Tweet Color from Black-and-White: colorized photos

Bob,

Yes, It is from THREE SINNERS! So He is probably the guy. Thanks.

More of Pola.

Bob,

Here's some Fairly recent stuff that I neglected to post.




Vilma Banky-"Shoulder Smoulder"




Gilda Gray-"Gone Gypsy!"




Lillian Gish-"Butterfly At Night"




Marceline Day-"Creepy Castle!"




Lupe Velez-"Beauty Of The Dawn"

Incredible! One of the greatest things I've ever seen. A life size figure display of Colleen Moore made to promote her 1925 film WE MODERNS. Wonder if this survives, even if the movie does not today?

All I can say is, Mister mannequin maker, I would like to order my own Colleen, plus Renee Adoree, Corinne Griffith, and Jobyna Ralston model, among others!




"Life Size Colleen"

Bob,

I fixed the green on this RINTY still of yours. Turned out very nice. I hope you like it.




RIn Tin Tin with Dorothy Gulliver in DOG OF THE REGIMENT (1927)

Harold Lloyd and Una Merkel in The Cat's Paw (1934)

Gagman, thanks very much. You really got the results I was trying to achieve. Is there any way I can get a copy at 300 dpi? I'll give you credit if I use it in my upcoming sequel, MORE OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR. I'm doing this due to popular demand. It's true - the name of my dog is Popular Demand.

Little Caesar, I think your HL photo is impressive but when you work with images that large, you need to soften or blur the line where the skin tone meets the hair color. Otherwise it looks like, well, it looks like it was colorized. Frankly, I don't bother if the images aren't very large but the size you have need that line blur. Also, Harold looks like he's wearing Groucho's eyebrows. Again, this wouldn't be noticeable in a smaller size. Keep up the good work!

Gagman, thanks very much. You really got the results I was trying to achieve. Is there any way I can get a copy at 300 dpi? I'll give you credit if I use it in my upcoming sequel, MORE OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR. I'm doing this due to popular demand. It's true - the name of my dog is Popular Demand.

Little Caesar, I think your HL photo is impressive but when you work with images that large, you need to soften or blur the line where the skin tone meets the hair color. Otherwise it looks like, well, it looks like it was colorized. Frankly, I don't bother if the images aren't very large but the size you have need that line blur. Also, Harold looks like he's wearing Groucho's eyebrows. Again, this wouldn't be noticeable in a smaller size. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll definitely remember to blur selective areas of the picture next time. You are also very right about the eyebrows. I didn't notice that until after I added them. When I was marking up the photo (only on the computer ), I left too much space for the eyebrows. I'll probably tackle another Lloyd photo in the next few days (when time permits of course).

Harold Lloyd and Una Merkel in The Cat's Paw (1934)

That's a nice shot of Una Merkel & Harold Lloyd. Can you also post it in its original black & white?

[quote="bobfells"]Gagman, thanks very much. You really got the results I was trying to achieve. Is there any way I can get a copy at 300 dpi? I'll give you credit if I use it in my upcoming sequel, MORE OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR. I'm doing this due to popular demand. It's true - the name of my dog is Popular Demand.

Bob,

I don't really know how to do that? Can you give me some instruction? Not sure I have the equipment needed. I generally work with much smaller images. I might have ruined the skin-tone at least on the arm of Dorothy Gulliver. It looks to pink now. I will try to fix it.




"Ghoulies and Ghosties"


Little Caesar,

The Harold and Una looks pretty good, but the hair on the side of H L's head needs work. It doesn't follow the line of the cut very well. I have had the same problem before with some Charles Farrell photos. Also was his hair really Jet Black like that?

That's a nice shot of Una Merkel & Harold Lloyd. Can you also post it in its original black & white?

Sure.


Gagman,
I agree. I think Harold's hair and eyebrows are the weak points of the colorization. I'm just going to have to do some more experimentation. Also, I think Una Merkel had platinum blonde hair in the movie, but I couldn't get anything to work color-wise that would approximate that.

Rico, I mean Little Caesar, I boosted the contrast/brightness on the HL photo below and that can help the coloring process. Lloyd DOES have thick eyebrows in the photo. I suggest you lighten them a bit to de-emphasize them. I thought Una's hair color looked fine but then my reputation for color choices isn't the greatest.

