Colorizing black and white photos

[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.

[edwest]

Hi Nick,


You're right. Interpretations are interpretations. We have some Luftwaffe documents about specific colors and some authentic color photos which, granted, due to age, are likely color shifted to some degree. But we can't take an all or nothing approach. Good books have been written about the subject but they are now priced beyond what the average researcher can afford. Citations regarding sources or assumptions, and the reasoning behind them, along with color illustrations would be nice. However, this should be a message we should send to all publishers.


Best,
Ed

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Nick and Ed,

The one beneficial use I have found from a knowledge of an aircraft's camouflage and markings is to have a pretty good idea as to what unit and possibly what particular factory the aircraft came from. David E. Brown has made a specialty of this.

As for writing a history, it can be done casually with meaningless results or with much research, meaning something far more useful and trustworthy. Still, as you say, missing knowledge can result in conjectures which may or may not be presented as such. False interpretations, like good ones, are subject to the game of telephone, one author quoting (or lifting from) another until the falsehood seems firmly implanted by sheer repetition.

Even in original documents, as you point out, there are errors, meaning that corroboration and a hopefully better understanding of the situation allows for the best possible history. Also, when relying on recollections of veterans of events from long ago, those recollections are fraught with potential errors of memory, or worse, intentional fibbing.

I've seen claims over and over that, when run to ground, were false. It may take back tracking of references through several books and/or articles to get to the prime source before a true assessment can be made of the history presented. Like many, I fell victim to the claim by Joseph Mark Scalia in his U-234 book that there was an Me 262, albeit in pieces, aboard the submarine. Martin Pegg approached me on the subject about a year and a half ago and, being prodded on, I actually purchased a copy of the cargo manifest from the U.S. Navy. Then Martin really wrung it out. No mention of an Me 262 aboard. But, Martin didn't stop there. He dug up the subs' plans and the modifications that were made to the mine shafts to carry more cargo. There simply was no way for an Me 262 to be broken up and stored on the sub. There just wasn't enough space.

So, why was I so fooled? Scalia has probably the best reference book I've ever seen. I was truly impressed. But, apparently, he must have either had an agenda or depended on second hand information, as neatly included in the book were multiple claims that an Me 262 was, indeed, on board. Without Martin's prodding, I'd probably still believe that there had been one on board. Certainly, the claim could titilate sales.

There are other examples I could cite.

Then there is the proclivity of the author, himself. In other words, does he really dig out the facts or has he an agenda and use only what supports his own specific interpretation? Or worse, is he just a hack?

When do you publish? When do you really have sufficient information? Do you publish early, then republish as you learn more?

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Dear Richard,


I've been devoting a little time to fringe claims and yes, a lot of solid research needs to be done. As a book editor who has to do research about things I'm totally unfamiliar with, I have to find the best resources, and triple check them. Sometimes, I only have a week or two to zero in on the best knowledge, and I get a small budget (usually around $100.00) to get what's needed. Sometimes, I find bits of knowledge scattered all over the place, especially when doing historical research.

After 2008, Historical Non-Fiction as a category took the biggest hit. Then there is ignoring the naysayers. The internet, like all human inventions, is good and bad, especially if you're not careful. A project I'm working on now has taken 3 years and most of that time has been checking, rechecking and reevaluating the material while discovering more fragments along the way. Presenting it well matters, or any reader will not keep turning the pages.

Putting together a well-written fiction book takes only a little less time than doing a really good non-fiction book.

My advice. Put together what you have, make sure it flows, and has all the citations you'd expect from a well-written historical work. I don't worry about the financial reward. I would just like to get some information out there that I think is worthwhile. My maxim is: if there's nothing to my thesis then I will find nothing to support it. In over 25 years, I've only failed once in finding what I was looking for. And yes, if I do publish and find more later, I'll just put out an updated edition.

Chin up and all that.



Best regards,
Ed

[Pilot]

I have read several study including those about determinate color values of native Americans dress and fact is- there is not method or expert who can absolutely claim what colors is from black and white images. Not those who try to make copy of clothes for movies, not those who try to make illustration. The same problems is also present with those who try to rework image from black and white to color.

As illustrator I know bitter elements of the analyze of images. Without artifacts, documents or testimonials, you can not have good direction in some case. Illustration is great field for criticize anybody as well many who have no idea about images and problem coming with them find them self as top experts (problems with modern forums and discussion groups).

