Robert Burley's Photographic Documentation of Analog Photography's Demise

For five years, photographer Robert Burley traveled the globe to document the decline of film production facilities, highlighting the corporate shrinkage of industry leaders like Kodak and Polaroid. His collection features striking images of imploded buildings at Kodak Park in Rochester and abandoned Polaroid sites, both severely impacted by the rise of digital imaging. Currently, Burley's traveling exhibition in the U.S. will wrap up at the George Eastman House, the oldest photography museum, named after the founder of Eastman Kodak. In 1932, George Eastman, who faced significant disabilities, took his own life, leaving a brief suicide note that is now part of the museum's collection. Burley’s website showcases his project, which emphasizes the social losses tied to the end of film production. Just before he began art school, Kodak announced it would cease producing traditional black-and-white photographic paper, a move that marked a significant point in the company’s prolonged decline. His photographs capture the vast scale of analog film production, including master spools in former Agfa storage, reflecting the infrastructure once necessary for photographic needs. The shift to digital was unavoidable, yet it surprised many, with Burley’s work encapsulating the abandonment of the analog medium.