I was listening to the songs I have on my phone when this gem by Paul Simon came on.

I really miss film sometimes.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1216


Kodachrome

When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they'd never match
My sweet imagination
Everything looks worse in black and white

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Leave your boy so far from home
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away

The past is almost never as we remember. Kodachrome was about 50% awesome, and about 50% not shit. At a time when most every colour stock was 100% shit, that's a big deal. But it's like missing your 1970s muscle car that had the same horsepower as today's Honda Accord ... do you really miss the product, or do you just miss what it represents?

I don't miss Kodachrome. Not at all. What I miss is the days when slides were relevant, and Kodachrome was the best slide film. Well, usually. For general purpose.

But as a substrate for images? Portra kills it, all the way. The only thing is actually does better than today's film stock is shooting an 8x10 or larger and mounting it directly to a light box.

I'm all for your nostalgia though. I practically live off that stuff.

A pretty damn decent song, especially considering it wasn't an originally created as an ad jingle for the product it celebrates.

I know of some people who should have had their Kodachrome taken away, but that's really all I have to contribute to this subject.

I usually know what time of day it is based on when this song rotates on Sirius Classic Vinyl.

I'm partial to 60s English roadsters, myself. I'd love an E Type, or even an MG. But those cars had problems like crazy, and by the time I'm old enough to afford one, I won't want to deal with it. Assuming MGs aren't $200,000 by then.

I think my retirement car is going to be a kit - I'll get a Miata or whatever is popular and affordable at the time and dress it up in MG bodywork. At least I'll have anti-lock brakes and a heater

I still miss one of the images I took in 1966 of a jet in Vietnam.  It normally wasn't in it's hanger during daylight hours, so getting a photo of it taking off was a rare opportunity.  The AP's didn't take to kindly of taking flash photos when it was in it's hanger at night.  When the slides came back from processing, there was a black rectangle over the image of the jet.  The lab censored my photo.  It seems that jet was never stationed in Vietnam.