Colorizing black and white photos

[edwest]

I offer the following for everyone's consideration:

http://twistedsifter.com/2014/04/his...tos-colorized/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0607190748.htm



Ed

[Dan O'Connell]

The ability to colorize is getting very good!

[edwest]

Yes. I just hope it makes current and future buyers of original color Luftwaffe photos all the more informed.



Best,
Ed

[John Beaman]

Thanks Ed. Very interesting.

The Gettysburg vets are Confederate and the one on the right is likely wearing a grey suit instead of brown.

The one of Lincoln at Sharpsburg (to us Southerners) is very interesting. If the penny designer did indeed use this as a base, he sure messed up Lincoln's nose and lips!

[edwest]

Originally Posted by John Beaman

Thanks Ed. Very interesting.

The Gettysburg vets are Confederate and the one on the right is likely wearing a grey suit instead of brown.

The one of Lincoln at Sharpsburg (to us Southerners) is very interesting. If the penny designer did indeed use this as a base, he sure messed up Lincoln's nose and lips!

You're welcome, John. Part of the problem with the internet is instead of experts getting primary access to such technology, it ends up in the hands of amateurs as well. Amateurs + increasingly powerful technology usually ends up in false conclusions or associations, or personal opinions gradually morphing into "facts."



Best,
Ed

[ouidjat]

Originally Posted by edwest

You're welcome, John. Part of the problem with the internet is instead of experts getting primary access to such technology, it ends up in the hands of amateurs as well. Amateurs + increasingly powerful technology usually ends up in false conclusions or associations, or personal opinions gradually morphing into "facts."



Best,
Ed

Hello,

Just to be complete ... and fair:
Whatever the fields ... you can find Professional/experts turning bad or wrong informations into facts ... as well! Don't forget that, please.

Best regards, Franck.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Dan O'Connell

The ability to colorize is getting very good!

To complete your rhyme ...

"But just because you can, it doesn't mean you should."

[Pilot]

I play with this a years ago and results can be so interesting. As well the images become very new products, some of the archive make note that protect their material even if it is rework in this manner. I more prefer images in their original form, including of scratches

[edwest]

Right. As advances are made, we should be aware of what could be done with them. And some things should not be done.




Ed

[Nick Beale]

"... the color profiles that now seem to be an "essential" part of a book. Frankly, I look at these as wasted pages ... the likelihood that these are some artist's best guess"

But the same can be said of the text of any non-fiction book. The author is presenting his/her best guess, based on the (almost always incomplete) evidence available and even primary sources contain errors. Yes, there are "rules" which a good historian should follow in handling evidence and citing sources but nevertheless one is presenting an interpretation.

"When multiple color profiles of some famous pilots are produced in different books, it is amusing to see the differences."

And that could equally be true of all the differing accounts of the origins of the Great War that have appeared to mark the Centenary. Interpretations differ.

All we — and profile artists — need to remember is that illustrations are just that, illustrative; they are there to help the reader picture the matter/person/place/item under discussion. I would like to see profiles accompanied by a note as to sources, which bits are guesswork and how those guesses were arrived at. It's just a matter of artists acknowledging, and readers recognising the inherent limitations of the form.

If a profile was based on perfect, colour-calibrated photos from all angles, why would you need the profile at all? The only point of including one is to bridge a gap.