Restoration of a 100? year old photo of my grandmother c&c needed

[JBW]

My cousin sent me this shot as a JPEG. I did what I could but what could I have done better?

[Manfred M]

A few thoughts for you Brian:

1. The yellowing is part of the deterioration process, so reducing it, rather than enhancing it is usually done during the restoration process. Many papers are made from trees which contain a material called lignin. Lignin is a brown colour and paper additives are used to mask the brown. These break down over time and the yellow starts showing up. This is in part due to poor washing of the photo paper and the residual chemicals that remain are part of the cause.

2. the cracks and white spots where the emulsion has been damaged are removed in restoration work. You do not appear to have done this at all.

3. Deterioration of a photograph can be highly localized, so local adjustments to those parts of the image are required, rather than global ones.

[chaman]

Agree with Manfred. Also, that photo seems to have been retouched, by hand somewhere in the past too. It has that painting like quality that resulted from such process, IMO.

[rpcrowe]

It's wonderful to have family photos this old. I have some images of my grandparents and great grandparents that I really enjoy having since, I was only lucky enough to have known one grandparent, my maternal grandmother...

Besides the removal of scratches and other blemishes that are pretty natural in old prints that have not been stored in pristine conditions, I would think that this is a great candidate for colorization...

However, I don't do colorization. What do you think of this?



Or this with a more evident vignette?



Or this with a sepia effect...

[JBW]

Agree with all the comments. It's raining today and i shall spend a few hours playing with this shot. I don't know the history of this shot but in the one i was sent there are hints of colour in the cheeks and the hair looks brown.

Richard, your three versions are where I'm heading.

[Manfred M]

the one i was sent there are hints of colour in the cheeks and the hair looks brown.

Hand colouring of some parts of the image was definitely a technique used by some of the photographers of that period.

[JBW]

Hand colouring of some parts of the image was definitely a technique used by some of the photographers of that period.

when I put my colour picker over the photo it certainly shows me colors. I'm working on it today and while it may not be a restoration it is cewrtainly going to be an improvement.

[JBW]

My cousin sent me this shot as a JPEG. I did what I could but what could I have done better?

This is perhaps not a restoration as much as it is a new vision of an old shot. I could not find a way to greatly improve the grunge at the bottom. This is seriously enjoyable.

[rpcrowe]

Family images are wonderful!

Here is an amazing image of my 3th Great Grandfather's sister, Bridget Hart Quinn that I found in a book on the Texas Revolution against Mexico (1835-1836). Bridget's husband, William Quinn was killed in battle against the Mexican Army, in 1836, at Coleto Creek. The Texas troops surrendered the next day and, on orders of Mexican General Santa Ana, were all executed in what has been known as the Goliad Massacre.



I do not know the date this image was made. I don't even know when Bridget was born or when she died. However, her sister, Mary, was born in 1805 and died in 1880. My 3rd Great Grandfather, Bridget's brother, Felix Hart was murdered in 1837, ostensibly by the Mexicans in reprisal against Texans who fought against Mexico.

Looking at Bridget's image, it seems that she was quite old at the time the photo was made...

[Manfred M]

This is perhaps not a restoration as much as it is a new vision of an old shot.

I'd have to say that you have made an accurate assessment of what you have done here. Restoration is what Richard's examples are. This is definitely work for a pixel based tool rather than a parametric editor like Capture One.

[JBW]

Family images are wonderful!

Here is an amazing image of my 3th Great Grandfather's sister, Bridget Hart Quinn that I found in a book on the Texas Revolution against Mexico (1835-1836). Bridget's husband, William Quinn was killed in battle against the Mexican Army, in 1836, at Coleto Creek. The Texas troops surrendered the next day and, on orders of Mexican General Santa Ana, were all executed in what has been known as the Goliad Massacre.



I do not know the date this image was made. I don't even know when Bridget was born or when she died. However, her sister, Mary, was born in 1805 and died in 1880. My 3rd Great Grandfather, Bridget's brother, Felix Hart was murdered in 1837, ostensibly by the Mexicans in reprisal against Texans who fought against Mexico.

Looking at Bridget's image, it seems that she was quite old at the time the photo was made...

Fascinating. The scarf/bonnet is one I've never seen before.

[JBW]

I'd have to say that you have made an accurate assessment of what you have done here. Restoration is what Richard's examples are. This is definitely work for a pixel based tool rather than a parametric editor like Capture One.

If I was to go down this road what software would you suggest?

[Manfred M]

If I was to go down this road what software would you suggest?

Pixel based editors would include Photoshop, Gimp, Affinity Serif, Corel Paintshop Pro, etc.

One needs layers, a clone tool, blending modes, layer masks, etc.