Unknown photographer (Australian) The Nobbies, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Further Australian photographs from scans of 73 medium format Kodak Ektakchrome slides found in a country town in Victoria, Australia taken in Australia, Mexico, United States of America and Canada in the mid-1960s. I believe that the photographer was an Australian who was on holiday in Mexico, United States of America and Canada.
In nearly 40 years of being a photographer I have never seen colour medium format slides from the 1960s. There was no colour fading to the slides. The person who took the photographs was shooting medium format colour in the 1960s so they would have been a photographic aficionado. Just by holding the slides up to the light I could see the photographs were compositionally very interesting. Whoever the photographer was they had a great eye!
There are some beautiful photographs of the Australian landscape here. And the Australian “light” and colour are so different from the rest of the photographs (see part 1 of the posting).
I have also included an example of how incredibly dirty these slides were, see Untitled (Australian landscape) (detail uncleaned and cleaned) 1960s (below), and note how much work and many hours were required to bring these images back into a state of grace … and preservation.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
The fault at left appears in several other slides in these Ektachromes and must have been in the camera as it’s not in the slide itself…
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
There is a Mini panel van on the causeway!
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
The same landscape as the two photographs below
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) (detail uncleaned and cleaned) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Man holding his movie camera, Australia) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Australian built Ford XR Falcon station wagon
Unknown photographer (Australian) Unknown woman 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I don’t know where this is but it feels Australian to me, especially the fashion…
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape, possibly South Point, Wilson’s Prom, Victoria) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Australian coastal she oak and tea tree.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Wonderful photograph of the Australian landscape…
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Max Dupain (Australian, 1911-1992) Silos through windscreen 1935 Gelatin silver print
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
The second photograph taken through the windscreen of a car
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Australian landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I’m not sure what they are doing or where this is (possibly Australia) but I like the photo!
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
A geologist hammer in his hand?
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (Visitors must not leave pathway) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Hawaii 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
State of grace
I was very excited by the discovery in a country town in Victoria, Australia of 73 medium format Kodak Ektakchrome slides taken in Australia, Mexico, United States of America and Canada in the mid-1960s. I believe that the photographer was an Australian who was on holiday in Mexico, United States of America and Canada.
In nearly 40 years of being a photographer I have never seen colour medium format slides from the 1960s. There was no colour fading to the slides. The person who took the photographs was shooting medium format colour in the 1960s so they would have been a photographic aficionado. Just by holding the slides up to the light I could see the photographs were compositionally very interesting. Whoever the photographer was they had a great eye!
I can date the slides to late 1966 / early 1967. This is because of the unknown photograph of the construction of John F. Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery (below). Construction began in 1965 and was completed on July 20, 1967. Since JFK’s grave is 2/3rds complete this would date the photograph to late 1966 / early 1967. This would also help date all the other Ektachrome slides that I have scanned as well.
The has been a journey of (self) discovery.
Firstly, I made the conscious decision not to look at the slides before scanning them but rather to randomly pick up whichever slide came next … then to take us on a journey in time and space from my studio in Melbourne – to Canada, Mexico, United States of America and different parts of Australia, in the mid-1960s.
Together, through these photographs, we can travel the planet, traversing time back to the 1960s where we can witness historic places of that era – John F. Kennedy’s grave under construction; George Washington’s house in Mount Vernon; the White House closer than you can ever get today in our paranoid era of protection.
In some ways it was a more open society in those days, more trusting and available; in others, it was more prejudiced against, for example, women, migrants, colour and difference. War never changes. Not everything changes for the better, but some things do.
Scanning these slides was a journey of self discovery. I immersed myself in their worlds… staring for hours at the scans and at the dots and scratches on the screen – cleaning up the slides and colour balancing them (see Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York City 1960s below for an example) to make them presentable. It was as much a meditative practice and an acceptance of self to keep going that was so rewarding, especially for the peace it brings my bipolar and depression. Peace and self acceptance.
