Kodak is the mama taking Kodachrome away

ROCHESTER, N.Y. Sorry, Paul Simon, Kodak is taking your Kodachrome away.

The Eastman Kodak Co. announced yesterday that it's retiring its most senior film because of declining demand in an increasingly digital age.

The world's first commercially successful color film, immortalized in song by Simon, enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and'60s. Sales of Kodachrome are now just a fraction of 1 percent of the company's total sales of still-picture films, and only one commercial lab in the world still processes it.

"Kodachrome is particularly difficult [to retire] because it really has become kind of an icon," spokeswoman Mary Jane Hellyar said.

The company now gets about 70 percent of its revenue from its digital business but plans to stay in the film business "as far into the future as possible," Hellyar said..

Kodachrome, because of a unique formula, was made only about once a year.

Simon sang about it in 1973 in the aptly titled "Kodachrome."

"They give us those nice bright colors. They give us the greens of summers. Makes you think all the world's a sunny day," he sang. " . . . So, Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away."

Indeed, Kodachrome was favored by still and motion picture photographers for its rich but realistic tones, vibrant colors and durability.

It was the basis not only for countless family slideshows but also for world-renowned images, including Abraham Zapruder's 8-mm reel of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963.

Photojournalist Steve McCurry's widely recognized portrait of an Afghan refugee girl, shot on Kodachrome, appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985. At Kodak's request, McCurry will shoot one of the last rolls of Kodachrome film and donate the images to the George Eastman House museum, which honors the company's founder, in Rochester.

As a tribute to the film, Kodak has compiled on its Web site a gallery of iconic images, including McCurry's Afghan girl and others.

Unlike any other color film, Kodachrome is purely black and white when exposed. The three primary colors that mix to form the spectrum are added in three development steps rather than built into its layers.

Because of the complexity, only Dwayne's Photo, in Parsons, Kan., still processes Kodachrome film. The lab has agreed to continue through 2010, Kodak said.

Hellyar estimates the retail supply of Kodachrome will run out in the fall, though it could be sooner if devotees stockpile. In the U.S., Kodachrome film is available only through photo specialty dealers. In Europe, some retailers carry it. -- The Associated Press