Don't know the dpi of this photo when you first scanned it but 300 dpi is considered satisfactory, when it's emailed the dpi gets crunched - now it's 72.

Rico, I mean Little Caesar, I boosted the contrast/brightness on the HL photo below and that can help the coloring process. Lloyd DOES have thick eyebrows in the photo. I suggest you lighten them a bit to de-emphasize them. I thought Una's hair color looked fine but then my reputation for color choices isn't the greatest.

Don't know the dpi of this photo when you first scanned it but 300 dpi is considered satisfactory, when it's emailed the dpi gets crunched - now it's 72.

Thanks for your suggestions. I may just start from scratch on this photo. I'm not technically inclined by any means. So, I'm not quite sure what the original DPI would be. I can tell you that the versions that I post here are much smaller versions of the original scans (I normally open the original in Paint and downsize it there). I can just imagine how ignorant I sound right now.

Here's your photo, 72 dpi and all, in bobfells color:



I left the clothing alone, didn't color Una's hair or eyes - quick, start a rumor she had brown eyes. I didn't use the line blur because the skin and hair joins looked OK to me. If you're using Paint, that explains why the borders are so obvious. You really need Photoshop. The only color I used is Lipstick in a single layer for the skin tones, and a second layer for Una's lips. The reason why HL and Una have different skin tones is because the underlying facial graytones in the b/w original are different. Try to let the original photo do some of the work for you. I finished off the photo by applying an ambient brown over everything - think of it as applying varnish to a painting. I left HL's hair alone too except for the ambient brown that covered everything. If I wanted HL's shirt a dazzling white, I would have removed the ambient brown just from the shirt area. What do you think?

Here's your photo, 72 dpi and all, in bobfells color:



I left the clothing alone, didn't color Una's hair or eyes - quick, start a rumor she had brown eyes. I didn't use the line blur because the skin and hair joins looked OK to me. If you're using Paint, that explains why the borders are so obvious. You really need Photoshop. The only color I used is Lipstick in a single layer for the skin tones, and a second layer for Una's lips. The reason why HL and Una have different skin tones is because the underlying facial graytones in the b/w original are different. Try to let the original photo do some of the work for you. I finished off the photo by applying an ambient brown over everything - think of it as applying varnish to a painting. I left HL's hair alone too except for the ambient brown that covered everything. If I wanted HL's shirt a dazzling white, I would have removed the ambient brown just from the shirt area. What do you think?

Looks great! Harold's eyebrows look natural now! For the colorizations, I've been using a freeware program called Gimp. I've only used paint to make smaller versions of the picture to post here (if that makes any sense). I've thought about getting Photoshop, but on my student budget that's a little prohibitive. I don't even have a scanner at the moment (I bought this vintage photo on ebay a short time ago, and I was using the auction scan. That probably explains the low dpi). I do have several photos that I would love to scan in. I may just have to break down and purchase a scanner.

Re scanners, shop around for the Epson 600. Amazon sellers have it new for $100+ high for a student budget but Christmas is coming so maybe dropping a few hints will help. Btw, the 600 includes Photoshop software. Caveat - the software is on a dvd so you'll need a dvd drive on your PC to install it on your hard drive. The 600 also has a light unit in the cover that scans smaller negatives. I think it's terrific and it automatically copies at 300 dpi. I just upgraded to an Epson 700 but only because it can scan 8x10 negatives and I'm picking some up very cheaply. But whatever you use, keep practicing because you'll learn something new from every photo you paint.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll consider the Epson. After pre-ordering the new Laurel and Hardy DVD collection and making sure I have a little money to bid on a few ebay auctions (when the fancy strikes), Christmas sounds about right.

[silentfilm]

I don't color photos myself, but here's a genuine vintage tinted photo of Sigrid Gurie, Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr in Algiers (1938).

Thanks for sharing, Bruce. To me tinted photos look washed out or faded. There's a bunch of them on ebay now and the more of them I see, the more I dislike them. I'm tempted to open one in Photoshop to boost the color saturation a bit. Then these photos might look like something. As they are, they suggest someone couldn't make up his mind to colorize or leave in b/w so they compromised.

