Standing atop Diavolezza (9,770 ft/2,978 meters) on a photo-perfect autumn afternoon and gazing out on the peaks of Switzerland’s Bernina Alps made for an exhilarating “Top of the World” experience last October, as well as a bountiful set of motifs for the Kodachrome I brought along.

All very special, as I planned my trip around giving the last rolls of Kodachrome-25 in my freezer the very best motifs I could - before the last Kodachrome lab in the world stopped processing this iconic film.

Seventy-five years is quite a ride for any commercial product, especially these days. My thrill in celebrating my own several decades of shooting Kodachrome was complete when Mother Nature smiled at my mission and supplied Alpine-perfect days for most of my two-week stay, although I had to think "Mother" was testing my mettle when I arrived at the base station for the cable car.

The Val Bernina was shrouded in a chilly mist, which completely obscured the peaks. But I was glad I took the chance as we ascended through several meters of cloud cover to emerge in superbly sunny conditions. The top of that overcast can be seen in this image.

Needless to say, the photographer was smiling broadly and continuously at his superb fortune for his "Last Hurrah with the Kodachrome."

From a Kodachrome-25 transparency.

This image is available in archival gallery prints and as a custom printed Photo Note Card.

©Steve Ember