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For shutterbugs: Kodak to Retire Kodachrome Film

post #1 of 10
6/22/09 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
This probably doesn't surprise any of you photographers out there, but I will miss Kodachrome 64. Some of most spectacularly color rich images I have photographed were taken with this venerable film.

Kodak Retires KODACHROME Film; Celebrates Life of Oldest Film Icon in its Portfolio - Yahoo! Finance

--Jerome
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post #2 of 10
6/22/09 at 9:23pm
I used to buy Kodachrome by the case back in the 80's. I'll really miss it, it was truly a unique film. I've shot tens of thousand images on Kodachrome. She was a harsh mistress (try shooting a Grand Prix race at ISO 64), but the rewards were worth all the failures.

I wasn't aware that only one lab was left doing K-14 processing. I remember getting 24-hour turnaround from Kodak in Chicago. And they would UPS it to you at no charge!
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post #3 of 10
6/22/09 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 
Back in my film heyday in the 1980s I had a darkroom and did all of my own processing and printing. Mostly Kodachrome and Tri-X. Man, I remember buying Tri-X in bulk and loading my own film rolls. Those days are long gone.

--Jerome
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post #4 of 10
6/22/09 at 10:07pm
Yup, all over the news here in town. Sad to say I don't miss working there anymore (downsized from EK October last year) but had 20 fine years there. I also don't think EK will be around for much longer
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post #5 of 10
6/22/09 at 10:09pm
It's sad to see film getting more and more scarce.. In school I used to shot a lot of Kodak Tri-X and Tri-Max (I think that's what it's called), and used the Kodak and Ilford photo paper (I'm blanking on the specific product name), and a few years after I graduated it's all discontinued now. Digital's cool and all, but nothing looks as good to me as a grainy film print.
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post #6 of 10
6/22/09 at 10:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsaliga View Post
Back in my film heyday in the 1980s I had a darkroom and did all of my own processing and printing. Mostly Kodachrome and Tri-X. Man, I remember buying Tri-X in bulk and loading my own film rolls. Those days are long gone.

--Jerome
That brings back memories that I had completely forgotten. I did the same thing in the late 70's and early 80's. I loved Kodachrome, but used mostly Ektachrome and Fujichrome since I couldn't process Kodachrome. I went through a period where I shot almost everything in B&W using Tri-X and Ilford. I used to bulk load Tri-X also. I remember pushing Tri-X to iso 800 and spending late nights in the darkroom dealing with the grain.
I had a stressfull job at the time and it was great mental hygiene and really enjoyable. Thanks for reminding me.
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post #7 of 10
6/22/09 at 10:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsaliga View Post
Back in my film heyday in the 1980s I had a darkroom and did all of my own processing and printing. Mostly Kodachrome and Tri-X. Man, I remember buying Tri-X in bulk and loading my own film rolls. Those days are long gone.

--Jerome
Unless you were a millionaire, you didn't process your own Kodachrome Probably Ektachrome.

One other Kodachrome tidbit: Kodak used to make Kodachrome 40 that was balanced for tungsten lighting. That was the ultimate film for night photography, and it was also great for museum interiors. I shot a lot of rolls of K40 when I lived in Chicago.

I remember being so happy when Kodak introduced Kodachrome 200. It was expensive, but you finally had a fighting chance at low-light shots.
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post #8 of 10
6/22/09 at 11:14pm
Kodachrome 64 slide film used to be my film of choice. The slide film was discontinued some time ago, and a large part of my enthusiasm for photography went with it.
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post #9 of 10
6/22/09 at 11:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by beerguy0 View Post
Probably Ektachrome.
You're probably right. My memory could be betraying me. I haven't handled a film camera in 8 years and not been in a darkroom in over 20 years. I still have a couple of 120 TLR cameras and a Bronica ETRs that have been collecting dust for over a decade now. I haven't shot 35mm film in ages.

I do remember shooting a lot of Fujichrome because it was a lot less expensive than Kodachrome. But I always loved the color saturatation and contrast of Kodak slide film.

One thing that was great for me was in the 1980s I was in the Navy and on the base they had a fully equipped darkroom that was free to officers and enlisteds to use. Just sign up for a time slot and process or print away. Film chemistry was free but you had to pay for paper. I had my own darkroom at home but I used to make larger prints at the base because their enlarger, color head, and lenses were miles better than the ones I could afford as a NCO.

I got on the digital bandwagon early and don't shoot anywhere near as much as I did 25 years ago. I really miss that.

I thought infared film was way cool. It became passe after a while but I got a lot of interesting shots with it. Anyone ever use a changing bag? I didn't use them very often for Tri-X or slide film. Getting out of direct light was enough for me. But with infared a changing bag is a must.

--Jerome
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post #10 of 10
6/23/09 at 2:11am
I'll miss the nice bright colors ... and the greens of summers ... made you think all the worlds a sunny day. Guess I'll sell my Nikon camera. I so loved to take a photograph ... but it looks like mama is going to take the Kodachrome away.
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