The word Kodachrome is now largely unused and unknown in most of America. When mentioned, the baby boomer generation knows precisely what is being discussed. Notice that it is capitalized because it refers to a color reversal film made by the Eastman Kodak company from 1935 to 2009. It was a premium product and was more expensive than other photography film products. One of my favorite stories is told by a friend who was an adjunct instructor at the University of Washington Dental School. My friend used the word Kodachrome in a class lecture, and the students’ faces went flat. It became apparent they were not following the lecture. so he asked for a show of hands about their understanding of the term. Only one student responded, offering that Kodachrome was the name of a Paul Simon song. The student was right, it is also a Paul Simon song.
I went through several spools of Kodachrome film on my journey through Yellowstone and Calgary Stampede with Aunt Virginia, at her expense. She was generous, but always cautioned me about taking a photo that didn’t represent what I was seeing. In those days (1956), film was a two-step and twice-pay process. You paid for the spool of film and then paid to have it developed. You had to pay for every print, even if the photo was a mistake or a disaster.