Examples of Restoration of Black and White and Color Historical Photographs



Restoration Closeup of "Dagestani Types", ca. 1905-1915, Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii


Restoration and Image Processing Portfolio of Rob Nelson
rob_nelson@csi.com




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 Introduction

Welcome to my portfolio site. The purpose of this site is to show the historical photographs and other artwork I have been digitally restoring, to show the results of the advanced techniques I have been developing over the last couple years,. and to hopefully generate interest in the idea of pursuing this work further.

I hope to generate new ways to expose to people the great and wonderful historical pictures and works of art that otherwise would not be encountered.

Restored works allow us to see history as it was seen and intended to be seen. Edward Curtis himself noted that he used special paper in his book, the North American Indian, so the pictures would last as long as possible. They are all yellowed now, but it is now possible to see these works as they were when they were first printed.

When the veneer of the physical nature of the fading and damage of the picture is removed, the historical and artistic nature of the subject becomes much clearer and much easier to identify with. This also gives a great platform to show pictures that would otherwise not be seen by those other than historians or people specifically interested in old photographs .

My premise is that there is a large untapped interest in historical pictures and artwork, and through collections of accurately restored works, such artwork can be exposed to many more people.

I believe it is important to make sure the restoration doesn’t go too far - it is very possible to take older pictures and make them like they were taken with modern-day equipment, and I have been careful to avoid this as much as possible (some of the samples were downloaded from the Library of Congress, so without benefit of being able to see the original, it makes it more difficult to get a feel for what it was like, not to mention that he main presentation is on a monitor).

Please look at the samples and let me know what you think. My e-mail address is rob_nelson@csi.com


Sample Galleries

Below are the on-line galleries. Click on any picture to take you to the specific gallery.



Mugan. A Settler's Family. Settlement of Gravofka, ca. 1905-1915
Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii		 Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii
Includes 284 500x500 Restorations

The color pictures of Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii, taken from 1905-1915 of the Russian Empire, from Russia to the Middle-East to Asia. There are also a few from Italy, Finland, and Switzerland.





Castleton Cutoff Poster, published by the New York Board of Transit, ca. 1929		 Posters

From the mid 19th-century to today, the poster has served as a great way to get messages out to people, as well as a fantastic form of art.

In this section are posters from Word-War I, World-War-II, the Variety stage (1890's-1910's), as well as a number of other examples.




"A Son of the Desert -- Navaho", c. 1904
Edward S. Curtis		 Edward S. Curtis Photogravures from the North American Indian

Photogravures from the Book, "The North American Indian", by Edward S. Curtis.







"Solid Comfort (Navajo Series)", ca. 1914
William J. Carpenter		 Edward S. Curtis pictures and other Native American Photography

There are many pictures of North American Indians, from Edward Curtis and others. These are restorations of black-and-white pictures that have faded from the period 1899-1920's.



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Amsterdam Photochrom, ca. 1890		 Photochrom Pictures

Photochroms, the process to produce colorized pictures. The pictures in this set date from 1890-1900.

Photochroms were very artistic colorized pictures, falling between the realistic, i.e. a color picture, and very artful.




Akaka Falls, Hawaii (courtesy, Corel)		 Optimal Adjustment of Current Photographs

Even with pictures that don't need to be restored, per se, such as modern pictures, adjusting for optimal balance can bring the most out of a picture.





Fourteen Year-Old Spooler, Tender, ca. 1916
Lewis Hine		 Social Issues

Pictures of social concerns, such as child labor, migrant workers, japanese internment, etc.





"Garden Butterfly", c. 1912		 Hand-Colored Early 20th Century Postcards

Hand-Colored and other postcards were a very popular form of communication in the early 20th century.

Many of the postcards of that time were beautiful, individually hand-painted pieces of art.

This section has a number of restorations of such postcards.



Women Walking in France or Belgium During WWI, ca. 1915-1918		 Miscellaneous

A few more that were interesting, including an very high-resolution postcard, a WWI picture (left) found in an Antique store, and a panoramic photograph.