Kodachrome

[wlank]

Is the rich-hued Kodachrome era fading to black?
By BEN DOBBIN
From Associated Press
September 22, 2008 10:03 AM EDT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - It is an elaborately crafted photographic film, extolled for its sharpness, vivid colors and archival durability. Yet die-hard fan Alex Webb is convinced the digital age soon will take his Kodachrome away.

"Part of me feels like, boy, if only I'd been born 20 years earlier," says the 56-year-old photographer, whose work has appeared in National Geographic magazine. "I wish they would keep making it forever. I still have a lot of pictures to take in my life."

Only one commercial lab in the world, Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., still develops Kodachrome, a once ubiquitous brand that has freeze-framed the world in rich but authentic hues since it was introduced in the Great Depression.

Eastman Kodak Co. now makes the slide and motion-picture film in just one 35mm format, and production runs - in which a master sheet nearly a mile long is cut up into more than 20,000 rolls - fall at least a year apart.

Kodak won't say when the last one occurred nor hint at Kodachrome's prospects. Kodachrome stocks currently on sale have a 2009 expiration date. If the machines aren't fired up again, the company might just sell out the remaining supplies, and that would be the end.

To read the whole article go to the link below.

News Article

I just ordered two rolls of Kodachrome yesterday. Weird. I haven't shot a roll of Kodachrome in years, and today here is speculation that Kodachrome may be no more. I did it more out of nostalga than any other reason, but now I think I'll shoot it up quick and get a few more rolls for the freezer if it is as good as I remember.

[Fritz]

Kodachrome 64 was the only film I shot with when I first started out with my SLR. I just loved the results that I got with it.

[timbo13]

oh, wow, I'm another guy who shot roll after roll of Kodachrome 64....

[WJW]

I think shooting K25 & K64 in the past is why I find many digital images to look cartoonish. Or maybe I'm just turning in to a curmudgeon.......

[stevebrot]

Originally Posted by timbo13

oh, wow, I'm another guy who shot roll after roll of Kodachrome 64....

Ditto.

Steve

[Wheatfield]

Originally Posted by WJW

I think shooting K25 & K64 in the past is why I find many digital images to look cartoonish. Or maybe I'm just turning in to a curmudgeon.......

No, Kodachrome is something unto itself. I know it has to go away and I still have about a dozen rolls of it to shoot, but it is also a film that is simply unmatched by anything else out there, digital especially.
I feel kind of sorry for photographers who have grown up on digital or prints, who have never had the pleasure of opening a box of Kodachrome slides, fresh back from the lab. Put your nose close to the box when you crack the seal. Take in the slightly buttery/vinegary smell of the freshly processed film.
Put your slides out on a light table and look at little windows to the world.

[stevebrot]

Originally Posted by Wheatfield

No, Kodachrome is something unto itself. I know it has to go away and I still have about a dozen rolls of it to shoot, but it is also a film that is simply unmatched by anything else out there, digital especially.
I feel kind of sorry for photographers who have grown up on digital or prints, who have never had the pleasure of opening a box of Kodachrome slides, fresh back from the lab. Put your nose close to the box when you crack the seal. Take in the slightly buttery/vinegary smell of the freshly processed film.
Put your slides out on a light table and look at little windows to the world.

Ummm...I forgot about the smell!

Steve

[Miserere]

What is "film"?

[titrisol]

And it even has a song named after it!!!

Kodachrome, gives us the riches colors makes it seem like the world is a sunny day....
I wanna take a picture, I have a Nikon camera... mama don't take my Kodachrome away....

[stevebrot]

Originally Posted by titrisol

And it even has a song named after it!!!

Kodachrome, gives us the riches colors makes it seem like the world is a sunny day....
I wanna take a picture, I have a Nikon camera... mama don't take my Kodachrome away....

And a park! Kodachrome Basin Park in Utah!

Steve

[Wheatfield]

Originally Posted by stevebrot

And a park! Kodachrome Basin Park in Utah!

Steve

I spent almost a week there several years ago. It is a great place to stay, very close to a lot of wonderful country, and is a really nice place for photography as well.

[wlank]

Originally Posted by Miserere

What is "film"?

Film is a sheet of plastic (polyester, nitrocellulose or cellulose acetate) coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts (bonded by gelatin) with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film. When the emulsion is sufficiently exposed to light (or other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays), it forms a latent (invisible) image. Chemical processes can then be applied to the film to create a visible image, in a process called film developing.

For further info, follow the link below.
Photographic film

[HawaiianOnline]

Goodbye old friend Kodachrome.... You will be missed...

[Miserere]

Originally Posted by wlank

Film is a sheet of plastic (polyester, nitrocellulose or cellulose acetate) coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts (bonded by gelatin) with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film. When the emulsion is sufficiently exposed to light (or other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays), it forms a latent (invisible) image. Chemical processes can then be applied to the film to create a visible image, in a process called film developing.

For further info, follow the link below.
Photographic film

Thanks for humouring me

[wlank]

Originally Posted by Miserere

Thanks for humouring me

If this was Amazon.com it would say "people who bought 1959 Cushman Eagles also bought Kodachrome 25". Unfortunately it is not made anymore (Cushman Eagles or Kodachrome 25) so I bought a restored 1959 Cushman and some Kodachrome 64.