Give us the nice bright colors!

Michel Hardy-Vallée · Nov 29, 2006

O joy, I received today in the mail 800ft of 8mm film from my aunt that used to belong to my late grandmother, and the Kodachrome reels are still looking great, etched with the greens of summer!

Now the writing is on the wall: I have to get a projector some day! Yes, I'll have them transferred meanwhile, but I have to experience them as they must be.

David A. Goldfarb · Nov 29, 2006

My cousin put together a DVD of old family films, and the old Kodachromes look fantastic. It is great to see film projected. Once you find a projector, you'll be looking for a camera.

braxus · Nov 29, 2006

I'm glad we never got rid of our films or projectors. For Regular 8 we have 2 projectors we could use. For Super 8 we have 3 projectors, of only which 1 is working at the moment. Our regular 8 camera no longer works, but I have 2 Super 8s that I still use now and then.

Yes seeing these films on a nice big screen puts television to shame. Nothing looks like film projected. Nice and warm.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · Nov 29, 2006

So... Any of you guys have a projector for sale?

Robert Hall · Nov 30, 2006

Coming from a family of photographers, we have miles of Kodacrhome and hundreds of slides.

Wow, to shoot some of this in 8x10.

naturephoto1 · Nov 30, 2006

Robert Hall said:
Coming from a family of photographers, we have miles of Kodacrhome and hundreds of slides.

Wow, to shoot some of this in 8x10.

Hi Robert,

Most of us have to live with either 4 X 5 or 5 X 7 E6 films. As I recall however Ansel Adams and Edward Weston had the chance to shoot some 5 X 7 and/or 8 X 10 Kodachrome.

Rich

htmlguru4242 · Nov 30, 2006

Kodachrome
They give us nice bright colors
Give the greens of summers
Makes all the world a sunny day
Oh yeah!!

Anyway, I, too just came into possession of a bunch of old 8mm Kodachrome as well, and it does look amazing. Even after 40 or 50 years, the color is still perfect (I projected some of the films in the same room that they were shot; the color is dead on.

As far as getting a projector, there are always lots of projectors for 8mm, Super8 and 16mm on EBay, so you should be able to find one there. I've got a pair of old projectors, both of which I've picked up for free. There are a lots of these projectors floating around.

Too bad that home movies on film were before my time. The "high tech" video stuff from when I was a kid cannot be compared in any way with the films.

I was thinking about some of the indoor footage that you see; and it strikes me that with the ISO 10 - 40 film, that there must have been some insanely bright lights mounted atop those cameras.

naturephoto1 · Nov 30, 2006

Just remember that projection of Kodachromes shorten their life faster than projection of E6 films.

Rich

MattKing · Nov 30, 2006

htmlguru4242 said:
I was thinking about some of the indoor footage that you see; and it strikes me that with the ISO 10 - 40 film, that there must have been some insanely bright lights mounted atop those cameras.

I have clear memories of being the subject of Christmas day movies shot by my father. The camera was probably a Kodak Regular 8 camera, and had a spring wound motor. The filming was made possible by a lightbar with two photofloods that emitted a startling amount of light. They were, of course, powered by being plugged in the wall.

Undoubtably, the camera and lightbar were purchased at employee prices, and the film (with included processing) was probably no charge.

I think my father still has a projector...

Matt

braxus · Nov 30, 2006

MattKing said:
The camera was probably a Kodak Regular 8 camera, and had a spring wound motor.
Matt

We have one of these. The spring has gone on ours though. Its one of those 3 lens Brownies my parents got.

htmlguru4242 said:
that there must have been some insanely bright lights mounted atop those cameras.

I had a Photoflood that you had to plug in. When turned on the light was so hot, you could smell the dust burning around it. We shone the light from our house window outside, and the light was so bright it lit the house up across the street. Now that was a light. Of course I damaged it dropping it, and that was the end of it.

htmlguru4242 · Nov 30, 2006

That's rather a light then ... What were those, like 1000 watts?

I'm aware of the degradation of Kodachrome by projection. How many times can it be projected without causing a problem though?

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Nov 30, 2006

I thought this was gonna be another topic lamenting the slow demise of Kodachrome, but hurrah! I am proven wrong. My Nana has boxes of slides my grandfather took back in the day, all kodachromes. I mean to get my hands on them one day and make dupes...my mum took loads of slides when she lived in the Solomon Islands as well, we're still looking for them. I have one 50ft roll of super-8 to send off for processing when I have the money too.

braxus · Nov 30, 2006

I have 6 rolls of Kodachrome Super 8 waiting to be used. Not sure when that will be yet.

reellis67 · Nov 30, 2006

Does anyone actualy have a large format Kodachrome transparency? I'd kill to see one...

