THE END in Kodachrome, Somewhere, USA, 1969
Broken twigs cleverly placed on a lawn spell out what happened to our beloved Kodachrome this week. Yes, the fine folks at Kodak, in Rochester, NY, announced that the granddaddy and gold standard of all color film has been discontinued. The last roll of Kodachrome film has left the building.
It is the end of yet another Americana icon.
Kodachrome first hit the shelves in 1935 in the form of 16mm movie film. 35mm slide film and 8mm “home” movie film came a year later. Ironically it was two musicians, not photographers that invented the miracle medium. Both had the first name of Leopold. After world war two masses of mom and pop photogs embraced Kodachrome and generously documented the colorful cultural explosion of Americana.
Kodachrome is a very luxurious medium to be documented in. When used correctly it lavishes its subjects with depth of light and shadow, clarity and a color spectrum unlike anything known to mankind. But processing the worlds most famous film is no easy task. It takes chemists working with cantankerous machinery to do the job. And, by the way, if you have Kodachrome film that needs to be developed now is the time because there is only one place left that can do it, Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas. It’s probably going to take more than an hour.
Kodachrome slides changed my life. It was 1992; I was meandering through a thrift shop, which at the time wasn’t unusual for me, when a blue shoebox marked “Trip across the United States 1957” caught my eye. I opened it up and it was full of slides. I held a few up to the light and knew immediately these orphaned Kodachromes were a treasure with my name on it. I haven’t stopped collecting slides since. I find slides to be little time traveler vehicles providing a quick and easy ride-a-long to another place and time. They are without a doubt my medium of choice when it comes to studying mid-20th century American life and style.
Kodachrome film may be gone but may the slide shows never end.
Have you been documented in Kodachrome?
Here’s to both Leopolds, Kodak, Kodachrome and YOU!
Sad. Keep up the good work collecting slides and preserving history.
Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome
Leave your boy so far from home
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome
Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
Kodachrome, Charles, off of There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. Yes, a big hit circa 1972.
I can’t believe it. I’ll bet I shot at least 1,000 Kodachrome slides, both 25 and 64 speed. Reds in particular were enhanced beautifully. Some of my best photos were shot on rainy days, when colors were further naturally saturated.
Paul Simon, you were a prophet!
Many of you have mentioned that I didn’t mention Paul Simon’s song about Kodachrome. Maybe I’d know it if i heard it. Was it a hit song?
We all knew this day was coming sooner than later, but it’s a sad day nonetheless.
My appreciation for the unique qualities of Kodachrome blossomed when Charles Phoenix started collecting and sharing Kodachrome slides! So thank you, Charles.
Wintertime in the 1970′s my friend and I found slides of her family when they were stationed in Hawaii 1966. We had a slide show of our own on the neighbors white siding one night during the winter. It was fun to see the island pictures with a back ground of snow in New York. Ahhh… the simple times and the fun we could find back then!!!
Thank God that that blue shoebox of slides landed in your possession! Thanks, Charles, for your inspiration.
Like Joe, I collect vintage stereo slides and agree that it’s Kodachrome that makes them look so wonderful. A film which perfectly suited the era; both gone but fondly remembered. My childhood memories are preserved on 8mm Kodachrome home movies, and for years, I’ve been doing my part by using Kodachrome in an old 3-D Stereo Realist camera. No other film is quite like it, and at least it is comforting to know that so many continue to appreciate this icon of Americana; the one that recorded all the others. A continued thanks to you Charles, and all the others who keep Kodachrome alive in the slides you share with us.
Yes, the demise of our (and Paul Simon’s) favotite is a real blow. I discovered 35mm photography the summer of ’71 and my first SLR, a Yashica Penta, loaded with Kodachrome II, took some of the most beautiful images I made in 20 yrs. of photo hobbyism. I still love to look back at my old slides. And it is because of those grand 35mm cameras, AND Kodachrome that blogs like Daveland, Gorillas Don’t Blog, and Stuff At The Park have such WONDERFULL images, (moments frozen in time) to share with us all. AND of course, the delights that Mr. Phoenix shares.
I also collect “everyday/family” slides from the 1950s, but in stereo (3-D), which was a big rage in the ’50s. Thanks to Kodachrome, they look as good as new. The other brands have faded to magenta. Hopefully my Fuji Provia will hold up to time as well.
“Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away!”- Paul Simon. Nobody could write songs about digital memory cards
In the words of Paul Simon:
Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away
(I still shoot 620 by filing down rolls of 120 with sandpaper!)
Great slide, and I love the story of how you got into collecting slides – it always makes me smile. Long live Kodachrome slides and the treasured memories they hold for all of us whose childhoods are documented in living color thanks to Kodak!
My Dad, Robert L. Carter (rip) documented our family’s life with Kodachrome. He would have never gone Digital, and I am so glad to have those slides! I love your website and hope to see you Live and In Person and in Dazzling Kodachrome Color someday soon!
Truly the end of an era, although the writing had been on the wall for some time… Kodachrome started to fall out of favor (and got surpassed IMO) as the E6 films matured, and it always was a pain in the a** as far as processing. Digital, of course, was the final nail in the coffin. If you’re interested there’s a lengthy discussion and tribute, some of it fairly technical, found here:
http://photo.net/film-and-processing-forum/00Tj1r
RIP PKR!