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I Am Bringing The Past To Life
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I Am Bringing The Past To Life

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Since 2013 I’ve been re-imagining faces and places from history through the art of colorization.

These are just a handful of what I have realized over that time, as well as a few videos of the process itself. What began as a hobby soon became my work and two years on I began accepting commissions daily, from all sorts of people, with all sorts of photographs.

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    1867 – Henry Taylor, a part of ‘Life Freshwater’ by Julia Margaret Cameron

    Old and new, the colorization process begins on a portrait, which at the time of writing is 149 years old.

    1963 – Lee Harvey Oswald is photographed by Dallas PD after the assassination of John F Kennedy

    Colorization of trauma to skin surfaces takes time.

    Paul Joseph Goebbels

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    Colorization of the Architect of NAZI propaganda during World War 2. This project isn’t resigned to the good side of history or bad, it is reflective of the people and places that are a part of it. ‘My Colorful Past’ exists to educate as well as entertain by bridging a gap between history and art.

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    1866 – Christabel by Julia Margaret Cameron

    The line between an obvious colorization and producing work that simply looks alive is hard to cross. This particular photograph took very many hours to realize fully. It has never been seen like this until now.

    1950 – Summer on the beach by Nina Leen

    This was a snapshot partway through colorization. Materials, textures, skin tones are being realized fully.

    April of 1970. Commander James A Lovell of Apollo 13 on screen at NASA Mission Control, lead by Flight Director Eugene Kranz

    This particular photograph took many days to complete. The NASA imagery of Apollo and Gemini lends incredibly well to the process, this would be the first of several photographs by NASA that I would look to colorize.

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    1924 – Sydney Central Police Station

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    Vera Crichton fell foul of circumstance. Her portrait was one of the first I ever colorized, hers forms a part of a series I completed on Australian mugshots from the 1920’s.

    1931 – Salvatore ‘Lucky’ Lucania

    At the very center of the foundation of organised crime in the United States, this was a haunting mugshot to work on.

    1894 – Butch Cassidy

    Portraits of persons associated with criminal life are popular for obvious reasons. Butch Cassidy is no exception.

    1906 – Palm beach Florida

    Folks take a break on the beach. This was a complex photograph to realize fully.

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    How far can you go?

    Coney Island by Weegee – colorized. Colorization can be as complex as you wish, in the main it is governed solely by patience, technique takes second place. This photograph is a great example of that. This is unique and essentially unseen in color.

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    My Colorful Past

    My Colorful Past

    Author, Community member

    Read more »

    My background is in professional photography, this in turn steered me toward the colorizing of historical imagery, in the form of glass plates and negatives. My Colorful Past exists to bridge a gap between history and art that maintains an educational value.

    Read less »
    My Colorful Past

    My Colorful Past

    Author, Community member

    My background is in professional photography, this in turn steered me toward the colorizing of historical imagery, in the form of glass plates and negatives. My Colorful Past exists to bridge a gap between history and art that maintains an educational value.

    What do you think ?
    Add photo comments
    POST
    Corey Smith
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well-done colorization somehow makes a B&W photo more real. Nice job!

    Dark Half
    Community Member
    6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    do u get to choose the color? or when you heal a picture it will reveal it's true color?

    Corey Smith
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well-done colorization somehow makes a B&W photo more real. Nice job!

    Dark Half
    Community Member
    6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    do u get to choose the color? or when you heal a picture it will reveal it's true color?

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