❝ In 1984, photojournalist Steve McCurry was in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan. He followed the sound of voices to a tent where he found a group of girls. “I noticed this one little girl off to the side that had his incredible set of eyes that seemed almost haunted — or very piercing,” he tells NPR’s Audie Cornish.

McCurry snapped a picture that ended up on the cover of National Geographic’s June 1985 issue. “The Afghan Girl” became one of the magazine’s most widely recognized photographs — and one of the century’s most iconic. To get that shot, McCurry used a type of film that has become iconic in its own right: Kodachrome.

❝ The film, known for its rich saturation and archival durability of its slides, was discontinued last year to the dismay of photographers worldwide. But Kodak gave the last roll ever produced to McCurry. He has just processed that coveted roll at Dwayne’s Photo Service in Parsons, Kan. — the last remaining location that processes the once-popular slide film.

❝ What’s on that landmark roll of film is still under wraps. It will be the subject of an upcoming documentary by National Geographic.

Looking forward to it. I love photography. Started taking pictures in my high school camera club in the early 1950’s. Three cameras gathering dust in my desk include my favorite little backpacker’s special Rollei 35B I bought in 1971. The occasional snaps you see here on my personal blog are – of course – iPhonography.