Tweet Color from Black-and-White: colorized photos

[Danny Burk]

Hmm...well, my method keeps the flow within Photoshop the entire time (and it sounds simpler to me, but that's because I'm familiar with it), but if your method works for you and isn't too difficult, then that's just another way to do it!

Danny, my method seems to work for me. Here's another I posted elsewhere in b/w. I since identified it as being from the 10th Academy Awards at the Biltmore Hotel on Thursday, March 10, 1938:

W.C. Fields and Frank Capra present a special award to Mack Sennett

Here is a basic assembly, You see the different textures over the window and the problem I had matching the arm and vest with the hand and fingers. I could match one or the other but not both:


A combination of colorizing, uh, painting, and photo fix helps smooth out some glaring problems but not all. Can we start a rumor that Wally Reid only had three fingers on his right hand?

Wallace Reid in FOREVER (1921)

Your assembly has messed up his hands-- on the left it's too short (and short on fingers) and on the right it looks too long because you've tried to rescue it from the shadow. In addition to that, in your colorized version you've messed up the top of the window frame for some reason.

Here's a better assembly:



Your Jolson assembly is better, but you've cut Josephine's hair off at the back of her head.

fwtp, I know how I messed up the top of the window but how did you manage to align the hands and fingers? That completely eluded me - and you used the same parts that I did!

Yes, I messed up Josephine Dunn's hair but after the way she treated Jolson in that film, can you blame me?

fwtp, I know how I messed up the top of the window but how did you manage to align the hands and fingers?

Simple: I'm just THAT good!

As I mentioned in another post under Silents, I'm working with 8x10 negatives at this point. Scanners with a light unit in the cover are great for processing color or b/w negatives but typically they are only 2.5 inches wide, although the length is fine. These dimensions work for smaller negatives but are very restricting for 8x10s.

I use an Epson Perfection V700 to scan negatives and slides; it can take one up to 8x10 in one pass. It's also a regular flatbed scanner. I also find the Epson scanning software to be extremely easy to use in terms of adjusting color and density levels.

Paul, I've been keeping my eye on the Epson 700 for some time but until now the 600 met my needs and I'm very pleased with it. The price of the 700 is also a big jump from the relatively economical 600. But I'm acquiring more 8x10 negatives these days so I can either spend a lot of time trying to join sections and spread rumors that Wallace Reid only had three fingers on his right hand - or step up to the 700. I just bought it through Amazon. They sell my books so they must be good, right?

Thanks for the info!

One of the most convincing colorizations I've ever seen:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/11302

I'm Back! After my computer's power supply unit died on Monday! RIP. Took me a few days to get a new power supply and extra cooling fan that would run. I had to settle for a 485 Watt Power supply. The old one was 600 Watts. I got the biggest one that I could find around here. Have a bunch of E-mails to answer. If anyone else computer is going out the first thing you should do is check the power supply. On average they only last about 3 years. Allot cheaper to replace the PS than to buy a new machine.



Helene Costello-"Lace 'Em Up Sweet"




Esther Ralston-"Pretty Pocketbook"-1926




Mary Philbin and Dolly's




Corinne Griffith-"Life Of The Party"

Gagman, I was wondering why you were AWOL. Glad to see you're back. That one of Esther Ralston really looks like one of those Kodachromes from the era. Pastel look throughout. My new scanner arrived today, the Epson 700, and I was able to restore all the fingers to Wally's right hand:

Bob,

Wow! That looks great! Before-hand, or so to speak, I thought it was Max Schreck! Ha, Ha, Ha! Glad you like the Esther photo. Taint She gorgeous? It was done a long time ago, at least two years back. Maybe three? There are hundreds of photos I've worked on that I never posted here. I'm just not able to replicate the deeper, richer skin-tones you are achieving. Maybe it is due to the older software?




Dolores Costello-"What The Well Dressed Peasant Will Wear"




Corinne Griffith-"Island Wives"-1922







Clara Bow-"Rough House Rosie Packs a Wallop!"

Gagman, I use Photoshop software that's just a couple of years old. It came with my Epson 600 last year. For the skin tone I use "lipstick" in a single layer. Double it and it looks like lipstick which I apply only to women's lips. As a finishing touch, I add an ambiant brown tint over the entire photo, but then go back to remove it from anything I don't want brown. In the Wally Reid photo, I painted "neutral" over the brown on his pants, shirt, tie, and hat on the chair. The ambiant brown really helps the skin tones. I have no idea if anybody else colors this way, I just experimented intuitively.

