Headshot

Georgia has quite a few silly laws. For instance, it’s illegal to curse in front of a corpse in a funeral home, change the clothes on a storefront mannequin without shades on the window, house a donkey in a bathtub, carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket, or own a sex toy. Oddly, members of the general assembly cannot be written a speeding ticket while in session. Routinely, tax dollars are wasted for the general assembly to introduce and argue even sillier new legislation. The latest installment of frivolous bills comes complements of Representative Pam Dickerson (D) of Conyers, Georgia. Dickerson’s HB 680 would make it a misdemeanor to photoshop the head or face of someone onto a nude or lewd body and publish the photo to the Internet.

First of all, let’s be clear. If this bill had been introduced prior to 2008, Sarah Palin would have at least twelve of her fifteen minutes of fame left. But in predictable fashion, the Internet has been flooded with images of Representative Dickerson’s head pasted on every nude image imaginable. There’s a Facebook page encouraging photoshoppers to post their own Dickerson creations. And this week, Conan O’Brian got into the act with his own collection of very creatively photoshopped images of celebrities.

It’s been a busy time for Photoshop lately. In December, North Koreans caught the wrath of editors across the globe for photoshopping an image of Kim Ill Jung’s funeral procession. But what prompted Rep. Dickerson to drop this bill in December is a mystery. Perhaps she’s tired of seeing Palin in the red, white, and blue bikini. Should it make it out of committee, which is unlikely, it has little chance of seeing a vote. But for now, Dickerson has created her own Internet sensation, as HB 680 has become the laughing stock of the world.

And for the record, should HB 680 pass, I did not create this Sarah Palin photo. I merely posted it here for editorial purposes. Seriously.

The Writing on the Wall

“When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall”

In case you were living in a cave or completely missed the 1970s, those lyrics belong to Paul Simon—Mama, Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away. Kodachrome was discontinued in 2009. Just two years later, the writing may be on the wall for this photography giant. Kodak is apparently days away from filing for bankruptcy.

There is little doubt that George Eastman made photography what it is today. When Kodak’s founder set out to create a dry plate process for photography, meaning that photography plates could be made ahead of time instead of right before a photo was taken, this high-school dropout endeavored to make photography easier. And when he developed flexible rolled film emulsions to replace glass plates, professionals balked at the innovation. He realized that to be successful, he had to take his film to the masses. "The idea gradually dawned on me," Eastman said, "that what we were doing was not merely making dry plates, but that we were starting out to make photography an everyday affair… to make the camera as convenient as the pencil."

Kodak—George Eastman made up the name because he liked the letter “K”—went on to put cameras in the hands of virtually everyone and create the concept of the snapshot. Kodak ads touted the idea of capturing family happenings, making nostalgia by easily photographing moments. The first Kodak camera was manufactured in 1888. It was fixed focus and held 100 exposures. The Brownie was released in 1900. In 1935, Kodachrome was introduced. Tri-X, the classic fast black and white film was released in 1940. And how ironic is it that in 1970, an engineer working for Kodak invented the digital camera.

The decline of Kodak likely started with the emergence of Fuji. Velvia cut into the Kodachrome market. Polaroid took a sizeable chunk, too. But Kodak’s Waterloo was the failure to consistently embrace digital technology. Despite leading in digital sales around the year 2000, Kodak could never translate the success of film into digital success. At one point, the company supposedly lost $60 for every digital camera it sold. In 2009, the company announced it would end the sales of Kodachrome. Noted National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry famously shot the last roll of Kodachrome produced in 2010 and it was processed by Dwayne’s Photo in Kansas. In December of 2010, the S&P500 dropped Kodak. By the summer of 2011, Kodak stock had dropped to $.54 a share. The company is currently trying to sell off a large collection of patents to generate enough cash to keep afloat while considering bankruptcy options.

Faced with a debilitating spinal condition, George Eastman died by his own hand in 1932 at the age of 77. It could be said that by failing to capitalize on digital imaging, his company did much the same.

“Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away” – Paul Simon