Lomography is a Potential Suitor for Kodak’s Dwindling Film Photography Business

This came as a bit of a surprise to me after paging halfway through the interesting BBC article on the Lomography brand’s history and subsequent film mini-renaissance; but, apparently there is currently some speculation that the company may be poised for a takeover of Kodak’s professional and consumer photography brand and trademarks. Just check out this short cut from the BBC article that makes any film nut’s pulse quicken after the jump:

As former giants like Kodak and Agfa’s film ranges have dwindled, Lomography has also rescued old emulsions from extinction or created new ones. There has been much speculation that Lomography may buy the rights to some of Kodak’s extinct emulsions if the photography giant – now in bankruptcy protection and likely to focus in future on its printer business – sells off its film division.

It’s not the biggest player in the film market, but it’s the most vibrant, and it’s been there all along – unlike Ilford, which went under, and was resurrected.

It makes a ton of sense when you think about it, but I had personally been banking on Ilford since they have been on a steady roll with their B&W business, and I figured that the buyout of major color films like Portra and Ektar would allow for them to keep their branding separate from the color industry. However, who can’t argue with a business with a true love for film and all it’s quirks and beauty taking over the arguably best emulsions in the business?

I have a huge love for Portra myself, but have been shifting my purchases from the likes of Kodak and Fuji towards companies that have a legitimate interest in furthering the culture of film photography; companies like Ilford and Lomography. While Lomo has yet to introduce a film that is truly their own as opposed to a rebranded version of another company’s emulsion (the Sunset Strip is quite the contender though, as they have tweaked it from the original Efke formula with some magic of their own), they do seem to really be pushing to reintroduce film to the market within and beyond the photographic community.

Now all we can do is sit back and pray that the higher-ups at Lomo see the value in acquiring their own line of films and pumping some life back into the community of Rochester with new jobs at reopened factories pumping out some of the most glorious imaging emulsions ever developed. Of course, this will hinge on some sweet soul in Kodak’s bankruptcy committee greenlighting the deal. Like I said, start praying for it now because it will be nothing short of a modern miracle.

(Via PetaPixel.com)

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Tagged as: buyout, film, kodak, Lomo, sold, trademark