Fantasy fest in 1999
Fantasy Fest in Key West has always been a little earthy. In 1999 there was a big push to keep the streets non-n**e, non-topless. They imported a lot more out-of-the-area police and really cracked down. Tourist business dropped off so much that the officials were not re-elected.
I’ve posted some the “G” rated photos from that year.
Gentlepersons:
The Kodachrome Pictures:
These recently uploaded Kodachrome pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of consumer Kodachrome picture recording during about 70 of the 75 years that Kodachrome was commercially available to the public. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a Kodachrome slide. We took fewer pictures, trying to stretch resources, but some are still frivolous.
I'm 97. I'm about at the end of my ability to continue posting. The ratio of today’s digital pictures that are kept for any length of time and/or printed is much less than the film photos taken in days past. History will be lost. Meanwhile you get to be bored by some old Kodachromes, Anscochromes, a Dufaycolor and perhaps an old black&white or so.
The camera...
This photo was taken with an Olympus IS-3 in the early 2000s. The lens was able to take advantage of the sharpness of Kodachrome 25. The camera exposure system was good enough to use Kodachrome 25 with everything on “full-auto. It had a very high guide number built in flash. It also had a Guide number 40 accessory flash which is the only accessory flash I’ve ever tested (out of dozens) that put out its rated guide number. Most brands, including the top-of-the-line major brands flashes actually put out a measured ½ to 2/3 of their rating. With a little fudging, one could get both the on-board and accessory flash to work together for a bright, long reaching light.
The Film...
Kodachrome was my favorite film. My first roll in the late 30s was such a marvel to a young man. I had tried Dufaycolor which did pretty good, but if it had to be projected you had to ignore the lines of color which made up the image. Kodachrome was so much more colorful to boot. It was extremely sharp and almost grainless compared to other color and B&W processes.
Kodachrome was unique in American film history. Except for a licensee who used Kodachrome’s older process for a few years, nobody made anything like it. Most color films had all the color in the film. Kodachrome picked up color from the processing baths. Also unlike modern slide films which use chemical energy to reverse the negative image, Kodachrome used filtered lights to re-expose within the processing machine. Kodachrome evolved over the years, and was usually the clearest, sharpest grain free color film one could buy. That is until Kodak made a decision to reduce the budget to improve the product in favor of other products and offerings. Fuji Velvia soon eclipsed it in resolution and could be processed locally in regular E-6 mini-machines.
Fantasy fest in 1999
Fantasy Fest in Key West has always been a little earthy. In 1999 there was a big push to keep the streets non-n**e, non-topless. They imported a lot more out-of-the-area police and really cracked down. Tourist business dropped off so much that the officials were not re-elected.
I’ve posted some the “G” rated photos from that year.
Gentlepersons:
The Kodachrome Pictures:
These recently uploaded Kodachrome pictures have no artistic value. They were just uploaded to be representative of consumer Kodachrome picture recording during about 70 of the 75 years that Kodachrome was commercially available to the public. Unlike in today’s digital world it took time, money and effort to make a Kodachrome slide. We took fewer pictures, trying to stretch resources, but some are still frivolous.
I'm 97. I'm about at the end of my ability to continue posting. The ratio of today’s digital pictures that are kept for any length of time and/or printed is much less than the film photos taken in days past. History will be lost. Meanwhile you get to be bored by some old Kodachromes, Anscochromes, a Dufaycolor and perhaps an old black&white or so.
The camera...
This photo was taken with an Olympus IS-3 in the early 2000s. The lens was able to take advantage of the sharpness of Kodachrome 25. The camera exposure system was good enough to use Kodachrome 25 with everything on “full-auto. It had a very high guide number built in flash. It also had a Guide number 40 accessory flash which is the only accessory flash I’ve ever tested (out of dozens) that put out its rated guide number. Most brands, including the top-of-the-line major brands flashes actually put out a measured ½ to 2/3 of their rating. With a little fudging, one could get both the on-board and accessory flash to work together for a bright, long reaching light.
The Film...
Kodachrome was my favorite film. My first roll in the late 30s was such a marvel to a young man. I had tried Dufaycolor which did pretty good, but if it had to be projected you had to ignore the lines of color which made up the image. Kodachrome was so much more colorful to boot. It was extremely sharp and almost grainless compared to other color and B&W processes.
Kodachrome was unique in American film history. Except for a licensee who used Kodachrome’s older process for a few years, nobody made anything like it. Most color films had all the color in the film. Kodachrome picked up color from the processing baths. Also unlike modern slide films which use chemical energy to reverse the negative image, Kodachrome used filtered lights to re-expose within the processing machine. Kodachrome evolved over the years, and was usually the clearest, sharpest grain free color film one could buy. That is until Kodak made a decision to reduce the budget to improve the product in favor of other products and offerings. Fuji Velvia soon eclipsed it in resolution and could be processed locally in regular E-6 mini-machines.