Kodachrome is the name of a color reversal film introduced by
Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color
materials and was used for both cinematography and still
photography.
Slide 4
The Kodachrome process in which three emulsions, each sensitive
to a primary color, are coated on a single film base was the
brainchild of Leopold Godowsky Jr. and Leopold Mannes
Slide 5
Emulsion Kodachromes red, yellow and blue dye isnt added until
the development process; the film itself is basically black and
white. Kodachrome emulsion layers are thinner and less light is
scattered upon exposure, meaning that the film could record an
image with more sharpness than substantive films. Transparencies
made with non-substantive films have an easily-visible relief image
on the emulsion side of the film. Kodachrome films have a dynamic
range of around 12 stops.
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For the first 20 years, anyone developing Kodachrome film had
to send it to a Kodak laboratory for processing. In 1954, the
Department of Justice declared Kodachrome-processing a monopoly,
and the company agreed to allow other finishing plants to develop
the film; the price of a roll of film (which previously had the
processing cost added into it ) fell by about 43%.
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In 1948 the National Geographic Society explored and
photographed this area for a story that appeared in the September
1949 issue of National Geographic. They named the area Kodachrome
Flat, after the then relatively new brand of Kodak film they used.
In 1962 the area was designated a state park. Fearing repercussions
from the Kodak film company for using the name Kodachrome, the name
was changed to Chimney Rock State Park, but renamed Kodachrome
Basin a few years later with Kodak's permission.
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Kodachrome's popularity peaked in the 1960s and '70s, when
Americans began to catalog every single holiday, family vacation
and birthday celebration. Kodachrome II, a faster, more versatile
version of the film, came out in 1961, making it even more
appealing to the point-and-shoot generation.
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In 1973 Paul Simon sang, "Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away.
Kodak was still expanding its Kodachrome line, and it was hard to
believe that it would ever disappear.
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During the 1980s, easily processed color film from companies
like Fuji and Polaroid encroached on Kodachrome's business. People
began to find Kodachrome inconvienent. Compared to new technology,
Kodachrome was a pain to develop. It required a large processing
machine, many different chemicals and over a dozen processing
steps. The film would never, ever be able to make the "one-hour
photo" deadline that customers began to expect.
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Kodak quit the film-processing business in 1988 and slowly
began to disengage from film-manufacturing. By 2008 Kodak was
producing only one Kodachrome film run a mile-long sheet cut into
20,000 rolls per year. The number of centers able to process it
declined. Kodachrome 64 slide film was discontinued on June 22
2009. It was the last type of true Kodachrome available. Kodak
donated the last remaining rolls of Kodachrome film to the George
Eastman House's photography museum. Only Dwayne's Photo in Parsons,
Kansas processed the last of Kodak's Kodachrome film. In the end
they only developed a few hundred rolls a day. They developed the
last roll on December 30 th 2010.
Slide 12
National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry used Kodachrome
to capture the haunting green-gray eyes of an Afghan refugee girl
in 1985 in what is still the magazine's most enduring cover image.
McCurry's photographic career perfectly traces the rise and fall of
Kodak film. He shot his iconic Afghan-girl portrait on Kodachrome
and returned 17 years later to photograph the same woman with
Kodak's easier-to-develop Ektachrome. Now, he relies on
digital.