Journey Through the Past

If you're looking for an archive to browse on a lazy summer afternoon, you might like Mango Falls—evidently the selects from a much larger collection of old and abandoned Kodachrome slides put together by a cheerful guy named Joe and his daughter Willow. All I can say is that Joe and Willow have good taste.

I suspect Mango Falls might have the most resonance for viewers of a certain age—say, middle age, now defined by the DSM as 45–65. And there's some indication on the site that they've had trouble with their server capacity from time to time when they get linked to, so if you can't access the site, try again another time.

As you might imagine, I enjoyed Joe and Willow's tour of the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Put on some of your favorite period music and go for a stroll.

______________________

Mike  (Thanks to Fred Mueller and his daughter)

Featured Comment by John Frendreiss: "Thank you! Looking at images like these taps into some primal craving in my brain. My synapses are awash with nostalgic endorphins. I could look at them for days."

Comments

[ed hawco]

Wow, this is great! I confess to being within the DSM range (low end, just barely). Maybe that's why I'm such a big fan of these web sites that bring back older archival photos. On the other hand, I particularly enjoy archives from before my time. For example, the images from the 20s, 30s, and 40s on Shorpy "the 100 year old photo blog" are stunning -- especially since you have the option of viewing them in large format. I particularly like the "slice of life" aspect of the images they present. It looks like Mango Falls is going to be in a similar vein, which I'm really looking forward to!

[Kevin]

I loved Mango Falls good job posting the link. If you are of a certain age it resonates not just the bad fashions but the way we posed for family pictures back then.

[Mark]

Great site. For me, Kodachrome slides have always been an almost eerie way to peer back into time. When I was growing up in the 1960's I think we actually believed that the world existed in black and white until some time in the late 1950's. Why? Because until then, movies, television, newspapers, most magazines and almost all snapshots that people had printed at their local drugstores were B&W.

Kodachrome, however, was a revelation. Are the over-saturated colors it produced real? Of course not. But it somehow has an ability, not always, but often enough, to be a window back into time.

[Dave Kee]

DSM? Pick one:

Acronym Definition
DSM Dark Shift Movements (band)
DSM Data Sharing Mechanism
DSM Data Storage Management
DSM Data Storage Module (Telabs)
DSM Data Systems Manager
DSM DCs and SMs Management (Sprint)
DSM De Nederlandse Staatsmijnen (Dutch State Mines; chemical company)
DSM Dead Skin Mask (band)
DSM Decision Support Matrix
DSM Decision Synchronization Matrix
DSM Decomposition Storage Model
DSM Dedicated Security Mode
DSM Deep Submicron
DSM Defense Suppression Missile
DSM Degradable Starch Microsphere
DSM Demand Side Management
DSM Democratic Socialist Movement (Namibia)
DSM Department of Standards Malaysia
DSM Dependency Structure Matrix
DSM Deputy Stage Manager
DSM Des Moines, IA, USA (Airport Code)
DSM Desert Silver Metallic (Acura car color)
DSM Design Sensitivity Monitor
DSM Design Structure Matrix
DSM Designated Sources Manual
DSM Development System Manager
DSM Di-electrically Shielded Microstrip
DSM Diabetes Self Management
DSM Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM Diagnostic Services of Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB, Canada)
DSM Diagnostic System Manager
DSM Diamond Star Motors
DSM Differential Subject Marking
DSM Digital Speed Matching
DSM Digital Standard MUMPS
DSM Digital Storage Media (ATMF)
DSM Digital Support Matrix
DSM Digital Surface Model
DSM Digital System Model (simulation based acquisition)
DSM Direct Support Maintenance
DSM Directorate Support Manager
DSM Directory Service Manager (Microsoft)
DSM Disconnect Service Message
DSM Discrete and Serial Module
DSM Disk Scheduling Mechanism
DSM Disputes Settlement Mechanism (GATT)
DSM Distance Separation Method
DSM Distinguished Service Medal
DSM Distributed Shared Memory
DSM Distributed Storage Management
DSM Distributed Switching Matrix
DSM Distributed Systems Management
DSM Distributed Systems Manufacturing
DSM District Sales Manager
DSM Docking and Stowage Module
DSM Does Size Matter?
DSM Domain Specific Modeling
DSM Domestic Staffing Model
DSM Don't Stop Moving (song)
DSM Downing Street Memo
DSM Dragon Scale Mail
DSM Drill Sergeant Major
DSM Drilling Support Module
DSM Dual Sync Mode
DSM Dynamic Scattering Mode
DSM Dynamic Situation Model
DSM Dynamic Spectrum Management
DSM dynamic structure model
DSM Dynamic Structures and Materials, LLC
DSM Dynamic System Monitor
DSM Dynamically Schedule Machine
DSM Data Source Manager
DSM Dedicated Server Module
DSM Dedicated Stack Manager
DSM Defect Sector Management
DSM Device Specific Module
DSM Digital Signal Manager
DSM Digital Sound Module
DSM Direct Show Media
DSM Discrete Sequence Modulation
DSM Distributed System Manager
DSM Docking and Storage Module

