Pushing Kodachrome

EASmithV · Mar 13, 2009

Is it possible? If so, what is the effect on the final product?

Photo Engineer · Mar 13, 2009

Yes, it can be done. The result is lower in Dmax and higher in contrast. That is a generalization.

Blacks tend to go gray or blue gray.

PE

nickandre · Mar 13, 2009

It's offered by dwaynes for a large fee. You're not supposed to do it with 64.

Alexander Ghaffari · Mar 13, 2009

If you wish to push in 1-stop increments, you can use a Kodak Kodachrome mailer and a Kodak push mailer for significant savings and no return shipping fee. Each Kodak push mailer lets you push one stop, so two mailers with one roll of film can result in a two stop push, until their maximum allowed push offering of Kodachrome has been reached.

Also, from what I have seen...it looks horrible with PKR-64. I think that it was more for Kodachrome 200, to attain more speed and somewhat correct for the color cast of stadium lighting.

accozzaglia · Mar 14, 2009

Pushed to 400: Dead Link Removed

Homeboy obviously has money to push that many stops.

Ektagraphic · Mar 14, 2009

I have wanted to try a 2 stop push. I think it would be neat to pull it too.

Poisson Du Jour · Mar 15, 2009

Very interesting indeed.
In 1984-1989 as a traveller, I frequently pushed PKL (Kodachrome 200: I never ever used 25 or 64, both being more expensive than the 200) to 400 with no great increase in grain or contrast; not owning a flash at the time and using a polariser frequently, I often needed additional speed. The Kodak desk of the day put a bright orange sticky label on the canister and the envelope marked PUSH. The image below is Kodachrome 200 at 400, made in 1988 (one of my best known favourites and the first to win me a Silver Distinction at my camera club's exhibition in August 1989).

• Crimson Rosella, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria (Australia) 1988
PKL 200 P+ (400ISO)

( These birds are a pest i.e. uncontrolled numbers, bad behaviour etc. and of course now people aren't encouraged to feed them as they were two decades ago! ).

accozzaglia · Mar 15, 2009

Brilliant shot, Poisson du jour. It is a bit higher contrast, but I like it a lot. And for an overcast/shade shot, it's well-balanced (I find overcast daylight to be tough sometimes with Kodachrome).

Regardless whether they're a pest or nuisance, they certainly are less an eyesore to look at versus, say, the pigeons we have in Toronto. They are our dirty city bird, or "rats with wings". And they certainly are smaller and less intimidating than our snow geese, which at almost a metre tall, will chase after you if you go too near a nest or a mating ground.

Poisson Du Jour · Mar 15, 2009

Pigeons! Yuck! Along with mallard ducks, these pooping pests are as popular as herpes on a honeymoon. Just yuck. Ironically, my early years with cameras were spent crawling along on my stomach among them, getting eyeball-to-eyeball snaps of pigeons before one took a swipe at me — from then on, the gloves were off!

Despite occasionally hazardous behaviour (swooping on kids etc.), rosellas are attractive for their varied but predominantly bright red and blue plumage. There doesn't seem to be so many at Wilsons Promontory now than decades ago. Might be the 13 year drought or just that the biscuits are no longer in supply...! This picture was almost accidental; a spur-of-the-moment thing after the bird swiped my biscuit from the table I was sitting at. I didn't have time to work the camera (at the time, a Canon T90 with FD 28-105mm zoom): just grab, aim and fire! Poor bird, shot by Poisson, immortalised on Kodachrome and glorified in Cibachrome...

nickstreme · Mar 18, 2009

I wanna see a pull.

Poisson Du Jour · Mar 19, 2009

nickstreme said:
I wanna see a pull.

You what...!?
Well, this thread is about pushing... push, push, push.
AFAIK, I don't think it was ever possible to pull PKL 200 or PKx/xx.

IloveTLRs · Mar 19, 2009

I pushed 64 to 128. Not much difference.

Fredrik Sandstrom · Mar 19, 2009

Poisson Du Jour said:
You what...!?
Well, this thread is about pushing... push, push, push.
AFAIK, I don't think it was ever possible to pull PKL 200 or PKx/xx.

Dwayne's do offer pull processing for Kodachrome. I have long intended to try a one-stop pull with K64, for lower contrast and hopefully very similar color rendition. I'll get around to it this spring, on some sunny day...

Pushing Kodachrome

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