I lived and breathed these images back into existence after nobody had seen them for so many years. I saved them for prosperity, from the eternity of loss of all unseen images – to not have eyes look at them for that moment of recognition, when the language of the image can be decoded and understood. When the feeling of that image impacts the senses.
I hope you enjoy this series of images, that it reaches you in all its wonderful, effervescent glory. Whoever the photographer was I want to thank them for their vision – for they have taken us to places and times we could never have gone.
Dr Marcus Bunyan
PS. Look at the two hands in the photograph Untitled (Mexican scene?) 1960s (below). It perfectly sums up a moment caught through the energy of the photographer, the camera … and the cosmos. The open hand, the shielded hand.
Just a bit about these scans: scanned at 1200dpi, 21.3Mb. Each image takes on average 1.5 hours of cleaning and balancing to achieve the end result. 300dpi jpg made from scans.
“A good image is created by a state of grace. Grace expresses itself when it has been freed from conventions, free like a child in his early discovery of reality. The game is then to organise the rectangle.” [or the square in this case!]
Sergio LarraÃn Echeñique
Ektachrome transparency box
United States of America
Unknown photographer (Australian) Grand Canyon 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Snow in the Grand Canyon 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian?) Grand Canyon with snow 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) John looking bored, Father and Sylvia at Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen, Disneyland 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Wedding day (USA?) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
What a wonderful composition from a low vantage point. Not sure where it is but it feels USA to me…
The girl at left looking at the bride and groom, his white gloves one on one off, her yellow bride’s bouquet and the relationship to the yellow of the bridesmaid’s dress, and the two girls at right… one looking at the couple and one at the camera. Magic!
I wonder what happened to them, how long they were together. Was it a happy marriage? Did they had children and where are they now? And now all these years later to see this mnemonic device, this photograph of associations, designed to recover fragmentary memories of a happy time…
Unknown photographer (Australian) Wedding day (USA?) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (USA) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I am pretty sure this image is connected to the wedding photos above.
Unknown photographer (American) Hawaii? California? coastline 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Definitely not Australia…
Unknown photographer (American) Hawaii? California? coastline 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled [coastline] 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I think this is the Hawaiian or Californian coastline, but unsure… the telephone pole is definitely not Australian!
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
No idea where this is (not Australia!) or what the structures are. Obviously shot out of a moving car or possibly train/bus. An interesting image nonetheless.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled [Desert scene, California?] 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled [Desert scene, California?] 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
A wonderful photograph shot contre-jour which is a photographic technique in which the camera is pointing directly toward a source of light.
Unknown photographer (Australian) George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Thank you to Colin Vickery who informed me this is George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon.
Unknown photographer (Australian) John F. Kennedy’s gravesite under construction at Arlington Cemetery (foreground) with Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial in the background. View from Arlington House Late 1966 / early 1967 Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
An important photograph! An unknown photograph of the construction of John F. Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery.
Construction began in 1965 and was completed on July 20, 1967. Since JFK’s grave is 2/3rds complete this would date the photograph to late 1966 / early 1967. This would also help date all the other Ektachrome slides that I am scanning.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Grave of John F. Kennedy, Arlington National Cemetery, Washington 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Another important photograph of the temporary grave of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery with the construction of Kennedy’s new grave ongoing in the background.
Around the grave are the caps of the services with what I think are dog leads in between? In the background in the centre is a wreath from a Boy Scout Troop. And of course, the flame…
Unknown photographer (Australian) Arlington National Cemetery, Washington 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
This was a poor exposure and about the best I could do with the scan.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Arlington National Cemetery, Washington 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Road to Arlington National Cemetery, Washington 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
A wonderful vista with Arlington National Cemetery in the distance…
Unknown photographer (Australian) The White House, Washington, DC 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) The White House, Washington, DC 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled States Capitol, Washington, D.C. 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
What a great image, shot out of the front of a bus driving towards the United States Capitol, love all the old cars!
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled States Capitol, Washington, D.C. 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I love the perspective, the shadows of the old cars, the path leading the eye towards the building and the trees framing the vista.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York City 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
The top image has not been colour corrected, as scanned.
