Kodak is quitting.

[Brahmanyan]

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Eastman Kodak Co., the pioneer in photography and brand leader that introduced the famous Brownie Camera more than a century ago filed for bankruptcy yesterday, after the fall of its business when consumers moved from film to digital technology in photography. It is a sad news for all lovers of photography.

Kodak was founded by George Eastman, a self educated high school drop out, who developed Dry-plate photography in 1883, later invented the dry, transparent and flexible roll film and introduced a Camera in 1888. "You press the button, we do the rest" announced George Eastman in 1888 in his advertising slogan for his Kodak camera.

George Eastman perfected commercial roll film which was used by Thomas Alva Edison in the motion picture Camera invented by him.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[KRS]

Small correction Sri Brahmanyan Ji. They are not quitting. They are reorganizing under bankruptcy protection. So, they will reorganize and come back.

Kodak is located in the city called Rochester in the New York State. By the way, another US company there in that city also started called Xerox.

Xerox is also in decline. And both these companies, astonishingly have more or less the same story.

Kodak invented digital photography, but to protect their film business did not invest in that business. Guess who benefited? Ask the Japanese.

Xerox came up with the idea of the graphical user interface in their research lab. They gave it away free to Steve Jobs, because they thought there was no application for it. We know the rest.

But then, this is what free enterprise is all about, is it not?

Regards,
KRS

 

[DR.C.NARAYANI]

hello sir ,the thread you stated is the first hand&prompt news ,its nice to see u always be up dated .but the news is disturbing ,they had made so many wonders ,were each one will have a sweet memories .but then still they up graded them in past decade i am talking in chennai accept .(my dad was a cinematographer ie , camera mam .paternal uncles ,we own photo studio in t.nagar ,which was inagurated by our present CM madam in 1972 april 14 .i still rember my school days we had enjoyed a lot as it was a joint family taking snaps even in casual situation .)

 

[Brahmanyan]

Small correction Sri Brahmanyan Ji. They are not quitting. They are reorganizing under bankruptcy protection. So, they will reorganize and come back.


But then, this is what free enterprise is all about, is it not?

Regards,
KRS

Dear Sri KRS.,

Thanks for the rejoinder. I stand corrected and wish this great institution will reorganize and come back.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Brahmanyan]

hello sir ,the thread you stated is the first hand&prompt news ,its nice to see u always be up dated .but the news is disturbing ,they had made so many wonders ,were each one will have a sweet memories .but then still they up graded them in past decade i am talking in chennai accept .(my dad was a cinematographer ie , camera mam .paternal uncles ,we own photo studio in t.nagar ,which was inagurated by our present CM madam in 1972 april 14 .i still rember my school days we had enjoyed a lot as it was a joint family taking snaps even in casual situation .)

Dear Doctor,

Any one interested in Photography will feel sad to read the news of a great institution like Kodak had to close down their business. During my student days Photography was one of my hobbies, and I was an active member of Photographic Society. In those days the cost of Kodak Brownie Model-E was Rs.32/=, and of the film rolls was Rs.1.50 to 2.25. I have a good collection of photographs of our family and places that we visited. Now looking at them bring back old memories.
Good to know your family members are connected with photography.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[DR.C.NARAYANI]

hello sir ,your post 5 ,made me more of nostalgic feelings (my daddy s grand father(maternal )was mr.late sri k.r.shrama,art director for gemini vasan group .his work was wonderful like the drum dance in chandraleka ,the huge lord nataraja statue in aoviayarr ,are some of his creations ,our family is more towards music ,art ,kalaium & kaivannamum.my mom s paternal uncle was sri s.g.kittapa .my grand pa ,sri late ,chengotai gangadra iyer & my mom were music college lectures, . my paternal aunt ,was famous art critic sri late kuyili rajeshwari )i think its over dose of my family back ground .hope i do not make others yawing.

 

[KRS]

Wow, Doctor! What an artistic family!

Dear Brahmanyan Ji,

You and i are a lot alike! When I was young in my teens, my main hobby was photography, with a camera my big brother gave me - a Ricoh Super 44 with twin reflex that took 127 film. I still have those photographs in B&W.

Regards,
KRS

 

[BostonSankara]

This is a sad thing! We still have a lot of access to various 35mm Kodak's here in the states if anyone is interested. I'd be happy to source some and put em on ebay. Sadly it's the film that will be hard to get but Fuji is always there!

 

[DR.C.NARAYANI]

krs sir ,b& w photos are always the best ,tells good tale .cheers.

 

[KRS]

Yes, doctor, I agree.