[silentfilm]

I think that the Algiers photo is interesting (obviously, since I bought it), but their hair color and skin color look too much alike. I don't know what process was used to generate this glossy photo, but it was definitely printed as a color photo.

You've got to remember that the point of posters, lobby cards and photos (to a letter extent) was to get your attention, rather than provide a realistic image from the movie.

I don't color photos myself, but here's a genuine vintage tinted photo of Sigrid Gurie, Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr in Algiers (1938).

Bruce here's your photo, for better or worse, in bobfells color:

Bob,

Great work on LC's Harold photo. You did a nice job of following the hairline. I was gone for a few days. It's nice to be back. Anyone have some Halloween photos of Silent Stars that I could use? Bruce Tinted pic with the boosted saturation looks a little loud to me in places. Probably just my monitor?

This is brand new. I did not crop the photo as I thought it looked better this way with the border. Really love this still. Not sure what movie that it is from?




Colleen Moore and Leon Errol-"Dishes In Distress!"

Gagman wrote: Bruce Tinted pic with the boosted saturation looks a little loud to me in places. Probably just my monitor?

I decided not to boost the tints because they looked off to me and boosting would just make them worse. I started from scratch by removing all color, boosting the contrast a bit, and then coloring it as I would any of my other masterpieces. Gagman, the photo is now in bobfells color so you should know by now that there is nothing wrong with your monitor.

Your Colleen Moore still is from SALLY (1925) with Leon Errol recreating his role from the musical play. He repeated it when it was remade as a talkie and was reteamed with the original star of the play, Marilyn Miller. Nice color job too.

Bob,

Oh, OK, Thanks for letting me know it was from SALLY. I should have been able to figure that out on my own.

Here are a couple of my favorite stills of the late Barbara Kent. Would have been nice to see a TCM Remembers segment produced, but just like with Anita Page a couple years back. it doesn't look like we are going to get one.




"Freshly Hatched Starlet!"

None of these are Silent Film related. Well, maybe the June Marlowe? But they are seasonal. See what you think.




June Marlow-"Evil Eclipse"




Anna Nagel-"Pumpkin Patch Plaything"




Betty Grable-"Well, I'll Be Gammed!"




Phyllis Coates-"It's A Bird? It's A Plane? It's Lois Lane!"

Bob,

OK, here is the first of the Four stills you posted last night. Looks OK, though maybe the Mexican soldier outfits should be Red and not Blue? Or is that the British? Let me know, because I am not exactly sure.

Looks good, Gagman. I don't know about the uniforms but the color you use works. I'm looking forward to seeing the others. Thanks.

Bob,

Well, i'll try and get to the others. I thought maybe you were going to work on a couple of them? Let me know which two, and I will take the pic that is left from the batch.

What do you think. Is the Skin-tone to Pale for Mexican's? Assuming Mary Astor's character is not Spanish?




"Hey Wait A Minute There Dearie!"-The Cardboard Lover (1928)




Jetta Goudal and Marion Davies-"Decked!"

Re skin tones, I take my cue from the b/w. If the tone is dusky then I will darken it. The only time I darkened a skin tone when the b/w didn't indicate that is the REACHING FOR THE MOON with Fairbanks and EE Horton. They both had fair skin color and DF was known for his tan, so I darkened him just a bit. Here I think the guards look good. It's Roland who looks a little off. I'll probably work on ROSE MARIE. Thx.

Bob,

Well, I tried changing Gilbert Roland's skin-tone in the still at least 3 or 4 times. It just kept reverting back to the same thing over and over again.

Hey, here is your Old Mandarin WU still. I toned down the green a little and made a few other slight changes.

Bob,

OK, here is the first photo from EMPTY HANDS. I'll try to get to the one with Norma and Jack Holt over the weekend. This one turned out pretty good, but I am very picky. It seems I always miss something until after the still is posted, than kick myself. In this case, N S arm is not the same shade as her face. Hard to fix.





And here is a still that maybe no one on this board has seen before. I hadn't see it until a few days ago.




John Gilbert And Joan Crawford from FOUR WALLS (1928)