Kodachrome and Memory

<p>Not sure about fidelity but these are still impressive:</p>

<p>http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/kodachromes-lasting-color-and-memory/?_r=0</p>

<p>Thanks, CW. Looking at those shots, I suddenly realized that they had a certain timeless feel to them, almost like Norman Rockwell paintings. One more reason for missing Kodachrome...</p>

<p>Most grateful for this post . . .</p>

<p>Nice - thank you. I used Kodachrome from my first 35mm SLR in the early 70's through the early 90's. Many of those photos are still my favorites - there's something about that color and contrast that appeals to me still.</p>

<p>To hell with fidelity--get it <em>right</em>!</p>

<p>Today so many want to see details in the shadows. Back in Kodachrome days, no one cared. The contrast was what made it. With the colors of course. And content.</p>

<p>Grew up with Kodachrome & loved it!</p>

<p>I too loved the intensity and vibrancy of Kodachrome, but it could also hold a subtle when palette when needed: </p><div></div>

<p>I sadly miss Kodachrome. My old E6 slides are fading and turning green but my Kodachromes are still as bright as ever. There is something about Kodachrome slides that sums up the feel of that entire era. But it has passed. Amen.</p>

<p>I know I've gone on record saying that when people start touting the "special color" a given digital camera can offer, then we need to suspect they can't prove the rest of the reasons they chose that camera for. BUT, seeing these photos do remind me that the Kodak sensors found in the early Olympus 4/3s cameras (E500 and earlier) could give you a sense of this.<br>

<br />I love Kodachrome, and I need to dig out my E500 to see if my memory is accurate or not!</p>

<p>I miss Kodachrome for the almost 3D look and the depth of color. I do not miss the nasty 1930's chemical process to make or develop it or the groans of friends when they noticed the slide projector. I wish my memory was as sharp as those slides.</p>

<p>Frankly, the NYT Lens blog images are wildly inaccurate. Mike Johnston(The Online Photographer)shows a few taken from the book.</p>

<p>I'm partial but find Canadian photographer Fred Herzog's 50s and 60s Vancouver Kodachrome shots to be at least as good. Worth a look if you're unfamiliar with his work:</p>

<p>http://www.equinoxgallery.com/artists/portfolio/fred-herzog</p>

<p>Over the past decade I've scanned all of my slides from the 70's forward, and all of my father's slides going back into the 50's, and as someone mentions above the ability of Kodachrome to maintain its colors over decades is quite astounding, compared to Ektachrome, or especially to Perutz which is the other film we occasionally used back in the 60's. The deep contrasts and very dark blacks of the Kodachrome does take a while to get digitized effectively, and they stand out on a screen when you see them go by.</p>

<p>Not only do the images have a 3D look but the emulsion did itself!</p>

<p>I like nathan's work, but we often over focus on the older KR than some of the stuff that was done up to the last minute which reflects our world as Kodachrome departed, for example, my friend Jeff Jacobson's fine book mentioned in the blog, "The Last Roll" is very, very different than most KR images, in fact it is almost all KL ( 200 ).<br>

<br /> I have a mint copy of Fred Herzog's book "Vancouver Photographs", beautiful images if not a little more punchy than the online gallery. I have to say...I am nearly done with editing my 1,285 rolls and it is looking really, really good, some super rich stuff in there for sure. I'm taking a workshop with DAH in Brooklyn in September and hope to get some real direction before pitching it.<br>

<br /> Man, I have GOT to get my book out!</p>

<p>The work of Ernst Haas has always impressed and influenced me. He was the first photographer to have a color photography show at a major museum (MOMA in 1962 I believe). He used Kodachrome for much of his work and created many books that are still a treat to view. His vision was spectacular. </p>

<p>Six months before the stopped processing it, I took a big box of Kodachrome (and my Dad) on a road trip from Cleveland to Las Vegas and back, traveling on Route 66 as much as possible. I shot every National Park and attraction that I could think of along the way with my trusty Canon A-1's. That is a great memory worth preserving.</p>