With my camera, I learnt how to use different film speeds with different F stops and shutter speeds. I am proud to say that the local photo shop where I gave my film for development, without my permission, put up my photos as though they took it. I did not object.

Because I trained myself in B&W, it took me a long time to get used to color. And to the fully automatic cameras.

I graduated to a full function SLR (Nikon) with accompanying lenses, but I never felt that I took any better photos.

Of course nowadays, I am reduced to a digital Canon, I mainly use to capture my grandchildren's images. It does not matter what instrument i use - the pictures always come out superb!

Regards,
KRS

 

[Brahmanyan]

hello sir ,your post 5 ,made me more of nostalgic feelings (my daddy s grand father(maternal )was mr.late sri k.r.shrama,art director for gemini vasan group .his work was wonderful like the drum dance in chandraleka ,the huge lord nataraja statue in aoviayarr ,are some of his creations ,our family is more towards music ,art ,kalaium & kaivannamum.my mom s paternal uncle was sri s.g.kittapa .my grand pa ,sri late ,chengotai gangadra iyer & my mom were music college lectures, . my paternal aunt ,was famous art critic sri late kuyili rajeshwari )i think its over dose of my family back ground .hope i do not make others yawing.

Dear Doctor,

What a line of illustrious ancestors ! You must certainly be proud of the family in which you are born. I remember the grand Drum dance in Chandralekha which was a wonder in cinema art settings in those days. Sri S.G.Kittappa is a legend of Tamil Drama.
It is indeed kind of you to have shared the information with us.
Warm Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[sarang]

There was a news item a fortnight ago, that all camera manufacturers face a serious threat from cell phones and have to rejig to survive. about 3 years ago, nokia became the largest seller of cameras (mobiles with camera function).

Now cell phones have 10mp+ cameras and serve the needs of hobby and holiday photographers as they are handy and convenient and ready when needed. 5 years ago, professional photographers claimed that digital photos will never match films in terms of smoothness/ graininess of the picture and colour saturation and no self respecting photography magazine will accept digital photos. That was when the digital cameras were less than 5mp.

I think, only professional photographers will go for multi lense, tripod mounted zoom expensive cameras. One company claims that even focusing is not necessary as the software will do the necessary sharpening of the image.

I will buy a camera only if it can shoot 3D images, is affordable and compact.

I have also graduated from a yashika two lens reflex (120) (home developing and printing) to 35 mm yashika with view finder to yashika 35 mm SLR to braun autofocus to sony digital camera. Same route perhaps, with accessories like changeable lenses, polaroid filters, refractors etc. During college days, film(120), developing and printing costs exceeded the monthly 60 meal coupons (Rs. 30). So some sacrifice was necessary.

 

[kunjuppu]

Dear Doctor,

Any one interested in Photography will feel sad to read the news of a great institution like Kodak had to close down their business. During my student days Photography was one of my hobbies, and I was an active member of Photographic Society. In those days the cost of Kodak Brownie Model-E was Rs.32/=, and of the film rolls was Rs.1.50 to 2.25. I have a good collection of photographs of our family and places that we visited. Now looking at them bring back old memories.
Good to know your family members are connected with photography.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

Dear B.,

it took me 6 months of effort and interest, but what i did, is to scan all the prints that i had, and disked them and distributed to my family near and far.

that way, even when i go, my photos of the family functions faces relations will atleast pass on to the next generation.

today's toronto globe has slides of what it views as kodak highlights over the years.

kodak in todays globe

kodak and polaroid, two american iconic inventions which captured the images of 20th century, instantly and critically, are no more..

technology!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and who can forget paul simon's kodachrome.. a fitting epitaph for a great company

paul simon kodachrome

 

[kunjuppu]

hello sir ,your post 5 ,made me more of nostalgic feelings (my daddy s grand father(maternal )was mr.late sri k.r.shrama,art director for gemini vasan group .his work was wonderful like the drum dance in chandraleka ,the huge lord nataraja statue in aoviayarr ,are some of his creations ,our family is more towards music ,art ,kalaium & kaivannamum.my mom s paternal uncle was sri s.g.kittapa .my grand pa ,sri late ,chengotai gangadra iyer & my mom were music college lectures, . my paternal aunt ,was famous art critic sri late kuyili rajeshwari )i think its over dose of my family back ground .hope i do not make others yawing.

awesome.

narayani, there is still not an archive formally of tamil movies, i think.

many of the prints are lost. hopefully the industry realizes the need for one, and gathers not only old films, but also posters and the 78rpm before they are all consigned to dust.

