 8 or 9, I got my very first camera. It was a Kodak Pocket Instamatic. I can still remember the yellow box with a cartridge of 110 film and a flash cube. I loved that camera!
Throughout my life I’ve had several Kodak cameras. I had a couple of Instamatics, a disk camera, and a 35mm flip flash that I loved because there were no more flash cubes! Kodak made cameras you could carry around with you, that were durable, and easy to use.
There were the “Kodak moment” commercials. They were the commercials that always made you cry.
Then digital came around. For someone like me who could take 7 rolls a film on a weekend at Yosemite, digital was a dream come true. No more costly developing of photos that didn’t turn out as I planned. No more hassling with tried to load film in the camera.
So, today it seems like a little bit of America’s history has died. Thanks for all the wonderful photographic memories, Kodak! You brought photography to the average American and kept it affordable. Our memories are forever entwined with our Kodak cameras.
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