Thank you Kodak: The Kodachrome Revolution

That familiar packaging.

Mum and dad. Early 1980s. 

Introduced in 1935, Kodak's colour transparency film revolutionised photography, not just for the high-end publishing arena with such publications as National Geographic Magazine, but also for the person-in-the-street.

Thanks to the faithful colour reproduction and the durability of the emulsion, we have a wonderful living colour archive of everyday life as well as momentus events in history.

By 2010, the last of the once-ubiquitous Kodachrome 64 slide film was discontinued. The lesser quality, but cheaper and easier to process E-6 (Kodak: Ektachrome) persisted for a few years beyond that and may still be available in niche markets, but there never will be another Kodachrome.

My father was the tech geek of the time, enjoying the precision engineering of cameras like Leica and Zeiss, while mother had the 'eye'. From the 1970s, mum was using a Pentax Spotmatic II dad bought for her in Suva in 1971. I went on to use this camera and it's still in the cupboard somewhere.

I am so grateful that she was able to shoot many years of excellent colour images for our family and here is a small selection from the family archive.

Tourists climb Ayers Rock (Uluru) 1974

Mini-bike races. Silver Lake, Mylor SA. 1973

Kings Cross. 1958 from the Earls Court Hotel.

New York City Skyline 1958. Picture taken from the Empire State Building. Spired building in centre of frame is the Chrysler Building. The UN Building can seen on far right. Leica IIIF 50mm Summicron. Kodachrome

Paddlewheeler 'Coonawarra' on Murray River, South Australia. c.1973

Sydney Opera House nearing completion. 1972. Sydney Harbour tug, Warunda, in foreground.

Tourists board the famous Pichi Richi Railway at Quorn, SA. Pichi Richi Railway (c.1975)

The famous winding Lombard St, San Francisco c.1980

'The Victor Harbor tramway which runs across to Granite Island daily is Australia's only horse-drawn tram service. It was first established in 1896. Discontinued in 1954 and recommenced in June, 1986. This image taken about the time of its reintroduction.

The Royal Yacht Britannia berthed at Port Adelaide during Royal Visit Feb. 1963

Landmark sign of the Stardust Casino, Las Vegas USA c.1980