Toronto, 1994 – when Kodachrome roamed the earth

© Avard Woolaver

A moment captured on Kodachrome. It was taken on a pedestrian walkover that crosses Lakeshore Boulevard and Gardiner Expressway. The warm light in the late afternoon was a perfect match for this reversal film that was known for its red/magenta cast.

I knew Paul Simon’s song Kodachrome before I got into photography, but didn’t know anything about the film itself. I would discover its magical qualities a few years later. Here is what Songfacts says about the song: “Paul Simon was working on a song with the title “Coming Home” when the word “Kodachrome” came to him. He had no idea what it meant, but knew it would make for a much more interesting song than “Coming Home.” The song became an appreciation of the things in life that color our world, and a look at how our memories are framed to fit our worldviews. Simon sometimes sings the line “Everything looks worse in black and white” as “Everything looks better in black and white.” He changes it a lot, and claims he can’t remember which way he wrote it.”

Kodachrome started in 1935 and effectively ended in 2010, when it was no longer possible to have it processed. Competition from Fujichrome and Ektachrome (which are easier to process) brought a decrease in sales, and the emergence of digital in 2000 signaled the end of the film. But once upon a time, Kodachrome roamed the earth–in cameras, camera bags, and pockets. It was with me when I traveled around Germany in 1978, Asia in 1989, and Europe in 1993. My faithful companion.