"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
p.1 #1"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
Remember when ……..
……. you shot with film and had to:
- Decide to shoot in color or black & white?
- Decide whether to shoot color in transparency or negative film.
- Choose whether to put in a roll of 24 or 36 exposures?
- Decide whether to remove a partially exposed roll when in a big rush to develop shots you already took.
- Use a competent lab to process your film and do it quickly?
Kodak stopped making Kodachrome in 2009. Back then Kodak ruled the film and photographic paper industry. They certainly missed the boat by not embracing and innovating digital progress.
Back then you would have just laughed if someone had told you that in the future you would be able to capture more than a thousand images on a little re-usable card the size of a quarter, and review your images immediately after taking them.
Digital scans from Kodachrome slides did not always produce great results, even when drum-scanned.
They do however bring back memories of when and where you shot them.
1
2
3 - horse logging
4 - the fallen dead
5 - RCMP
6 - moose
7 - Guess who the boss is?
8 - moose babies
9 - Mt. Baker, Washington
10 - toucan
Edited on Jul 23, 2026 at 07:39 PM · View previous versions
……. you shot with film and had to:
- Decide to shoot in color or black & white?
- Decide whether to shoot color in transparency or negative film.
- Choose whether to put in a roll of 24 or 36 exposures?
- Decide whether to remove a partially exposed roll when in a big rush to develop shots you already took.
- Use a competent lab to process your film and do it quickly?
Kodak stopped making Kodachrome in 2009. Back then Kodak ruled the film and photographic paper industry. They certainly missed the boat by not embracing and innovating digital progress.
Back then you would have just laughed if someone had told you that in the future you would be able to capture more than a thousand images on a little re-usable card the size of a quarter, and review your images immediately after taking them.
Digital scans from Kodachrome slides did not always produce great results, even when drum-scanned.
They do however bring back memories of when and where you shot them.
1
2
3 - horse logging
4 - the fallen dead
5 - RCMP
6 - moose
7 - Guess who the boss is?
8 - moose babies
9 - Mt. Baker, Washington
10 - toucan
Edited on Jul 23, 2026 at 07:39 PM · View previous versions
Jul 22, 2026 at 10:07 PM
p.1 #2"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
Tony,
Memories, those were the days, in the darkroom for hours, and still have that equipment stored,
but the new technology is also fun and have taken things to the next level.
Chris S
Memories, those were the days, in the darkroom for hours, and still have that equipment stored,
but the new technology is also fun and have taken things to the next level.
Chris S
Jul 22, 2026 at 11:15 PM
p.1 #3"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
Wonderful work !
Birdie
Birdie
Jul 23, 2026 at 04:35 AM
p.1 #4"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
I haven't run my "chromes" through a projector for 30 years now, Tony, thanks for the prompting!
Douglas
Douglas
Jul 23, 2026 at 06:16 AM
p.1 #5"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
Well, I shot the Kodak DCS SLR/C for several years (still have it), and it produced some of the most excellent files of the day.
+1 that Kodak didn't remain viable in the digital realm. Despite the limitations of the era (i.e. 14MP, etc.), that was a favorite camera of mine. The one feature that I've seen no other camera offer was the presentation of RGB values at the pixel level for wherever you placed your cursor. When doing zone / spot metering work, this was tremendously valuable insight when you reviewed the capture. Also, valuable for reading WB.
Made even a 1 degree spot meter look like crude instrument, as it was incredibly precise.
But, precision likely gave way to faster / more as the driver of the industry.
YMMV
+1 that Kodak didn't remain viable in the digital realm. Despite the limitations of the era (i.e. 14MP, etc.), that was a favorite camera of mine. The one feature that I've seen no other camera offer was the presentation of RGB values at the pixel level for wherever you placed your cursor. When doing zone / spot metering work, this was tremendously valuable insight when you reviewed the capture. Also, valuable for reading WB.
Made even a 1 degree spot meter look like crude instrument, as it was incredibly precise.
But, precision likely gave way to faster / more as the driver of the industry.
YMMV
Jul 23, 2026 at 06:21 AM
p.1 #6"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
Excellent 'flashback', Tony. My favorites are 5, 7, & 9.
I shot a ton of chrome when I first started shooting -- it was so much cheaper than prints, and it forced you to be careful with your exposures (more so than film). The only drawback to Kodachrome was having to send it to Kodak for processing, unlike other slide film that could be locally processed.
Once I started shooting professionally, I pretty much used negative roll film in my Bronicas -- Fuji NPH was my absolute favorite.
Thanks for sharing these.
Greg
I shot a ton of chrome when I first started shooting -- it was so much cheaper than prints, and it forced you to be careful with your exposures (more so than film). The only drawback to Kodachrome was having to send it to Kodak for processing, unlike other slide film that could be locally processed.
Once I started shooting professionally, I pretty much used negative roll film in my Bronicas -- Fuji NPH was my absolute favorite.
