What do you know about Dwayne's Photo Service of Parsons, Kansas? It is the place where the very last roll of the Kodachrome was processed.

Kodachrome, the slide-film that inspired songs, was discontinued by Kodak last year at 74 years of age. The color emulsion was a victim of its own weird processing requirements, which didn't use the usual E6 chemistry designed for transparency film, and therefore wasn't worth supporting in the age of digital.

The last roll was shot by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry, who shot the 36 exposures in New York (actually, the last three shots were exposed in Parsons before dropping off the film at Dwayne's). The pictures will be part of a National Geographic piece in the near future.

McCurry's film may have been the official last roll off the production line, but Dwayne's will still process any Kodachrome that you might have until December 10th this year. And then it will shut down, forever. People may still shoot analog, but with the death of Kodachrome comes the spiritual death of film.

Last Kodachrome roll processed in Parsons [Wichita Eagle via Retro Thing]

Photo: Fay Ratta/Flickr

See Also:

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.