KM-25
Well-known
Well, I wish this were a story with a happy ending, but it is not. In 2004, I created the Kodachrome Project as a means to create an open awareness to petition to Kodak that Kodachrome film be kept around at least until it turned 75 and for me to be able to shoot a book. As a long time professional, this was no easy undertaking, costing me tens of thousands of dollars, time away from clients and many long hours…
So in 2006, when times were better for many financially speaking, I built up a Leica system in which to shoot the highest quality images I could on the film. I had 4 bodies and 5 lenses including a gorgeous black paint MP3 kit with the matching 50…yes, times were that good back then. But then the crash of 08 happened, nearly totally evaporating the money I had saved up to take the 18-24 months off from paid work to shoot the film in it's last days. So it was tough to do, still very costly, but I had no choice, this was it for Kodachrome and I knew that.
I went on to shoot over 1,000 rolls of the film all over the country and even two weeks in Paris. Tens of thousands of frames passed through the Leica bodies and lenses and the resulting images are truly wonderful, well worth the effort..I am editing for the book as I type this. The camera I used the most by far, the M6TTL, shot *the* very last frames of Kodachrome in history…not Steve McCurry, not even Dwayne at the lab…he ran out of film before I did as I shot nearly 100 rolls past the deadline of the 30th of December.
When I got home, my newly wedded wife and I seriously looked at our finances and our hearts dropped….we were near broke. She had left her secure job at a large medical company in California in February to come be with me in Colorado…she is still looking for work, we don't even have medical coverage as of this month. Work for me is slowly starting to pick up, even my first NYT assignment last week. But it has not been enough to stave off the massive cost of doing my project and how it took nearly all my savings, it is pretty scary out there in the real world in terms of jobs.
When I got home, I started selling the things that would fetch the most money…my Leica gear. Piece by piece, I sold the lenses, the cameras and even the beloved and rare MP3 kit. Most things fetched a decent price even though it was not mint…what can I say, I use the stuff, not fondle it. But one of the most frustrating things came when I followed the advice of what I might get for my MP3 kit and instead of waiting a week or two or putting it on ebay after getting the lens a CLA, I sold it directly to a member on this site for what they cost new. I asked him for more citing my dire financial situation but did not get more. I needed the money quick too as my primary computer for my work had just died and the new one cost thousands. Not even 4 days after they got the MP3, I had a person offer me $5,000 more for it and they were serious, wanted the collectible aspect of it having shot some of the last rolls of Kodachrome. Then 3 days later, a person emailed me and offered $6,000 more….MAN I was pissed! Now I am depressed...
I wrote the person on this forum back and explained the situation, even sent a screen shot of the email and have not heard a thing back and they have even posted on here since, how nice for them, my stupidity was their gain, god dammed Leica!
So as my wife and I struggle to get back on our feet, she looking for work in a seasonal ski town and I for more work in my line of photography, my lone remaining piece of Leica gear, the M6TTL that shot the last frames of Kodachrome ever………….sits pathetically with NO lens on it…I can't even afford a 35/2 for it, the only one I really need or want.
I do want to thank all of you who have supported me and my project with either kind worlds and donations to the site, it really has helped and been appreciated. Hopefully, I can get my images edited and find a good book publisher and put some money back in the bank…maybe even find a nice beat up version 4 35 Summicron for less than $1,500…..but for now, with this post, I bid this forum and Leica farewell.
I can be reached through my site through the forum page, contact us, if you want to share your Kodachrome stories, but I won't be posting here anymore, it is too hard to even think about Leica let alone read about it...sorry...
Take care folks,
Dan
So in 2006, when times were better for many financially speaking, I built up a Leica system in which to shoot the highest quality images I could on the film. I had 4 bodies and 5 lenses including a gorgeous black paint MP3 kit with the matching 50…yes, times were that good back then. But then the crash of 08 happened, nearly totally evaporating the money I had saved up to take the 18-24 months off from paid work to shoot the film in it's last days. So it was tough to do, still very costly, but I had no choice, this was it for Kodachrome and I knew that.
I went on to shoot over 1,000 rolls of the film all over the country and even two weeks in Paris. Tens of thousands of frames passed through the Leica bodies and lenses and the resulting images are truly wonderful, well worth the effort..I am editing for the book as I type this. The camera I used the most by far, the M6TTL, shot *the* very last frames of Kodachrome in history…not Steve McCurry, not even Dwayne at the lab…he ran out of film before I did as I shot nearly 100 rolls past the deadline of the 30th of December.
When I got home, my newly wedded wife and I seriously looked at our finances and our hearts dropped….we were near broke. She had left her secure job at a large medical company in California in February to come be with me in Colorado…she is still looking for work, we don't even have medical coverage as of this month. Work for me is slowly starting to pick up, even my first NYT assignment last week. But it has not been enough to stave off the massive cost of doing my project and how it took nearly all my savings, it is pretty scary out there in the real world in terms of jobs.
When I got home, I started selling the things that would fetch the most money…my Leica gear. Piece by piece, I sold the lenses, the cameras and even the beloved and rare MP3 kit. Most things fetched a decent price even though it was not mint…what can I say, I use the stuff, not fondle it. But one of the most frustrating things came when I followed the advice of what I might get for my MP3 kit and instead of waiting a week or two or putting it on ebay after getting the lens a CLA, I sold it directly to a member on this site for what they cost new. I asked him for more citing my dire financial situation but did not get more. I needed the money quick too as my primary computer for my work had just died and the new one cost thousands. Not even 4 days after they got the MP3, I had a person offer me $5,000 more for it and they were serious, wanted the collectible aspect of it having shot some of the last rolls of Kodachrome. Then 3 days later, a person emailed me and offered $6,000 more….MAN I was pissed! Now I am depressed...
I wrote the person on this forum back and explained the situation, even sent a screen shot of the email and have not heard a thing back and they have even posted on here since, how nice for them, my stupidity was their gain, god dammed Leica!
So as my wife and I struggle to get back on our feet, she looking for work in a seasonal ski town and I for more work in my line of photography, my lone remaining piece of Leica gear, the M6TTL that shot the last frames of Kodachrome ever………….sits pathetically with NO lens on it…I can't even afford a 35/2 for it, the only one I really need or want.
I do want to thank all of you who have supported me and my project with either kind worlds and donations to the site, it really has helped and been appreciated. Hopefully, I can get my images edited and find a good book publisher and put some money back in the bank…maybe even find a nice beat up version 4 35 Summicron for less than $1,500…..but for now, with this post, I bid this forum and Leica farewell.
I can be reached through my site through the forum page, contact us, if you want to share your Kodachrome stories, but I won't be posting here anymore, it is too hard to even think about Leica let alone read about it...sorry...
Take care folks,
Dan
