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I Colorized 30 Celebrities From The Golden Age Of Hollywood Using AI And It Took A Few Seconds
Nowadays, photographers use black and white photography to convey emotion by playing with tones, contrasts, and shadows, but it wasn't always an option to choose. Color photography brings photographs to life and reveals every little vivid detail that creates a compelling image. Photographers from the past could only convey the world they were living in in black and grey. Have you ever wondered what these photographers saw that very moment? I have.
Digital artists spend hours trying to recreate old black and white photographs in realistic colors with impressive results—just check the incredible work of colorists Marina Amaral, Andrea Erali, or Olga Shirinina previously featured on Bored Panda. It's intricate and time-consuming work that requires not only great editing skills, but a lot of knowledge and research of historical context to color the image as accurately as possible.
I wondered if, with the fast advancement of artificial intelligence and machine learning, this scrupulous job can be done by technology as well as by humans. Well, only time can tell, but it seems like the future is near. I have found this image colorization API called DeepAI that allows you to colorize black and white photos and videos in a few seconds.
I tested the program with these iconic B&W images of celebrities from the golden age of Hollywood. The result is far from perfect and in most cases needs to be at least touched up in Photoshop or other programs, but I was surprised by how much a deep learning model can achieve!
More info: deepai.org
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Marilyn Monroe
HappyPig1723 4 years ago
She looks so happy! Not enough people actually appreciate her acting skills and her boss-lady'ness. (I know that isn't a word)
I love all arts and entertainment. I have been drawing pencil portraits since I was a child, and later, I discovered digital art and started participating in several Photoshop contests. But I can't wait to see what technology can offer—that's why I explore what's new in the industry and try it myself. I have recently played with AI to see what the kids of famous ex-couples would have looked like.
I also regularly post articles on Bored Panda about the most amazing artists I come across, both world-class and aspiring, as well as animal stories. Putting their art in the spotlight makes me proud and inspired. Check out some of the recent posts I made here, here, and here.
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#2
Katharine Hepburn
Mustn’t eat the mango 🥭 4 years ago
First woman wear pants when it was illegal, so proud of her
#3
Ingrid Bergman
#4
Audrey Hepburn
#5
Lucille Ball
#6
Kim Novak
#7
Elizabeth Taylor
#9
Sophia Loren
#10
Judy Garland
Sofia Cohn 4 years ago
What a pretty colored dress! It's a shame you couldn't see the color in the first.
#11
Shirley Temple
#12
Jayne Mansfield
#13
Charlie Chaplin And Virginia Cherrill
#14
Judy Garland And Gene Kelly
#15
James Dean
HappyPig1723 4 years ago
Giving me country vibes. (If he was a country person don't judge me I'm only 12)
#16
Grace Kelly
#17
Frank Sinatra
#18
Rita Hayworth
#19
Marlon Brando
#20
Bette Davis
Rachel Agge 4 years ago
Lipstick was extremely dark so it would contrast well with the camera.
#22
Marlene Dietrich
izzy.kitsune 4 years ago
both versions are nice, but it feels like the actual mood shifts in the transition i love it
#23
Clark Gable
#24
Shirley Maclaine
#25
Ava Gardner
#26
Charlton Heston
Cathy Jo Baker 4 years ago
Classy, classy, classy! He came to Indiana to visit the Lew Wallace Study and Museum (where Wallace wrote Ben-Hur) many years ago! (I had to mention that because the pic seems to be from that movie. Movie is good (the 1959 one) but the novel is wonderful!
#27
Betty Grable
#28
Fred Astaire
Demongrrrrl 4 years ago
Everyone says he was such an amazing dancer, but Ginger Rogers did everything he did, in heels and backwards.
#29
Greta Garbo And George Brent
#30
Gary Cooper And Helen Hayes
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Dotzilla _( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/ 4 years ago
I went to the website! So cool! Here is one I did judy-5fd26...1b2fe5.jpg 
¡ Rachel ¡ 4 years ago
Thank you for sharing. I just converted so old photos of my dad and they came out brilliantly.
Mike Pence's Fly 4 years ago (edited)
I was wondering what the link to the site was? Much appreciated. Very cool, I want to try it out! Edit: Realized it was at the top, very cool anyway!
Rannveig Ess 4 years ago
Tried it twice, with pictures of my great-great-grandmother . Just made her face neon pink. : /
quarantine panda 4 years ago
the fact that the top two both are the only ones with dogs tells me something...
Maggie Smith 3 years ago
Many of the b/w pictures look better to me because they show greater detail. Color makes some of the pictures appear almost fuzzy. I learned this many many years ago.
A Dumbo Octopus 4 years ago
Thank you for telling us the website the AI came from! Most people who make similar articles never mention the website and claim the AI's work as their own. Thank goodness this isn't one of those times. :)
s. vitkovitsky 4 years ago
Some look more dramatic in the original b&w; the lighting was specially set up for b&w shots, so that the results are genuinely artistic, not just good images of the subjects.
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 4 years ago
George burns and his funny wife (what was her name?????) Belong on this list. Now I gotta look her up...Gracie Allen!! Love them!
Dotzilla _( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/ 4 years ago
I went to the website! So cool! Here is one I did judy-5fd26...1b2fe5.jpg
¡ Rachel ¡ 4 years ago
Thank you for sharing. I just converted so old photos of my dad and they came out brilliantly.
Mike Pence's Fly 4 years ago (edited)
I was wondering what the link to the site was? Much appreciated. Very cool, I want to try it out! Edit: Realized it was at the top, very cool anyway!
Rannveig Ess 4 years ago
Tried it twice, with pictures of my great-great-grandmother . Just made her face neon pink. : /
quarantine panda 4 years ago
the fact that the top two both are the only ones with dogs tells me something...
Maggie Smith 3 years ago
Many of the b/w pictures look better to me because they show greater detail. Color makes some of the pictures appear almost fuzzy. I learned this many many years ago.
A Dumbo Octopus 4 years ago
Thank you for telling us the website the AI came from! Most people who make similar articles never mention the website and claim the AI's work as their own. Thank goodness this isn't one of those times. :)
s. vitkovitsky 4 years ago
Some look more dramatic in the original b&w; the lighting was specially set up for b&w shots, so that the results are genuinely artistic, not just good images of the subjects.
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 4 years ago
George burns and his funny wife (what was her name?????) Belong on this list. Now I gotta look her up...Gracie Allen!! Love them!
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