A retirement party for Kodak Red

There are moments when I have to decide how long to keep a camera in my camera family. Sometimes, I’ll find a fellow photographer and gift them a camera that was gifted to me – which is why someone else now possesses my Leica M3 double-stroke.

But there are times when I don’t want to give a camera away … but I don’t want to use it any more.

This is known as “retirement.”

And after a long time as one of my primary film shooters …

I’ve felt it’s time to retire my Kodak Medalist II camera. The workhorse nicknamed Kodak Red.

I remember acquiring Kodak Red, and then getting it re-leathered because the camera’s previous skin had badly deteriorated. The camera did take some award-winning photos, including Vivaldi’s Pond and We Serve Wayward Strangers, just to name two.

And I have to say this. When it worked … it was a phenomenal shooter.

I say the words “when it worked.” Because there were times when Kodak Red would lock up in mid-shoot. Or it would advance film farther than I would have liked, and the camera’s eight maximum shots would end up with a roll of three or four exposed images. Which didn’t work in my favor.

And, unfortunately, in the end, I couldn’t count on Kodak Red to get the job done when I needed it to. I always felt I needed a camera backup each time I used Kodak Red. And that’s not the way things are supposed to operate.

So … say hello to the shelf. Kodak Red now has a place of honor on a shelf. Maybe I’ll print a tiny version of We Serve Wayward Strangers to place alongside it as an example of what this camera could achieve when it was on point.

In other words, I’m not giving up on Kodak Red.

I’m just going to let the camera enjoy a well-deserved retirement.

And in the end … that’s the best for a good camera.