17 thoughts on “From My Files”

  2. Quinta Avenida, Miramar.
    Incidentally, El Caballero de Paris was known to sleep on the porch behind the kids from time-to-time.
    As for the quality – many of the old Kodachromes I have suffer from fungus outbreaks on the emulsion and the inevitable scratches. There are a select few however that – for whatever the reason – have been preserved quite well.
    I am rather fascinated by Kodachromes from the 1930s – the early 50’s for the simple reason that I have always known that time period as a “black and white” world. To see an image so well preserved from 1952 – one that looks like it could have been taken last week – is fascinating – in my humble opinion.
    Cheers,
    -AB

  4. Gusano,
    Yes, it is a slide. I own a slide scanner.
    Kodachrome was developed in the 1930s and remained the most popular slide film in the world until the 1970s (in my opinion). It was hands down the highest quality – rich saturated colors. It’s only donwfall was the fact that it required a highly specialized processing method (I think it was called K12 if I remember correctly) which not every lab could handle – thus most folks used the Kodak mailers to send the rolls up to Rochester. Today, only about two labs remain that continue to process the stuff. It is quite beautiful. I have a hardcover book of 4×5 (large format) Kodachrome landscapes photographed by Ansel Adams in the 1930s and 1940s. They are stunning but not as wonderful as his B/W work.
    AB

  5. Gusano –
    You are correct. Kodachrome was quite the film in its day. Biggest problem was film speed, ASA 25 and
    64 not allowing for “stop action” shots. Ektachrome and its clones started at ASA 64 and had High Speed variants of 125(Indoor) and 160 (Outdoor) which could be “Pushed” quite a bit in development. About 1976, Ektachrome 200 came out first as a “Professional” Film and then as a Consumer item. With newer “fine grain” technology this product was the beginning of “Bye, Bye Kodachrome.” Best recollection of processing is that latest for Kodachrome is “K-14”
    What also impresses me greatly about this picture is its sharpness. I do NOT think this was taken with a “Brownie” camera. Someone cared enough to get a camera with a REAL LENS. Also, without saying is that this is from when CUBA had an economy as the home looks very well maintained.
    CubaWatch – We are all so used to “All-In-Ones” that we forget that separate scanners came with attachments to do just that sort of thing, like my Epson Model 1260, price $69.95 plus tax, five years ago. -S-

  10. where are the labs that you can get the Kodachrome scanned and developed? My father has tons of kodachrome pictures from pre-castro Cuba and we have been looking for a place where we could get them developed into film. Beautiful picture by the way, the quality is amazing, I can’t believe its from the 50’s.

  11. Kodachromes are a bitch to scan, but in my experience the best slides for maintaining color and sharpness. I shot Kodachrome 64 until I discovered Fujichrome velvia 50 which was the new std. for landscape work. Heck I’m all digital now, but I wish My old man had taken color shots with kodachrome. all the prints he took of me as a kid have all faded.

  12. CubaWatch –
    En mi familia hay una tragedia – Efectamente mi hermana menor ha robada mis viejas cameras 35mm manual, semi-automatico, y automatico. Tengo una Minolta Maxxum 5, y, un Fuji Digital. Prefiero una camera de “FILM,” pero las cameras digital hay la onda de la futura. Tambien, una camera “ALPA” fue una de calidad superior en 1952. -S-

  13. Cigar Mike –
    Es verdad – Velvia 50 is de-facto the new standard in slide film as long as film is still available as a consumer item, which may NOT be much longer. -S-

  17. Well, I visited a house that looked just like that when I was in Cuba about five years ago. And it was on Quinta Avenida in Miramar and had a balcony that looks very similar.
    I was part of a group of students living there for a semester while attending the University of Havana. I have a few pictures from inside. On the black iron gate outside it said “Villa Eulalia”
    My family is originally from the island, and I often thought about the family that had to leave it behind.
    Is this the Villa?

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