Kelburn Normal School Centenary dramatic colour photo transformation

I am busy scanning Kelburn Normal School class photos for the Centenary celebrations to be held in May 2014.  In the 1970s school photographers started offering school photos in black and white and colour. I can see why they did both...they were not sure about the stability of colour photographic processes.....this one is from 1977...

It looked a little red...I was delighted to discover that it responds well to a bit of photoshop magic!

 

 

For information about the reunion go to  http://www.kelburnnormalschool100.com/index.html or the facebook page  at https://www.facebook.com/KelburnNormalSchoolCentenary

An example of an old retouched photo from the Image Permanence Institute

I have discovered a wonderful on line resource  that you can use to help you identify and conserve your photos.  It is called the Graphics Atlas which has been put together by the Image Permanence Institute a New York based research centre.

This online resource includes examples of all different types of early photos, slides and negatives.  Information about the construction of different types of photographs, negative and slides, the sort of damage they typically suffer from, cross sections and close up views of the image are provided. 

Below is an example of an early retouched photograph from the Atlas, proving that retouching and restoration is not a new, and in fact was used in early photographs.

 

 

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Reproducing a water colour

A while ago I was asked by a couple to reproduce two beautiful original watercolour paintings. The paintings were painted of their daughters by an elderly Aunt.  One of the daughters, who now lives overseas, had asked for a copy of the paintings that she remembered as a young girl.

As an artist, I think it is important to reproduce colours accurately, something that was quite hard to do years ago when colour print technology was limited. 

Fortunately the watercolour originals were in beautiful condition.  I chose an archival matt paper ideal for art reproductions that resembled the original watercolour paper in its colouring and subtle texture. As I have a fully calibrated scanner, computer screen and printer I was able to accurately match the printed colours to the original watercolour.  The prints were reproduced using my  beautiful high resolution Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer, which has archival inks. The family were really pleased with the end result.  As a bonus the family now have digitised archival copies of the original artworks which they can share.



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Graduation Portrait

I was really honoured when my friend Maureen asked that I take portrait photos of her and her family following her graduation ceremony.  We did a series of group shots with her family and then individual shots, down at a local park.  This one below is one of my favourite's.... taken about halfway through the shoot, when the family had left, the lighting and the location were just magic, and we just relaxed....

and I didn't even need photoshop!   Well just a little.....

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Fascinating detective work by the Independent

The Independent has had a series of articles showing images taken from glass plate negatives that have recently been uncovered in the Somme area.  It is suspected they were taken by a local amature photographer who would have sold the prints from these negatives to subjects to send home to their loved ones.  One set of negatives is particularly interesting as it shows a woman dressed in an NZ uniform, see the story in the following link....

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/wwi-pictures-unearthed-the-mystery-of-the-man-in-the-lemon-squeezer-hat-8735047.html

 

And another about a different image from this time

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/more-wwi-pictures-unearthed-photographs-found-in-the-somme-come-to-light-8737623.html 

 



Restored image

Original image

Postcard images from this era were very popular and like many I have private images that were sent home (England) during this period. This one is of my great grandfather taken in Ypres (Leper) 1917.    It was probably taken by a local photographer and incorporated into a postcard image. 

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Instagram and vintage - they're fun but they are not the only option for your old slides & vintage photos

Recently I have noticed lots of fashion shoots with a vintage or instagram look.  These are great fun. There are now tons of phone apps and photoshop tutorials that show you how to create these effects – which can look great  if chosen well and applied to the right image….

I started to wonder where the idea came from to add these effects...............

I suspect it is a result of home scanning of family photos....

Old colour photos and slides naturally produce this vintage or retro instagram effect because the scanning process just copies the chemical damage caused to the film or print over time.  While some images look nice, others just don’t work.  A lot of people just don’t know how to fix this …..and think their only option is to throw their photos away!

The good news is you have options.  You don’t have to put up with this chemical damage once your images are digitised.  Any digitised image can be colour corrected and restored to bring out the true colours of the original image . In this photo taken in the early 1980s, the original is on the left, the restored one is on the right….

 

You can also get rid of other unwanted effects - dust, scratches, over exposure, shadow, and even people as in this example from my website which was a Kodachrome slide from the 1960s.

 

If you have some images sitting round home that look like this…

then give me a call ........they can be saved

Alternatively you can send your scanned photos directly to me via my file up-loader!

 http://www.carterworks.co.nz/cwphotorestorev3_010.htm

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Beautiful wedding photos

Often when digitising family collections I do see some amazing photos.  Recently I digitised a rather beautiful set of wedding photos.  Their owner kindly agreed to let me share a few of these beautiful priceless images which she now has captured in a digital form. 

Note these have only been enhanced by conversion to their true black and white.

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