CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. (WZZM) -- After helping people capture and share their memories for over 100 years, the Eastman Kodak Company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
It's a development that Grand Rapids Camera Club historian Steve Mueller says isn't surprising, but says he still regrets it.
"It's sad," he says. "You like to see things go on forever. I'd like to see myself go on forever and I'm not going to. There is always a certain amount of sorrow that goes with that."
Mueller says he bought his first Kodak Instamatic camera 45 years ago.
He has thousands of slides and prints he shot on Kodak film.
The amateur photographer says he believes the problems at Kodak started when consumers began switching from film to digital cameras.
"I think digital is the main thing that happened to them," explains Mueller. "Kodak was at the forefront, kind of like Henry Ford was at the forefront of automobiles. They were going strong, I think, until the digital age."
When they come out of bankruptcy, company executives say Kodak will still sell film but, that's a shrinking market.
Their business will focus on printing and computer software.