20 Classic Kodachrome Photos of the Way We Used To Be

Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor

Aug 1, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Kodak, likely without meaning to, have become an icon of the age before digital. There is not one of us who grew up with a film camera in the family, that did not recognize the phrase 'Kodak Moment'. And now as we look back into the past in our slightly older age, there is a very definable Kodak period within which our childhoods largely existed.

So today we wanted to take a trip down memory lane to look back upon the times that we left behind and the vivid ways that we captured them through the lenses of some of the toughest cameras ever built. We would like to see a modern digital camera survive the scuffs and tumbles our old film cameras used to handle on a daily basis. So settle in, put your photo gloves on (we do not want fingerprints on our nice memories now do we?), and get ready for a nice bit of 70s, 80s and 90s nostalgia.

01
"Brightly dressed kid and three Saint Bernards, 1974"

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There is something about those yellow and orange colors that simply scream Kodachrome. And in retrospect, now that cameras have changed completely, those colors not only trigger warm childhood memories, but also connote a very specific moment in time. Kind of like rings in a tree trunk.
02
"Pool party, 1970"

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03
"Natchez, Mississippi, 1983 (photo by Nathan Benn)"

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04
"Unhappy skunk in cake dish - woman expresses her opinion of Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1954"

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Oh, the days when political protests were reserved and well-behaved. How far far away they look and feel in the lens of our world today. But hey, maybe if we band together and put on a march of sunken cakes we could capture some of that old-timey energy, get our foot in the political door, and have cake left over after the march.
05
"Mom and daughter (maybe sister?) in red, 1964"

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06
"Toy store in San Francisco, CA, 1965"

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07
"White people in American Indian costumes, Kansas City, MO, 1950"

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08
"On the ride at Battersea Park, London, 1961"

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09
"1975 - I'm calling them Glen and Cathy"

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10
"Game night, 1960 - I like my money and property cards in one stack each. I don't like spreading out everything, but its always appeared that I'm in the minority."

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11
"Jack at the arcade, playing Chicago Coin's Basketball Champ game - Union Beach, NJ, 1952"

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12
"Scenic bell-bottoms, 1974"

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13
"1966"

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14
"The dog! 1962"

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15
"The trip - she's all set with ice cream cones which bodes well, 1977"

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16
"SPCA animal shelter, using advanced cat filing system, 1965"

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17
"Girl Scouts at a Bird Sanctuary - love shots where the picture isn't quite ready to be taken, 1951"

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18
"Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica, 1976"

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19
"Wish I had been invited to their parties! 1966"

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20
"Florida, 1944"

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