The entire notion that Kodachrome had left us rendered the comparisons and connections to Simon's 1973 song trite and old in a hurry, and it only took about 48 hours for it to happen.
I stopped shooting Kodachrome eons ago, almost back in another life. One big reason was that it was slow, really slow. Meaning you needed bright light and/or long exposures to get those brilliant colors for which Kodachrome was famous. Famous enough to be fabled in song, which I still think is weird.
Was it a great product? Absolutely.The photo at left from the West End of London taken in 1949 is proof of what a marvelous film Kodachrome was in the technical sense. Exposed properly, it captured everything; contrast, brightness, shadows, highlights, mid-tones, and above all else, color.
Even at that, Kodachrome had been nudged out of favored film status some years ago by Fuji's Velvia. Still in production, I wouldn't bet serious money on the future of any photographic film, including the near-iconic Velvia.
Sad to say, if you weren't or aren't at the very minimum a serious amateur photographer, the wonders of Kodachrome mattered little. A song about color slide film? How about a song bringing the world the joyous news of vacuum cleaner bags? I never did get what moved Paul Simon to write the song, but it sure can stick in your head. I'd last heard it about three days before Kodak announced that its signature color reversal film, slide film, was to be no more.
Sadly, I don't think the photographic world let out one big collective "OUCH" when the news broke. There may have been a widely scattered groan and a sigh. I'm thinking more whimper than bang here.
This post is mostly about and for all those who've argued (at times, in a highly agitated state) that digital photography would never overtake film, that it couldn't possible replace film.
It did and it has. You really need to get over it.