Unknown photographer (Australian) 1040 Fifth Avenue NY 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Some photos are winners, some are losers… but they are all interesting. The fifteenth floor of 1040 Fifth Avenue NY was home to Jackie Onassis from 1964 to 1994.
The cars are a Super 88 Oldsmobile, 1965 Plymouth Fury Suburban S/W and 1964/65 Buick Special 4dr.
This slide was so underexposed it was very hard to get a usable scan. Colour correction was difficult.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (American landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
A lovely image. Whoever took these photographs had a really good eye.
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (American landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (American landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (American landscape) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Untitled (California) 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I think this is California?
A classic 1960s photograph. The photographer had a good eye. Los Castillo artesanos on the left hand side, a Kodak sign, and a Chevrolet if I’m not mistaken.
Unknown photographer (Australian) American landscape with cars, perhaps Malibu, California? 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Great photo!
Unknown photographer (Australian) Main Str Cinema, Disneyland, California 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
I don’t know what the fault is at top left, it’s in the transparency itself – so obviously something inside the camera got ‘recorded’ on film
Unknown photographer (Australian) Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, California 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) General view over Universal Studios including my plane, Tammy’s houseboat, Warner Brothers in background, California 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
The photograph was taken from a “Glamor Tram” travelling around the lot. These were introduced in July, 1964. “The iconic red and white Glamor Trams, with their ruffled awnings, were staged five times a day, each lasting just over two hours, Monday through Friday.”
The handwritten inscription on the slide reads:
“General view over Universal Studios including my plane, Tammy’s houseboat, Warner Brothers in background”
“My plane” seems to be a North American P-51 Mustang. According to John Lovaas on Facebook he is “pretty sure the green space is Lakeside Golf Club, and the plane and cars in the foreground are on Universal Studios property. How many P-51s has Universal ever had on their lot? A finite number!”
He states that the P-51 is most likely the plane 44-72739 N44727 “Man O War” which was the plane at Universal Studios between 1955-1970. I can’t see a houseboat at all!
Unknown photographer (Australian) ‘Battle Hymn’ North American P-51 Mustang 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
A closer look at the North American P-51 Mustang that featured at a distance in the slide above.
The text written on the slide reads: “Me and plane used in “Battle Hymn”.”
“‘Battle Hymn’ is a 1957 American war film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Rock Hudson as Lieutenant Colonel Dean E. Hess, a real-life United States Air Force fighter pilot in the Korean War who helped evacuate several hundred war orphans to safety… Hess promises her he won’t see combat, since he will be the senior USAF advisor / Instructor Pilot to the Republic of Korea Air Force, only serving as a teacher and flying F-51D Mustangs. …
In order to replicate the ROK unit, the 12 F-51D Mustangs of 182nd Fighter Squadron, 149th Fighter Group of the Texas Air National Guard were enlisted by the USAF to provide the necessary authentic aircraft of the period. During filming, an additional surplus F-51 was acquired from USAF stocks to be used in an accident scene where it would be deliberately destroyed.”
Unknown photographer (Australian) Downtown Montreal, intersection of Blvd de Maisonneuve Ouest and Metcalfe St, looking toward Mont Royal 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Mexico
Unknown photographer (Australian) Cuernavaca Cathedral, Morelos, Mexico 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
Unknown photographer (Australian) Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City 1960s Ektachrome medium format transparency scanned
![Unknown photographer (Australian) 'Untitled [coastline]' 1960s](https://artblart.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ektachrome-h.jpg "Unknown photographer (Australian) 'Untitled [coastline]' 1960s")
![Unknown photographer (Australian) 'Untitled [Desert scene, California?]' 1960s](https://artblart.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ektachrome-q.jpg "Unknown photographer (Australian) 'Untitled [Desert scene, California?]' 1960s")
![Unknown photographer (Australian) 'Untitled [Desert scene, California?]' 1960s](https://artblart.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ektachrome-p.jpg "Unknown photographer (Australian) 'Untitled [Desert scene, California?]' 1960s")
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