 

[DR.C.NARAYANI]

hello brahmanyan sir ,thanks for your concern.

 

[kunjuppu]

hello sir ,your post 5 ,made me more of nostalgic feelings (my daddy s grand father(maternal )was mr.late sri k.r.shrama,art director for gemini vasan group .his work was wonderful like the drum dance in chandraleka ,the huge lord nataraja statue in aoviayarr ,are some of his creations ,our family is more towards music ,art ,kalaium & kaivannamum.my mom s paternal uncle was sri s.g.kittapa .my grand pa ,sri late ,chengotai gangadra iyer & my mom were music college lectures, . my paternal aunt ,was famous art critic sri late kuyili rajeshwari )i think its over dose of my family back ground .hope i do not make others yawing.

narayani,

you missed out, our avvaiyaar, kb sundrambaal, married to sg kittappa. went to exile after sg's death till gandhi persuaded her to come back to national struggle, while visiting her in erode. no?

maybe there is a pix of kbs and your uncle?

 

[KRS]

Dear Sri Sarng Ji,

You said:

I have also graduated from a yashika two lens reflex (120) (home developing and printing) to 35 mm yashika with view finder to yashika 35 mm SLR to braun autofocus to sony digital camera. Same route perhaps, with accessories like changeable lenses, polaroid filters, refractors etc. During college days, film(120), developing and printing costs exceeded the monthly 60 meal coupons (Rs. 30). So some sacrifice was necessary.​

Oh, I am now jealous. I wanted the larger format Yashica too, but I got the Ricoh as a gift. Very similar to Yashica, but smaller format.

I also wanted a dark room but I was not allowed to have one.

Regards,
KRS

 

[Brahmanyan]

Dear Sri KRS,

For me, It was a long journey from an old box camera "Ensign- 120" given to me (or discarded) by my uncle, when I was a high school student. This Camera had a wooden body and a fixed focus meniscus lens. Then I got my Agfa box Camera. After joining the Photographic Club I purchased a low cost "Zeiss Ikon - Nettar" (which I lost while traveling). For few years I pursued my hobby with Cameras of different brands that I borrowed from my friends. In 1970 I got a good "Canon QL" from Dubai. When I went to Gulf I got a cheap "Minolta", which I presented to my nephew in India. I got my first autofocus Camera a "Nikon", that I used for eight years during my stay in gulf. Before I left Muscat I purchased a Konica SLR, with Telephoto and wide angle lens attachments and gifted to my son. By now I had no time to pursue my hobby seriously and my Nikon also did not work. Now I am left with all those old film roll cameras which have no resale or exchange value.

Two years ago my wife got me a Digital Camera "Nikon Coolpix" from Singapore where she had gone on holidays, which I (and my grand daughters) use for taking the keepsake snap shots.

I wanted to take good copies of B/W photos of mine and scan and transfer them to Discs as Sri. Kunjuppu has done, but I could not find a Studio in Bangalore which could process or print my old B/W negatives. However, I have uploaded most of the old Photos in our Family Group sites in Yahoo Groups.
Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[kunjuppu]

Dear Sri KRS,

...

I wanted to take good copies of B/W photos of mine and scan and transfer them to Discs as Sri. Kunjuppu has done, but I could not find a Studio in Bangalore which could process or print my old B/W negatives. However, I have uploaded most of the old Photos in our Family Group sites in Yahoo Groups.
Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

B,

there is a depth in bw pix that the colour can never achieve. this too is not fiction but reality.

i attach herewith a pix of my athai patti - of whom i have mentioned a few times in this august forum. whose sad life masqued, and was presented to the world as 'the sweet mottai patti' figure, which one esteemed and learned member here 'missed.

one look at the pix, and more than a thousand words are presented.

as they say, 'the camera never lies'. i think it should be qualified, as bw camera. no?

i think no colour pix, can ever present the depth of the person and his/her true self like a well taken bw pix as this one, in calicut from a professional photographer early 1950s.

same goes for movies too..bw movies of the 40s and 50s - they have their own charm, and i have seen a couple of them digitized and coloured. awful is not a strong enough word to describe the result.

re your search for bw development in b'lore, if they have a photographic society, maybe some youngster, for earning some pocket money, may oblige.

best wishes.

 

[KRS]

Dear Sri Brahmanyan Ji,

It is amazing, how what was an all consuming hobby of mine till I was in my late forties just withered away after. I don't like to take photographs nowadays, for some reason - same reason I guess, I never liked to take the video variety. However my wife takes care of that, again with a Nikon Coolpix!

