Colourising my Grandad's photos from Burma and India

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by pnewton84, Jan 20, 2021.

  1. pnewton84

    pnewton84 Member

    Hi everyone, hope you're well. Towards the end of last year I colourised a set of my Grandad's photos from when he was in Burma and India with the 1st Bn Kings (Liverpool).

    I've just published a new blog on my personal site where you can compare the coloured photos to the originals - I hope you like it :)

    Colourising my Grandad's WW2 photos from Burma and India

    Paul
     
  2. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I like what you have done there Paul. What software did you use, if you don't mind me asking?

    Steve
     
  3. Hebridean Chindit

    Hebridean Chindit Lost in review... Patron

    Nice work... :D
    Always curious about the software fixes for photos...
     
  4. pnewton84

    pnewton84 Member

    I used a site called ColouriseSG to colourise the photos, but unfortunately it's no longer active. There are a few alternatives, but most are paid for services.

    There is a good app on Apple called "Colorize - Color to Old Photos", and you get 5 photos free in a trial - that's worth a look.
     
  5. Hebridean Chindit

    Hebridean Chindit Lost in review... Patron

    They still exist, Paul... same name but a .com at the end... there are a lot of packages out there and several try-b4u-buy options... ;)
    It is an option in Photoshop but like everything in that beast it is designed for the "pro's" of this game...
     
  6. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    I'm not a fan of colourising old photos .
    Alot of colourised photos look like they were done with these.
     

    Attached Files:

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  7. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Thanks Paul.
     
  8. Hebridean Chindit

    Hebridean Chindit Lost in review... Patron

    Didn't do Picasso or Van Gogh any harm, Owen... :D
     
  9. 4jonboy

    4jonboy Daughter of a 56 Recce

    I'm not a fan at all either of colourised photos. If pictures were shot in black and white, they should stay like that. Also I think the detail is a bit blurred in the colourised ones.
    Of course, just my opinion:)
     
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  10. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    Perhaps you should have tried the 24 pack Owen!:)
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. Hebridean Chindit

    Hebridean Chindit Lost in review... Patron

    Here's a thought for you on the classic "black and white" image... if the preference is leaving b&w just that, what about the classic sepia-toned images caused by the degradation of the original image... they contain reds and yellows, and well as grey-tones... now, do you just restore the "damage" (scratches, tears, etc) or do you go the full package and restore back to true grey-tone "black and white"...?
    If I'm doing that, I do tend to wipe out any colour, including the sepia...
    What image is more "true" to the original...?
    Discuss... or not... ;)
     
  12. pnewton84

    pnewton84 Member

    I can't believe I missed that! I'd been using the Singapore version of that site - for some reason! Thanks
     
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  13. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    It seems that they did it by hand in India in 1944
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. Hebridean Chindit

    Hebridean Chindit Lost in review... Patron

    Hand tinting was not to unusual back in the day... I only have one of my mother taken some time during WW2... not war related...
     
  15. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    True Sepia toning doesn't come from image degradation.
    It's an archival technique (and to an extent, artistic, though maybe more usually as a side effect in earlier examples), that enhances the longevity of the print. 'Sepia' pictures left the final bath that colour, and don't fade as fast as un-treated silver halide.
    Yellowing & other effects on old non-sepia pictures is a function of 'bad' storage, where light, moisture etc. has got to the print.
    Look at even hundred year old true monochrome prints that have been kept in acid free darkness, and they're still distinctly Black & White.

    Tints you say!
    I've a few old sets.
    IMG_20210125_013501699.jpg
    Sometimes wonder if I should have a go... Though I'm a brush-licker, so don't really trust myself with whatever the F is in some of these little jars.
    Some early tinting is beautiful. Really discrete and artfully done, but it's a world away from most of the current colourisation craze. (Would post some owned examples... but... erm, no idea where they are.)
    Tinted photographs were, I think, more usually presented as artistic efforts rather than the current perception of colourised as somehow automatically better.

    Not getting into the wider colourisation debate here, as there's a thread for that. :)
     
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  16. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I say leave them alone as it is a well established fact that the Great War was fought in black and white as was the greater part of WW2.
     
  17. Hebridean Chindit

    Hebridean Chindit Lost in review... Patron

    Ah, but we know there was lots of "red" in Flander's Field... :poppy: ;)
     

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