THE TOG TIMES | OBITUARIES // March 2026
Bye, bye, bye
THE CD DELIVERY
2003 – 2015
The CD Delivery, a beloved method of gallery distribution, passed quietly in the mid-2010s after a prolonged illness brought on by cloud storage and client complaints about jewel cases. It is survived by the USB drive, which is also not doing well. The CD Delivery is remembered fondly by photographers who charged $50 for it and clients who lost it immediately.
Services will not be held. There is no disc to bury.
THE PROOF ALBUM
1940 – 2014
The Proof Album died as it lived—unselected. After decades of faithful service, the proof album was replaced by online galleries that allow clients to "favorite" 600 images and select none of them. It is survived by the phrase, “We’re still deciding.” It was 74 years old.
KODACHROME
1935 – 2010
Kodachrome, the most beloved film stock in the history of photography, died December 30, 2010, when the last processing lab in the world closed its doors in Parsons, Kansas. It was 75 years old. Kodachrome is survived by a Paul Simon song, several million slides in shoeboxes, and approximately 4,000 Instagram presets that claim to replicate it.
None of them do. Rest well.
THE ASSISTANT
DISCONTINUED CIRCA 2015
The Photography Assistant—who carried bags, charged batteries, held reflectors in the wind, and learned the craft by proximity—was quietly discontinued sometime around 2015 when photographers decided they could do everything themselves with a Bluetooth trigger and a VAL app. The Assistant is survived by a generation of photographers who never learned why the bag was packed in a specific order.
No services planned. The reflector has been collapsed and put away for the last time.
THE FILM LAB RELATIONSHIP
The Film Lab Relationship—that specific bond between a photographer and the person who knew exactly how they liked their prints—died with the labs themselves. It is survived by online scanning services that ship in six to eight weeks and don’t know your name. Those who knew it remember the smell of the place. The counter. The small talk that wasn’t small. Gone.
MANUAL FOCUS
1950 – 2005
Manual Focus passed away gradually between 1985 and 2005, its decline accelerated by autofocus systems that worked, then worked well, then worked better than any human hand ever could. It is survived by lens adapters, mirrorless shooters who use it “for the feel,” and That Old Tog, who never stopped and never will. Manual Focus was not old. It was simply replaced. There is a difference.
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