Kodak Comes Through for Film Photography.

News From Kodak are welcomed by The Photo Palace Bus!

By now a lot of you have heard of the incredible and promising news about the decision by the fledgling company Kodak to suspend operations of their digital division in order to bring the focus back to manufacturing products for analog photography. The full article can be found here:
http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2145203/kodak-phases-digital-businesses-film-alive

  The news was literally music to my ears.  Today, in honor of that announcement, a local radio station played the song 'Kodachrome' by Paul Simon, which is an unofficial anthem of The Photo Palace Bus.

  In the past few months uncertainty over Kodaks future was having a chilling effect in the world of film photographers.  Many of my fellow photographers worried that their favorite films would go out of production as so many products have before.  Multiple new companies emerged in recent years and have have picked up film and paper production in small batches, but Kodak is one of the oldest photographic companies and for a lot of photographers it has reached a symbolic status.  It would have been a shame to see a century-old company like Kodak come to their demise and it would have certainly made it harder on The Photo Palace Bus and our mission of keeping Film Photography alive and thriving.

  Legendary films such as Technical Pan, Verichrome Pan and Kodachrome were still in production when I started upon my personal journey with photographic art medium.  Since then I have been lucky enough to print on such Kodak papers as Azo, Velox, Bromesko and others.  I am sad to report that all these products are far better in quality than anything comparable on the market today and they ALL have been discontinued though the decades.  We hope Kodak may consider bringing back production of at least a few of the hundreds of their gems of the past. 

  On a lighter note The Photo Palace Bus will have an opportunity to develop Tri-X with HC-110 - that is great news.   Kodak Dektol is a great developer for paper, but it does tend to give some papers a green tinge... What to do?  The solution is simple - Kodak Selenium toner, diluted to various degrees, will not only balance out the green, but also add longevity to your silver print.  The best of the darkroom technique books often mention specific Kodak products and it is reassuring that at least those that have not been axed already will remain in production.

  It is also exciting to see what Kodak may come up with in terms of new black and white films (or... may we dare... papers).  Will they have an answer to Neopan Across 100 - a great, rich, relatively new film with very fine grain for its speed developed by Fuji?  We hope so.

   It is good to know that The Photo Palace Bus and all film enthusiasts across the world will be able to enjoy the trusted quality of Kodak brand for years to come.  Today I had Verichrome Pan loaded in my Rolleiflex 3.5F.  Here is an image captured on Telerollei with Verichrome Pan on Alcatraz Island. That films tonal response and the ability to hold detail are hard to match.

Anton Orlov