Photojournalist Steve McCurry used the last roll of Kodachrome ever produced by Kodak to capture the world on a summer globetrotting trip. That roll was processed last month. While old-school photographers have mourned the death of that discontinued film with its recognizable richness, the digital generation hasn't wasted any time grieving. If you're longing for a retro aesthetic, these apps will transform the most badly composed, substandard snapshots into pieces that look like they were pulled from an archive - or, at the very least, will distract your friends from your mediocre photography.
They've found digital cures for their nostalgia in the form of iPhone apps and affordable software that convert digital snaps into old-style film photos. That current hipster longing for imperfect lighting, surprise outcomes and a retro aesthetic is answered with a few simple filters. Here's a roundup of some that can transform the most badly composed, sub-standard snapshots into pieces that look like they were pulled from an archive (or, at the very least, can distract your friends from your mediocre photography).
Hipstamatic iPhone app $1.99 in the iTunes store
It's the digital reincarnation of the short-lived Hipstamatic 100 camera from the eighties. The original, camera was designed with no cheap detail overlooked - even the lens was plastic - and returned prints with high saturation and washes of blue, red and yellow discoloration that hold a certain retro charm now. Half the fun for users is just the act of taking a photo. The display of your iPhone transforms into the camera itself. You can almost feel the C-grade plastic body of the Hipstamatic in your hands and frame your shot with a "viewfinder." You can customize the experience when you "load" different films and lenses for varied effects.
ShakeItPhoto iPhone app $0.99 in the iTunes store
The lyric "Shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture" in Outkast's Hey Ya, may zoom over the heads of today's kids, but we can put a stop to it. Of course there are the devoted few out there who have shelled out some serious cash to buy film for their aging Polaroid cameras (a group called the Impossible Project in the Netherlands sells it). but For the rest of us, there's the fauxlaroid: a digital copycat of the Polaroid. You can snap photos on your iPhone's camera and the app will give your "prints" that faded (and, let's face it, kind of skeevy) aesthetic of instant film. And what's a fauxlaroid without that signature white border? Let's not kid ourselves though - the real fun behind instant film was the process. After you take your photo, you can see it instantly "develop" on your iPhone; shake the device and - just like with the original - the photo will appear faster.
Lo-mob iPhone app $1.99 in the iTunes store
You could build your vintage camera collection by diligently going to Sunday morning flea markets for half a year or you could do a decent job or recreating the look of 40 different retro photo styles with a single app. One of the "Through the viewfinder" filters for example, slightly overexposes your photo and dusts it with dark specks (concentrated around the corners) to recreate the image one would see through the viewfinder of that old, nearly busted family camera that's collecting dust in the attic. Fiddle around with the "35mm film experimentation" filters for an ultra dreamy, soft-focused look. Background colours will melt and blend together and any tightly framed portraits will bring back fond (or more likely painful) memories of your high school yearbook.
Exposure 3 by Alien Skin Software $249.00 at alienskin.com
If you've given up hopes of recreating National Geographic Afghan Girl now that Kodachrome is dead, there's another option for you. This postproduction software is a step up from cheap iPhone apps, but still way less complex than Photoshop. Run the Kodachrome 64 filter on your photo to bring out new layers of richness and warmth. With the Kodachrome 35mm filter, the blue sky will also take on rich green and grey dimensions. And for a real throwback, apply the Kodachrome 35mm Slide Frame filter. While it won't actually produce a functional slide (it's just a visual gimmick), it will let you hem in your post-slide-era snapshots with a black slide frame and add subtle scratches and specks of dust to the "slide."