Please don't take my Kodachrome away...

By John Makely, NBC News

For years Kodachrome film was always the gold standard. When it really mattered, and you had time to wait, there was no better way to record history, capture a sunset or just shoot a portrait of the kids. The film's accuracy, stability and longevity were arguably unmatched for decades but the digital camera evolution has finally killed off the film that many photographers loved.

Starting with my first camera, I would buy a few rolls of Kodachrome whenever I could and wait impatiently for the slides to be returned to me after processing. Unlike today when you can see your results instantly, mistakes made with film, and Kodachrome in particular were costly. Each image was composed and the shutter pressed much more delibrately because you wouldn't really know until you opened up that yellow box whether you really nailed the shot.

Steve Hebert / The New York Times via Redux Pictures

A roll of Kodachrome film is fed into a slide-mounting machine at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., on Dec. 28, 2010. The lab is the last one processing the 75-year-old film and will process the final roll on Dec. 30.

For the full story on the end of an era in Photography click here.

Explore related topics: featured, photography, kodak, kodachrome

Larry-554572

RIP KC---you tormented the crap out of me for years and introduced me to the joys of bracketing exposures. No matter how many pixels are available to us for manipulation, your grain will forever be unmatched.

#1 - Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:05 PM EST

sparkzz

Amen Larry.

It's really sad to see all these great high resolution films go.

I just don't get the same thrill from a digital camera.

I'm still disturbed they no longer make Panatomic-X film and Microdol-X developer. The greatest B/W hi-res combination ever.

#2 - Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:55 PM EST

DeRailed Express USA

I worked in this industry as a maint tech -- photo-finishing/processing print and slide film for 26 yrs in several different labs in the midwest and North-east U.S.

Tis a sad day to see slide film come to the end of the road. ;-(

#3 - Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:57 PM EST

Cleareye

Kind of a sad day but nothing can compare to shooting 100 images, then cropping some elements to print, and then printing the results- poster size... all within an hour.

#4 - Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:34 PM EST

dmattson

Glass plates, Film media then Digital format, What's next ?

#5 - Sun Jan 2, 2011 12:38 AM EST