Here's one I ran before but only in b/w:

Doug Fairbanks and Bebe Daniels in REACHING FOR THE MOON (1931)

Bob,

Lo! That looks great. Unfortunately, I have no idea what you are talking about??? Don't have any of those options with my older software from 2005. Never saw this pic of Doug and Bebe before. Bebe sure had the Gams, and Candied yams, among other things.




Bessie-"LOVE ON THE SHELF"




Esther Arriving At The Studio

I decided to attempt another colorization of one of my photos. For this colorization, I chose a still from Professor Beware (I know that I'm probably in the minority, but Professor Beware is my favorite Harold Lloyd talkie. A very underrated movie IMO). I think that this still may represent a deleted scene because my copy of the movie (which I recorded off of AMC during the mid 90s back when AMC was still a decent channel) doesn't have any scene resembling this. I can't say that I'm entirely satisfied by the results, but anyway here's what I created.

Lo! I haven't seen PROFESSOR BEWARE in a long, long time. It has never been on DVD. Who is the Doll???

The doll is Phyllis Welch. I've always thought that she was Lloyd's cutest leading lady (and that's saying something given who some of his leading ladies were).

WOOF!!!!

Nice job, Little Caesar. PROFESSOR BEWARE is also my favorite Lloyd talkie. It was the first one I ever saw and based on what I heard I thought the earlier ones would be better. They had their moments but I'd say BEWARE is the best of the lot. Phyllis Welch made only this one film and got married. She was interviewed in later years, maybe somebody on N'ville has that.

BTW, that scene was cut from the film. I've seen a couple of stills from it and Lloyd refers to it in the film it self. Phyllis is costumed for a play about ancient Egypt that Lloyd is directing. In the film they first meet on the road at night when her car breaks down. Lloyd makes a comment that he remembers her from the rehearsal.

Nice job, Little Caesar. PROFESSOR BEWARE is also my favorite Lloyd talkie. It was the first one I ever saw and based on what I heard I thought the earlier ones would be better. They had their moments but I'd say BEWARE is the best of the lot. Phyllis Welch made only this one film and got married. She was interviewed in later years, maybe somebody on N'ville has that.

BTW, that scene was cut from the film. I've seen a couple of stills from it and Lloyd refers to it in the film it self. Phyllis is costumed for a play about ancient Egypt that Lloyd is directing. In the film they first meet on the road at night when her car breaks down. Lloyd makes a comment that he remembers her from the rehearsal.

Thanks for the information. I do remember Lloyd inviting the reporters in the first scene to the play and his familiarity with Welch when he meets her on the road.

Oh, BTW, Professor Beware was the second Lloyd film I saw (right after Speedy). The film's gag format seems to harken back to his short films. Anyway, I'm going to have to revisit the film sometime soon.

Lloyd lifted BEWARE's climax from his earlier FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926). I thought it worked better in the later film.

"Swanson In The Shadows"




William Boyd and Jacqueline Logan In THE COP (1928)




Harold and Mildred-"Choochy Coo!"




Noah Beery And Norma Talmadge-"Give me a Little Smooches Senora!"




Mary Duncan-"Lady Much To Wicked!"

Here are a few photos from the latest post on my OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR site at the link below. Please visit. Thanks!

Mary Pickford with guest Errol Flynn on her short-lived 1936 radio show, PARTIES AT PICKFAIR:

Bob,

This looks really good. Except for the Reddish Orange Blob on the right hand side of the photo. What is that?

Here is a new pic. I am not happen with it though. The Green's are inconsistent.



Anita Page-"Yuletide Dreams"

Just can't place this guy here with Pola Negri. Anyone know his name? Thanks.

He looks like Victor Varconi. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to have "pupil problems."

In the photo below, I left the hair and eyes alone, The ambiant brown That I use over the entire image provided the toning. Got any sandpaper to smooth out that shoulder?

Bob,

He's to old to be Victor Varconi. Not sure what happened with the eyes. sometimes you can't correct the anomaly. The image here was just to soft to start with.

Numerous random Dolores Costello Pics.

DC was soooo photogenic. Your gallery recalls John Barrymore's remark after they divorced - "She was too beautiful for words, but not for arguments." Sounds like sour grapes.

:? Just can't place this guy here with Pola Negri. Anyone know his name? Thanks.

How about Tullio Carminati from THREE SINNERS (1928).