In 1935, Leopold Mannes and Leopold Godowsky Jr. invented Kodachrome 16mm motion picture film. By 1936, Eastman Kodak Company (PDF) introduced the vivid film in 35mm for still images to the masses. The craft of photography and the way the world would look at the printed image changed forever. Kodachrome is the oldest successfully mass marketed color film in history, it will be 75 in 2010. Kodachrome is renown for it’s incredible archival properties, natural color and ultra-fine rendering of details. In my opinion, Kodachrome is the single most influential color film of all time. It brought to life the otherwise black and white scenes that would fill the pages of Life, Time and National Geographic. As a child in the late seventies, I was fascinated by how the images seamed to float off the pages of these magazines when shot in Kodachrome.
Daniel Bayer is on a mission from God. He plans to expose 200 kids to Kodachrome by having them expose 200 rolls of 24 exposure Kodachrome. Check it out. Check out the rest of the site. I've been thinking of shooting some slide film. Daniel got me excited enough to check out Kodchrome links and one of my regular reads, Christian Patterson at Speak, See, Remember, had a bunch:
Check out all his links. Wonderful stuff. What is amazing is how long it lasts. I've been scanning some Kodachrome take by my grandfather in 1949 and by me in 1958. Here is some other old Kodachrome:
I received some Kodachrome today. It will be loaded into my Leica IIIc, which is appropriate since that is pretty much all my grandfather used in it. Kodachrome's days are obviously numbered. There is only one emulsion left (64) and only one processor left (Dwayne's Photo) but I think it's worth getting to know an old friend again.
Actually two old friends. I'm going to be loading some Tri-X in the Zorki Standard. I've been shooting the Pentax digital SLR a lot the past few weeks. Time to switch gears a little bit. Kodachrome and Tri-X. Forward, into the past! And what other film has a song about it?
When I think back On all the crap I learned in high school Its a wonder I can think at all And though my lack of edu---cation Hasnt hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall
Kodachrome They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the worlds a sunny day, oh yeah I got a nikon camera I love to take a photograph So mama dont take my kodachrome away
