The Last Kodachrome - Dwayne's Photo, Parsons KS

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the last roll of Kodachrome slide film processed at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, highlighting the significance of this event in the context of film photography. Participants reflect on their experiences with Kodachrome and slide film, discussing its characteristics and their transitions to other film types.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that the last roll of Kodachrome was processed on January 18, 2011, and describes the final image taken by the owner of Dwayne's Photo.
  • Another participant expresses a hope that the commemorative T-shirts worn by the employees were colorful.
  • A different participant reminisces about the rich colors of Kodachrome, particularly its greens, and contrasts it with their experience using Ektachrome, which they felt enhanced blues too much for underwater photography.
  • One participant mentions their shift from slide film to negative film around 1995 for convenience in sharing prints and highlights the ease of scanning negatives compared to slides.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants share personal reflections and experiences with Kodachrome and slide film, but there is no consensus on the overall sentiment regarding the transition away from Kodachrome or the characteristics of different film types.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express nostalgia for Kodachrome and discuss its unique qualities, while others note practical considerations that influenced their choice of film. The discussion does not resolve the merits of different film types or the impact of Kodachrome's discontinuation.

Who May Find This Useful

Photography enthusiasts, particularly those interested in film photography and the history of film types, may find this discussion relevant.

jtbell
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The last roll of Kodachrome slide film emerged from the processor at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, at 1:36 PM Central Time on January 18, 2011. It was shot by Dwayne Steinle, the company's owner, and the last frame is a group portrait of the company's employees, wearing T-shirts to commemorate the occasion. I haven't found this picture on the Web yet, but it appears in the April 2011 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine, which I received in the mail today.

Dwayne's had stopped accepting Kodachrome for processing on December 31, but so much film was sent in during December (30,000 rolls of 35mm film, 4,000 rolls of Super 8 movie film, and 60,000 feet of 16mm movie film) that it took nearly three weeks to process the backlog.

None of my pictures were in that backlog. I shot my last roll of film about eight years ago.
 
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I hope the t-shirts were colorful.
 
Wow, I to loved Kodachromes rich greens, even at 25 ASA. I gave into high speed Ektachrome (160ASA?) when I was diving in Cuba, I really needed the speed unfortunately Ektachrome seemed to enhance blues, underwater was already blue rich, oh well. You do what you have to.

I didn't plan on going back to slides real soon any way, guess it is definite now.
 
lisab said:
I hope the t-shirts were colorful.

tshirt-500px-2.jpg


tshirt-500px-1.jpg


You can order one from Dwayne's while they're still available.

I think the last time I used Kodachrome (or slide film in general) was around 1995. After that I switched to negative film because it was so much more convenient to pass around prints than to haul out the slide projector. Then when I started scanning pictures for my Web site, I discovered that it's a lot easier to get good scans from negatives than from slides, provided your scanning software can do the color-inversion step properly.
 
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