Perhaps I have become very selfish, preferring to keep my memories to myself, instead of displaying them out there for others. There is also a deep rooted superstition attached to this, only a thorough psycho analysis can reveal.

While at the very intensive period of practicing this hobby, my sole wish was to somehow get a Hasselblad and pretend that I have become a Pro! But alas, never got the courage and enough funds to buy one.

This transferring images from the film on to the digital media is very available here in the USA. They are specific machines they sell to accomplish that. I am very surprised such a facility is not available in B'lore. You may want to look a bit harder as Sri Kunjuppu Ji recommends.

Regards,
KRS

 

[kunjuppu]

This transferring images from the film on to the digital media is very available here in the USA. They are specific machines they sell to accomplish that. I am very surprised such a facility is not available in B'lore. You may want to look a bit harder as Sri Kunjuppu Ji recommends.

Regards,
KRS

i use a simple scanner. and chose the jpg option for the output file. it is timeconsuming, but for me, it was a labour of love.

over 1000 pix and 6 months from start to finish..and that was only a selection of the prints i had.

 

[KRS]

Yes, one can do that Sri Kunjuppu Ji.

But the grain will be lost, limited by the # of digital pixels allowed by the scanner.

A better way is to digitize from the negatives themselves.

Of course, if this is not available in India, then scanning is the next option.

Regards,
KRS

i use a simple scanner. and chose the jpg option for the output file. it is timeconsuming, but for me, it was a labour of love.

over 1000 pix and 6 months from start to finish..and that was only a selection of the prints i had.

 

[kunjuppu]

my athaipatti's pix in the #19 post was scanned from a print. many of my prints, were from home, and no negatives available. some were over 70 years old, and make great pix of lineage.

those studio cameramen of those days, dont know what cameras they used, but sure did a great job for posterity.

 

[KRS]

Dear Sri Kunjuppu Ji,

I don't agree those photographers who took the photos like you attached did not know the make of their cameras. In that generation, cameras were not made for the masses but used highly grainy large for mat films. Lighting was controlled within the room with reflectors etc. as well as a synchronized flash. They also had only one F stop. Almost all the old photographers I talked to knew their studio cameras very well.

This is why your scanned image looks sharp, because to start with it had amazing grain. But if you had the negative of that photo and had used the negative to digital conversion, the resulting photo will be much sharper.

Please don't take the discussion of camera makes etc. as any sort of boasting. Only folks who took photography during my contemporary generations understand how integral the instrument is to the art. That was when breath tasking advancements were made, with, in my opinion, the advent of SLR camera with interchangeable compound lenses with the continuous F stops. Photography is perhaps the only art where one's imagination can be limited by the instrument they use. Also, when we started with this art, it coincided with the mass growth of this industry. This is why when some one says 'Zeiss Ikon' that carries certain meaning. When one says Nikon F1 versus Canon A1, we understand the differences of these two great cameras. It is not name dropping. More than any artist I know, the photographers know the various cameras etc., in the industry.

Regards,
KRS

my athaipatti's pix in the #19 post was scanned from a print. many of my prints, were from home, and no negatives available. some were over 70 years old, and make great pix of lineage.

those studio cameramen of those days, dont know what cameras they used, but sure did a great job for posterity.

 

[kunjuppu]

sorry KRS,

it is my english at fault.

'those studio cameramen of those days, (I) dont know what cameras they used, but sure did a great job for posterity.'

really should be read as, 'i dont know what cameras those studio cameramen of those days (used) but (they) sure did a great job for posterity (for they were masters of their craft).

i am very sorry that my implied references, were misunderstood. mea culpa.

i agree with you. those were very knowledgeable, and used their tools to produce mastery pix.

btw, did you know that, there is a big market of such and group family pix of those times ie circa 1920s - 40s, those muggy formal serious group pix, these days?

from nouveau riche indians, who wish to have an 'ancestry' and to show for these, they buy these pix and put them as part of their family album. after all a turbaned indian and a traditionally dressed woman, could be anybody's grandma or grandpa. right

also,

i dont know anything about cameras or pix.

my first camera was the cartridge ones of kodak. of late i use the simple digital 'aim and shoot'. i am really impressed by anyone who has a slr which needs focussing. in that context, i bow before your wisdom.

may the photographers tribe increase, for i hear there is plenty of new avenues to show off their skills. two nephews of mine in chennai, are part of an active group, who go to the fields and take awesome nature pix. with the prices of good quality slr now affordable in india, pix taking by clubs, groups, apparently has taken off.