Thanks for sharing these.
Greg
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:42 AM
p.1 #7"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
These are all outstanding images. However, they definitely have a different look than today's images - I will not opine on whether that look is better or worse.
Steve
Steve
Jul 23, 2026 at 01:50 PM
p.1 #8"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
csinseattle wrote:
Tony,
Memories, those were the days, in the darkroom for hours, and still have that equipment stored,
but the new technology is also fun and have taken things to the next level.
Chris S
Thanks Chris. Yes, I thought using a Cibachrome drum roller with the lights on was a great advancement.
Tony
Edited on Jul 24, 2026 at 06:50 AM · View previous versions
Tony,
Memories, those were the days, in the darkroom for hours, and still have that equipment stored,
but the new technology is also fun and have taken things to the next level.
Chris S
Thanks Chris. Yes, I thought using a Cibachrome drum roller with the lights on was a great advancement.
Tony
Edited on Jul 24, 2026 at 06:50 AM · View previous versions
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:41 PM
|
p.1 #9"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
birdied wrote:
Wonderful work !
Birdie
Thanks Birdie. Welcome to the forum.
Tony
Wonderful work !
Birdie
Thanks Birdie. Welcome to the forum.
Tony
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:42 PM
p.1 #10"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
douter wrote:
I haven't run my "chromes" through a projector for 30 years now, Tony, thanks for the prompting!
Douglas
Yeah, it was nap time for us kids when Dad brought out the projector for slides or 8mm movies.
Tony
I haven't run my "chromes" through a projector for 30 years now, Tony, thanks for the prompting!
Douglas
Yeah, it was nap time for us kids when Dad brought out the projector for slides or 8mm movies.
Tony
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:44 PM
p.1 #11"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
RustyBug wrote:
Well, I shot the Kodak DCS SLR/C for several years (still have it), and it produced some of the most excellent files of the day.
+1 that Kodak didn't remain viable in the digital realm. Despite the limitations of the era (i.e. 14MP, etc.), that was a favorite camera of mine. The one feature that I've seen no other camera offer was the presentation of RGB values at the pixel level for wherever you placed your cursor. When doing zone / spot metering work, this was tremendously valuable insight when you reviewed the capture. Also, valuable for reading WB.
Made...Show more →
My first camera was a Kodak Brownie, no idea which model.
Well, I shot the Kodak DCS SLR/C for several years (still have it), and it produced some of the most excellent files of the day.
+1 that Kodak didn't remain viable in the digital realm. Despite the limitations of the era (i.e. 14MP, etc.), that was a favorite camera of mine. The one feature that I've seen no other camera offer was the presentation of RGB values at the pixel level for wherever you placed your cursor. When doing zone / spot metering work, this was tremendously valuable insight when you reviewed the capture. Also, valuable for reading WB.
Made...Show more →
My first camera was a Kodak Brownie, no idea which model.
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:46 PM
p.1 #12"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
gmccroskery wrote:
Excellent 'flashback', Tony. My favorites are 5, 7, & 9.
I shot a ton of chrome when I first started shooting -- it was so much cheaper than prints, and it forced you to be careful with your exposures (more so than film). The only drawback to Kodachrome was having to send it to Kodak for processing, unlike other slide film that could be locally processed.
Once I started shooting professionally, I pretty much used negative roll film in my Bronicas -- Fuji NPH was my absolute favorite.
Thanks for sharing these.
Greg
Thanks Greg. When I last used Kodachrome, I could drop it off at the local Kodak lab in North Vancouver in the morning and pick it up the same day on my way home from work.
Tony
Excellent 'flashback', Tony. My favorites are 5, 7, & 9.
I shot a ton of chrome when I first started shooting -- it was so much cheaper than prints, and it forced you to be careful with your exposures (more so than film). The only drawback to Kodachrome was having to send it to Kodak for processing, unlike other slide film that could be locally processed.
Once I started shooting professionally, I pretty much used negative roll film in my Bronicas -- Fuji NPH was my absolute favorite.
Thanks for sharing these.
Greg
Thanks Greg. When I last used Kodachrome, I could drop it off at the local Kodak lab in North Vancouver in the morning and pick it up the same day on my way home from work.
Tony
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:48 PM
p.1 #13"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
Blueridger wrote:
These are all outstanding images. However, they definitely have a different look than today's images - I will not opine on whether that look is better or worse.
Steve
Thanks, they look worse to me.
Tony
These are all outstanding images. However, they definitely have a different look than today's images - I will not opine on whether that look is better or worse.
Steve
Thanks, they look worse to me.
Tony
Jul 23, 2026 at 07:49 PM
p.1 #15"Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away." by Paul Simon
chiron wrote:
Lovely images!
Thanks.
Lovely images!
Thanks.
Jul 24, 2026 at 06:56 AM