Kodachrome turns 50

[Clovishound]

The song, not the film. Hard to believe it's been that long since it came out. Of course, I was a wee bairn at the time.

I fondly remember them both. Salute to Paul Simon.

 

[Bikerbrent]

Great Kodachrome turns 50 audio from Paul Simon. Great film even today. Thank you Clovishound!!

 

[BF Hammer]

I was listening to the song on the radio at 6 years old. But it would be about 3 more years before I had my own Zenith AM transistor radio.

 

[Clovishound]

I was in college. When this came out photography was not an interest, although that developed just a few years later. Started with an Argus C-4 and blossomed with the acquisition of a used Practica and a Durst Enlarger. I started shooting some Kodachrome with the Practica, and really liked it.

 

[Sandpatch]

I came across a Kodachrome artifact in a closet this past weekend. As it was never used, I wonder if I can return it to K-Mart for a refund? (Cell phone photo)

 

[Clovishound]

I've used a few of those.

 

[Sandpatch]

I've used a few of those.

Toward the end when Kodak began to close and consolidate its labs, they lost numerous rolls of mine, all irreplaceable railroad images. I still recollect what I lost. Sometime later, one of the railroad magazines had a short news story about people not getting their slides or getting someone else's railroad slides. Ends up there was a technician in the lab who was copying and sometimes stealing rail images he saw of interest.

With the death of Kodachrome and with digital cameras too highly priced for me, I exited photography and shelved my DSLR. Some years later, Nikon's introduction of the D5100 brought me into the digital age and a dozen years later, it's still my primary camera.

 

[Fred Kingston]

Kodachrome was introduced in 1935... Slighty more than 50 years ago... Paul Simon's song Kodachrome (an illusion to a distorted reality) was released in May 1973... 50 years ago...

 

[Clovishound]

That's why I started the thread off with "The song, not the film.", but it has turned into a thread about the film. Actually looking over posts, it looks like I was the one that made the left turn to the film.

 

[Sandpatch]

That's why I started the thread off with "The song, not the film.", but it has turned into a thread about the film. Actually looking over posts, it looks like I was the one that made the left turn to the film.

This has been a good thread in all of its dimensions and I thank you for starting it. Some years ago I found a handful of my grandfather's Kodachrome slides, including this one of the Lincoln Memorial from 1939 or 1940 I figure. Neat to think that my grandfather, father and I all used Kodachrome.

The ASA improved over the years. I recall shooting Kodachrome 25 in the late '70s and early '80s, but K-64 soon became my standard. K-200 became available later and it too was excellent. I always packed a few rolls for use on overcast and rainy days.

 

[Clovishound]

What a neat old photo to have. If it weren't for the cars, you could believe it was taken last year. It's amazing how well Kodachrome holds up over the years.

I frequently underexposed Kodachrome by around a 1/2 a stop to get a little more saturation. I remember one of the few, if only contests I entered was a contest when I was first in the military. I won the local in one of the categories, and the slide was sent up to a higher level contest. I never heard anything more about it, and never got the Kodachrome slide back. Of all the slides I took over the years, that is the one I would most love to have. Unfortunately, most of my film images don't wear well. Only a very small handful would I consider worthy of escaping the round file these days.

Perhaps Someone should start a thread about old family photos. Some are real treasures.

 

[Marilynne]

What a neat old photo to have. If it weren't for the cars, you could believe it was taken last year. It's amazing how well Kodachrome holds up over the years.

I frequently underexposed Kodachrome by around a 1/2 a stop to get a little more saturation. I remember one of the few, if only contests I entered was a contest when I was first in the military. I won the local in one of the categories, and the slide was sent up to a higher level contest. I never heard anything more about it, and never got the Kodachrome slide back. Of all the slides I took over the years, that is the one I would most love to have. Unfortunately, most of my film images don't wear well. Only a very small handful would I consider worthy of escaping the round file these days.

Perhaps Someone should start a thread about old family photos. Some are real treasures.

You can start a new thread for "old family photos".

 

[Sandpatch]

... I never heard anything more about it, and never got the Kodachrome slide back. Of all the slides I took over the years, that is the one I would most love to have. ...

I lost some slides as well, entrusting my employer to look after them. We were studying locations for a new plant, and with rail transportation being an important consideration, I supplied some Kodachromes. They were used; I got only one back.