Karsh on Kodachrome c1944 by J C A Redhead, FRPS
Toronto. In February 1931, the magazine Science and Invention had this brief note on the status of a new colour process taken on by Kodak. It modestly states, “These processes are said to be as simple as those involved in taking of monochrome pictures”.
A few years later Kodachrome was formally announced. Taking was indeed simple. Processing was a totally different matter. It was so complex exposed rolls had to be returned to Kodak and later after government intervention, optionally to major independent processing labs.
The photo at left is from the excellent 1978 Brian Coe book titled “Colour Photography“. The Karsh print appears on page 119 of my soft cover edition. The horizontal marks in the enlarged view of the Karsh print are due to the book printing process at the time.Once again, I would be remiss if I did not credit this post to George Dunbar and his generosity in sharing his photographic research with me.
