Inventions of Photography - Chapter 10 - The Gelatin Silver Process

The Kodak empire rises and falls. Find out why in this chapter of Inventions of Photography.

Thanks to those who have been “liking”, sharing, re-Tweeting this series. This next chapter is personal for me, because it spans the era that I lived through. The analog to digital shift is still one of the most fundamental changes in photography since it’s invention. We’re still feeling its effects today. I still think in terms of a Super 16mm 100ft load of Kodak color reversal even while picking up my Canon DSLR. Share your feeling about the demise of the last great photographic chemical process.

A note from the filmmakers:

This chapter covers the historic revolution in photography created by George Eastman using the gelatin silver process. Like most people our age, we grew up in the era where gelatin silver prints and negatives were all we knew. It’s nostalgic today to remember a time when you would have to wait for the photo lab to finish your prints. It would be hard to explain to younger filmmakers the joy of loading a roll of Kodak Tri-X 16mm film into a Bolex. Even the smell of the celluloid makes us nostalgic. This chapter seeks to bring understanding to the recent historic shift from film to digital.