- Randy

naturephoto1 · Nov 30, 2006

Hi Randy,

Large format Kodachromes have not been around in a dog's age. As I recall, my printer, Bill Nordstrom had the chance to print an Ansel Adams 5 X 7 Kodachrome (I can't remember if requested by the Ansel Adams Gallery) and an Edward Weston 8 X 10 Kodachrome that I believe Brett Weston asked Bill to produce. I never had the opportunity to see what the final prints looked like, but I presume they were unbelievable.

Rich

reellis67 · Nov 30, 2006

I've been sifting around archives all over the place looking for one, but I've never run across any so far. One day...

- Randy

naturephoto1 · Nov 30, 2006

Hi Randy,

Here is a reference to a thread on Large Format Kodachrome (unfortunately no transparencies shown):

Dead Link Removed

Rich

davetravis · Dec 2, 2006

Kodachromes were truley amazing!
I really ejoyed the 25 asa stuff, and am still printing up to 11x14 onto Ilfochrome from 35mm.
The colors are as rich as the mid-70's I shot them.
I could never find the 25 in 6x7, so I used the 64 for that.
Long live Kodachrome!!!
DT

naturephoto1 · Dec 2, 2006

Hi Dave,

I could be mistaken, but as I recall, Kodak only offer Kodak 64 Professional film in 120 format in the 80s and 90s. I do not believe that Kodak ever offered a Kodak 25 Professional film in 120 format at least in the 80s and 90s.

Rich

davetravis · Dec 3, 2006

Hi Rich,
Maybe that's why I could never find it!
I've taken the 64 6x7 stuff up to 20x24 and was always wishing I had that extra sharpness and finer grain that was in the 25. I never really understood why they didn't offer it. Seems it would have been the ultimate medium/large format landscape film of the day, for me anyway.
But then I discovered Velvia!
How's show business?
I'm done for the year, and will return to my website construction...LOL!
You'd thing an old techy like me could figure out the web!
Hey but I'm still saving toothbrushes to clean carburators!
DT

naturephoto1 · Dec 3, 2006

davetravis said:
Hi Rich,
Maybe that's why I could never find it!
I've taken the 64 6x7 stuff up to 20x24 and was always wishing I had that extra sharpness and finer grain that was in the 25. I never really understood why they didn't offer it. Seems it would have been the ultimate medium/large format landscape film of the day, for me anyway.
But then I discovered Velvia!
How's show business?
I'm done for the year, and will return to my website construction...LOL!
You'd thing an old techy like me could figure out the web!
Hey but I'm still saving toothbrushes to clean carburators!
DT

Hi Dave,

I guess Kodak decided that there wasn't a market or a need for such fine grain and sharpness and/or it was going to be too difficult to market the Kodachrome 25 Professional in large enough consistant runs.

You do not want to know how "wonderfully" shows have been going. Leave us say that I will be cutting way back on shows next year, looking for Gallery representation in earnest, and direct mareketing to businesses.

Only have the last show coming up for the year this next week in Chantilly, VA. Travis Nunn will be stopping by to pick up a photo and to say hi.

Rich

davetravis · Dec 3, 2006

Rich,
I hear ya about the shows!
It's only 3 years for me and I'm already tired of the wind, rain, hail, more wind, more rain...
Out here we can get snow on Memorial Day!
I've got several projects lined up for the winter months.
I want to self-publish my first book, mostly just my portfolios with probably some really lame "touchy-feely" dialog.
I got that Epson 4490 scanner and figure I can do good enough for the book and improve my website to boot!
Also, I've got this darkroom fantasy thing going where I alter the original image, without computers, and create a flipped out personal expression of the original.
In-home workshops are being developed.
The shows are taking up just too much of my prime shooting time, and I get the "call of the wild."
DT

fschifano · Dec 7, 2006

htmlguru4242 said:
Kodachrome
...there must have been some insanely bright lights mounted atop those cameras.

Oh yes they were - and hot too. As a little guy, I remember my father taking out the movie camera on special occassions with the light bar of 4 500 watt floodlights attached. They were so bright you couldn't help but squint.

Give us the nice bright colors!

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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Give us the nice bright colors!

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