It is the end of the line for the favorite film of our memories – Kodachrome. Launched in 1935 by Eastman Kodak, Kodachrome would soon become a very successful product for its maker. Kodachrome is a type of film that is called "color reversal film," which is a photographic film that would produce a positive image on a transparent base. The end product of this process gave us transparencies which came packaged in the form of 35mm slides. The film was also produced in film camera (movie) formats for cameras of the 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, 120mm and large format varieties.

Many of the print images appearing in magazines over the years were shot on Kodachrome. Magazines and other printed materials back then had a special colorful and memorable look to them because of Kodachrome. Some of the most memorable and important photographs of the 20th century were shot on Kodachrome. If you've ever seen a 35mm slide show projected onto a screen, then you know what we're going to miss here. The early years of many people's lives were recorded on the colorfully saturated and vibrant medium that is Kodachrome.

Kodachrome was appreciated for professional and archival usage because of its extremely good color accuracy and you could store the film for long periods of time. Because Kodachrome was a color reversal film, it required professional processing and thus excluded the amateur photographer from developing the film personally. Originally, in the United States, the processing cost was included in the price of the film until that practice was disallowed in 1954.

Although Kodachrome was the first commercially successful film produced by Kodak, its use (and sales) have fallen over the years. The digital camera has now replaced film almost entirely these day. So, probably with a tear in its eye, Kodak retired our friend Kodachrome on June 22, 2009 – saying goodbye after a glorious 74 year run. We're going to take a look at our old slides tonight and also say goodbye to everybody's favorite color film – Kodachrome – but not the memories.

	Kodachrome by Paul Simon
	When I think back On all the crap I learned in high school Its 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 They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the worlds a sunny day, oh yeah 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 And 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 worlds a sunny day, oh yeah I got a Nikon camera I love to take a photograph So mama don't take my Kodachrome away