I hope this image in attach will show what problems are when you try to see black and white as color. This is just simple presentation, just imagine blending as one of two different colors, influence of angle of illumination, sun bleaching, human influence (dirt from hands, finger prints, leaks from oil or gasoline...). Back to elemental- how the image was made, did photographer make best settings, is it over exposed or not? How it was developed, what paper used and so on... As one gentlemen previously say, from one negative, many different images can be made and this is fact.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Nick, Ed, and Srecko,

All good points. From, Nick:

"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."

In this extreme case, a good color profile could be quite useful. Besides various causes of color photo degradation, there is the problem of sun and shadow. The upper fuselage may be "blown out" due to reflection, while the underside is very dark in shadow. The angle of the camera to the fuselage can also lead to distortions of true color. A good color profile would eliminate these effects.

As far as when to write, I don't have an answer. In the case of the Me 262, I've been quite interested in the various assembly sites, with a list of the usual suspects. But, a couple of flyers began to surface - Brandenburg-Briest and Erding. In his book, Steinhoff noted the use of Brandenburg-Briest for reassembly of major components shipped in from assembly site(s). Jurleit, quoting Steinhoff, elaborated more on the subject. But, what about the airfield at Erding? There were fuselages and wings found alongside a rail line at Berglern, a few miles north of Erding. At Erding, proper, were also found fuselages and wings scattered along a taxiway. Was this accidental? What was going on? Only recently were Manfred Boehme and I supplied the answer, a table from our friend Tomáš Poruba showing that these 2 places, along with 2 others, were being used or planned to be used for reassembly of major Me 262 components. Up until that point we only had Brandenburg-Briest so identified and didn't know that it was part of a larger plan. Jurliet provided a rationale, which was extremely important.

The point is that, publishing too soon, you may be missing a very important part of the puzzle. The analogy I've used from day 1 still holds: Imagine that you have a jigsaw puzzle. There are no edge pieces. A lot of the other pieces are missing. And, you've lost the boxtop art to help guide you. That's what it is all about.

Regards,
Richard

[GuerraCivil]

I have some problem to figure out what colours were used to paint the Legion Condor´s (LC) Bf 109. The expert book like Robert Forsyth´s "Aces of Legion Condor" shows something resembling green olive camo for all colourplates of Bf 109. To my mind this is too dark compared to many black and white photos of the Bf 109 of LC - many of them seem to represent something resembling light grey. Here what one expert has to say about this:

"A further good example of this is provided by the grey upper surface colour used on Condor Legion fighters... 20 years ago, every colour reproduction of Bf109s in Spain showed them bearing a light neutral grey scheme, often called "gull grey". However, recent research, based on contemporary German records and surviving aircraft parts, seems to point to the grey being a much darker, greener hue. In fact many of the fighter aircraft sent to Spain may have been finished in a colour much closer to, if not actually, the famous RLM Grau 02.
Much of this research was incorporated into the recent Jagdwaffe title by Mombeek, Smith & Creek (1999), which caused many reviewers to remark unfavourably on the dark colours they had given to their aircraft. Merrick (2005) expands on this research considerably, suggesting that the earliest Bf 109s were finished in bare metal with a yellowish-greenish-grey protective varnish applied, and that all Bf 109s were repainted in RLM 72 or 73 on the uppersides at some later point.

Of course, trying to reproduce colours on a web page to be viewed on a computer screen adds yet another layer of complexity to the whole question. So I would like to proudly claim that all the colours on my web site are completely and utterly inaccurate!
The difficulties of estimating colours from monochrome photographs are discussed further by Ian Huntley (1994)."

Could it be that the expert historians of LC know with certainty that SOME of Bf 109 in Spain were painted with olive green or green-grey (upper surface), but they just don´t know what may have been the lighter upper surface represented in many b/w photos?

[Pilot]

Good to mention Ian Huntley, he made study long time ago and claim (based on his documents) that Spanish Bf 109 were grey green.

Hi, I have seen your link here of black and white photos turned into colored ones. Well, it is nice to view them in a new forte and even restored perhaps to create something different. However, if you want a classic or nostalgic in style, you will love to look photos in an original way.