Basement Kodachrome... or Film Forever!

[David Young <youngs@IslandNet.com>]

At 03:47 PM 20/06/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>Kodak still makes film for Circuit Cameras and let's see, those went 
>>out of production 40 or 50 years ago?????  It just shows that as long 
>>as there is sufficient demand and a profit to be made, products will be 
>>manufactured.
>
>
>I think that biggest danger to the long term existance of film is the 
>issue of the environment and chemistry. I understand that this is the 
>main reason that there is now only one Kodachrome lab in North America 
>(Kodachrome is the most complex film to process and uses the largest 
>number of individual chemicals of any film that I know of). With 
>increased concern and regulation, I think that this will be the thing 
>that will eventually kill film for the masses. I also think that, long 
>term, storing any kind of information on film or paper will start to be 
>perceived as extravagant and wasteful.
>
>I'm not saying that I'd like to see this, this is just my take on how I 
>think things are going.
>
>- Paul

I always find it curious that Kodachrome is "so complex".  

Years ago, (late 60's, I think) I saw a letter to the editor of Modern
Photo, from a chap in Nanaimo, Canada, who claimed to develop 16mm & 35mm
Kodachrome in his basement.  Since Nanaimo (Nan-eye-mo) is only a 90 minute
drive from here, a buddy and I phoned him, and made arrangements to
interview him with an eye towards an article in Modern.  (It never happened
- - but that's another story.)

He had quite a setup - all wood apparatus of his own design - and it
worked!  I've seen it done, in a basement, with my own eyes.

He told us that the biggest problem was figuring out just what Kodak used
for chemicals, and then obtaining them in reasonable quantities - not two
ton loads.  It took him several years to track them all down, but
eventually he did.

He told us that when friends of his wife came to visit (people he didn't
care for...), he would take Kodachrome home movies of them arriving,
dissappear into the basement for the duration of the visit, and then, just
prior to their leaving, show them the movies of their arrival!   (A great
way to "hide"!)

I've long forgotten his name - but I still have the photos I took of his
basment Kodachrome lab!

BTW - Paul, there is also a Kodachrome plant in Toronto Canada - making two
[2] in North America!  And did not someone post here recently that Kodak
was coming out with a Kodachrome Mini-Lab?  Don't see why not, if it can be
done by amateurs in their basements!






- ----------

David Young, Victoria, CANADA     |  A penny saved,
http://www.islandnet.com/~youngs/ |  is ridiculous.