[Hugh Crawford]

Being in your 50s gets you a place in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?

Those Kodachromes sure are beautiful though.
I can almost hear those Argus C3 shutters ringing. The captions get to be like fingernails on chalkboard after a while though.

Hmm , maybe there is something to that DSM bit.

Meanwhile , I'm reminded of this ...

Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are always black and white? Didn't they
have color film back then?

Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It's just the
world was black and white then.

Calvin: Really?

Dad: Yep. The world didn't turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.

Calvin: That's really weird.

Dad: Well, truth is stranger than fiction.

Calvin: But then why are old paintings in color?! If their world was black and white, wouldn't artists have painted it that way?

Dad: Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.

Calvin: But... but how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn't their paints have been shades of gray back then?

Dad: Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the '30s.

Calvin: So why didn't old black and white photos turn color too?

Dad: Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?

[Mike J.]

Dave,
I pick "Dragon Scale Mail."

No, as I understand it, a decade or two back the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (was it IV?) redefined middle age upwards, to 45-65...it used to be 40-60.

That was significant to me for exactly five years. No longer, alas.

Mike J.

[David]

These are a treat indeed. I've also always enjoyed the never-less-than-breathtaking http://www.shorpy.com.

As Abe once said, people who like this kind of thing will find that this is the kind of thing they like.

[kevin]

Just beautiful. The titles are hilarious. Whoever wrote them spent a good deal of time listening to the radio at the same time I did.

[Andre]

I hate to be the guy that makes this about equipment, but do any of you DSMers know how to get a decent scan out of Kodachrome? I have a few boxes that my great grandfather took back in the late 50's and early 60's (on an Argus C3 no less) and I really want to do high res scans and distribute copies to my aunts and uncles. The trouble is that they really don't play nice with my Nikon LS-2000 film scanner and I haven't had any better luck with the Epsons at school.

[Jason]

I just love the colors and look of Kodachrome and have yet to find any photoshop action that comes close for me.

[Peter Hovmand]

What a great idea. Kodachrome sure "give us those nice bright colors ... They give us the greens of summers ..."
I have some 50 years old kodachromes from a Greenlandic-Canadian diplomatic expedition my grandfather was on. They look great too :) It is my plan to use kodachromes.com for an exhibition. When I get the time.

[michael]

I want to thank you for the link to shorpy.

I read your column faithfully, everyday.

And yes, I do shop Amazon, through your link.

[Marco Sabatini]

Very nice, and very different from contemporary italian photos.

If you like old photos, you might be interested in "The world's oldest Photo Archive":

www.alinari.com

[Andreas]

Love that stuff.

As someone mentioned above: do any of you have an idea how to get more film-like colors from digital?

I played around with Lightroom's camera calibration, but would be nice to have any inital hints or points from where to start on...

best always
Andreas

[Harry Lime]

I love the look of the original Kodachrome and Kodachrome II. Still the best looking color process around. Just like the old 3-strip Technicolor.

To me the older versions of Kodachrome looked even better than the current incarnation...

Too bad K64 is on it's last leg.

[Chris Wage]

If you like this sort of thing, I highly recommend the flickr stream of superbomba:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superbomba