Fleet Foxes? Love the reference!!

I worked in a commercial photo lab during my college days. We had a Kodachrome processor that ran 35mm and 8mm/Super8 film (and later medium format Kodachrome). We had two specially trained technicians that monitored the processor during both shifts. Samples of the chemistry and pre-exposed test film supplied by Kodak had to be sent to Rochester for quality control on a weekly basis. One of the cool things about the processor was that 8mm film was taped into a continuous roll in the darkroom and run through a projection system and screen as it exited the processor and dryer so it could be monitored for scratches, bad processing, water spots, etc. It was like one long movie that ran the entire shift, mostly birthdays, vacations, pets and kids, but every now and then there would be something naughty, and everyone dropped what they were doing to watch!

Most reports on this topic miss the fact that the quality of K-14 processing also depended largely on volumes of film being run through the machines.  As digital withered this volume, users began to notice “blue holes” in their images.  Contamination in processing that created voids in the emulsion.  The processing machines needed to be fed continuously and run 24 hrs per day.  I moved on in 2007, after 40 yrs shooting Kodachrome.

My Kodachrome slides that I took 50 years ago still look perfect today. I truly miss Kodachrome... 📸📸📸📸📸

Paul Simon understood...

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
Give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Dwayne's was in Parsons, Kansas.  They shut down the Kodachrome line after the last can of blue dye was opened.  Not just the last can Dwayne had, but the last on on earth.  There was no more in Rochester.

"Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
Give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah"

At the time I shot most of my pictures on Kodachrome 25, I didn't realize just how complicated the process behind the development really was.  One of the main reasons I liked it was that it had very good tolerance of slight under/over exposure and the colors made everything look good.  Over time, I also realized that the colors lasted a long time while some of my other films were fading out.  I really miss Kodachrome 25.

Oh my, waiting for those Kodachrome slides coming back from laboratory in Switzerland. Took weeks, but it was so worth it. It was part of the magic.

I miss going to get a dozen or so rolls of Kodachrome caused that told me I’m travelling somewhere special or even vacation.
My biggest regret was not running a few rolls of 120 in the Hasselblad.
The demise of Kodachrome taught me a valuable lesson. Just because something has been around forever doesn’t mean it’s going to be around forever.

If I’m not mistaken, Kodak released the background information on why Kodachrome was discontinued and it was due to the very specific components, the individual ingredients required to manufacturer the film and or some of the chemical components of the developing process. The raw materials were no longer available to be sourced. And because of the exact nature of the K 14 Process as well as the film itself would have required a complete re-engineering just as Kodak did with Ektachrome E100. I believe Kodak had mentioned the only way to bring back Kodachrome would be to start from scratch. The amount of monetary investment and research and development would be astronomical. There was some lore back in the early 2000s that there was less than a dozen licensed K 14 chemist in the world. I believe around 10,000 ft.² was the minimum amount of space required for the high volume of chemicals that were mixed along with the square footage of the processor itself. Truly amazing. Kodak should just bring back Ektar 25 in both 35 and 120. That was the closest color negative film to the Kodachrome profile.

This makes me think of The Impossible Project. A few guys from The Netherlands that found 10 former workers of the Polaroid factory in Enschede, The Netherlands, willing to help to start up the production of Polaroid film again. Impossible because Polaroid had left no information about the making of the films and the composition of the chemicals. But they succeeded and were able to buy the Polaroid brand. They grow each year by 20 to 25%. In Enschede is the Technical University of Twente located and wouldn't it be cool to find some students chemistry willing to dive into the K-14 process, simplify it and optimize it for lower volumes?

I worked in the National Geographic Photo Lab from 1974-77 during the golden age Kodachrome use there.   Our Color Lab would get samples of different emulsion batch from Kodak, comparison test then and then purchase the entire emulsion lot which it kept in a large freezer until used.  What made it so desirable was its archival stability versus all the other processes which put the dyes in the film vs transferring them during the processing.  The difference in the character of the images was due to the fact that what was being exposed on the film were three separate silver emulsion layers which were then replaced during the processing with the dyes.

My job at NGS was operating process cameras used to make the maps and color separations of the map relief and any halftone/duotone/sepia photo reproduction.
After working in the NGS labs I became production manager and director of web offset printing of magazines and in the late 80s until retiring in 2010 was deeply involved with RGB > CYMK color management and digital scanning.  When scanning Kodachrome originals — which was rare since most slides scanned were Ektachome duplicates — different setups were needed.

Dad started using it when it was ASA 10.  I used ASA 25 and 64 and also for Super 8 sound.  I also used it at Chichen Itza which you showed.  Back in the 70's, I was a Kodak dealer.  I also wish Verichrome Pan would return in 120, 127 and 620.  That old folding camera I bought for $5 in an antique shop takes very sharp photos.  I have all of my dad's and my darkroom equipment.  I am currently building a darkroom in our local museum for our equipment that will be used as an historical display and also to teach the process of film developing and printing.

Kodak managed to simplify the processing to a K14 minilab, called a "K-lab". The problem was the production of the very specialized chemicals, and making them at scale. Digital hurt film badly, but it killed the NEED for transparencies. Slides were used a lot for print publications, who needs the hassle for that when digital is easier to transport, send, manipulate, and no need to scan? Projection isn't needed since digital projectors showed up around 2000 or so. When's the last time you went to Uncle Ed's place to watch his slides from his European vacation? Yep, we miss Kodachrome, and big transparencies are flat out majestic, but it's gone now. I'd love to have it back in 120.

In Canada, Kodachrome was sold with processing included. This made sense because all Kodachrome in canada was processed at Kodak's facility in Toronto. I was fortunate enough to live close by and could drop off my film and pick up my transparencies. One could specify if you wanted the frames slide mounted or left as strips for easier printing. To me, it was both the first and the best colour film ever made.

I started shooting 35mm in the late 70s. I shot Kodachrome 64 almost exclusively. Thank you for explaining the K14 process.

I used Kodachrome for many years, starting in 1968. The colours today are as sharp and vibrant as the day I received them back from the lab almost 60 years ago.
I eventually stopped using it when Kodak changed the formula and became, I think, either Kodachrome II or  Kodachrome 25/64. The reds became rather muted and unreal.  I stuck with it for a two or three years but eventually turned to Fujichrome which used C41 processing. In spite of warnings that it may fade over time the slides still look OK.
My children and grandchildren still think it's great when I dig out my projector and screen, dim the lights and transport us back to days now long gone

The ending is the reason I'm still shooting quite a bit of film. I went into film into my 30s after picking up photography again after a few years hiatus still having my late teens and early 20s desire to shoot b&w, which at the time I didn't because I lacked the money to. Now I'm going to enjoy film and especially slides as long as I can, shooting what I remember my father was shooting during my childhood.

It's a matter of cost for us causal photographers.  Taking a photo with a phone cost basically nothing and my phone is always within easy reach.