Colorized WWII photos

Interesting seeing these in color.

LINK

Phenomenal, thanks for sharing this Mark.

Amazing.

 

Can anyone identify the TLR camera in the fourth picture down?

I spent some time learning to restore digital copies of physically damaged old photos. And practicing my skills step-by step, mostly at the 'free photo restoration' forum at the (UK oriented) genealogy website Rootschat.com. And on other 'voluntary photo restoration'forums too. Sometimes, people request 'colorized versions' of B/W photos and though I usually don't have the patience for this, I have tried my hand at colorizing a few old photos..I've also seen the work of other volunteers.

 

But these colorized photos by my fellow countryman Jakob Lagerweij are in a whole different league! They're exquisite and look so authentic! Thanks for sharing this link, Mark. For those interested, Jakob Lagerweij has many more colorized photos on his Facebook page @HistoryisallaboutColour to which I've subscribed. I may even ask him to share some tips with amateurs on colorizing.

 

The link (and his Facebook page) is a joy to behold.

 

Mike

WOW! Thanks Mark.

Thanks, Mark. It appears to me, as Jon and Mike have noted, that these colorized images are of high quality. Quite honestly, when I opened this thread, I thought I'd be looking at photos that were analogous to Ted Turner's awful initiative of coloring b & w movies. Good job, Mr.Lagerweij.

Jakob Lagerweij is really good at this. Glad to share the link here on PN. Another Link

Nice work but then there's Peter Jackson's "They Shall Not Grow Old."

 

Jake"s photo colorization is nothing short of fantastic. Even for a person like me, not all that much of a history enthusiast, the results of his work cannot be belittled. These photos really do take on a new life. I like that the colors seem somewhat desaturated- this wouldn't have near the impact if the colors were bright and crisp.

 

As c_watson mentions, the film They Shall Not Grow Old takes this whole concept to another level. I recommend seeing the film, if you have not already done so. Most significantly, in the end credits, they talk about the process they went thru to create the effects of the film- which was extensive, and remarkable in its depth.

As someone who was brought up on black and white movies and photos of the war, the colorization does very little to add anything for me. When seeing black and white none if us ever thought the world was really like that, so all these additions are simply very intelligent guesses. I also seriously doubt they suddenly transform black and white images of global conflict suddenly into meaningful pictures for the "kids of today" for example. Colorizing the pre-khaki/field gray wars might add something because they were so colorful, but attempting that would be extraordinarily difficult, and of course there were not all that many photographs. None prior to Crimea. Next we will have to colorize Mathew Brady, and while we are about it why not colorize Cartier-Bresson, or St Ansel? Will this make them more relevant and interesting?

As someone who was brought up on black and white movies and photos of the war, the colorization does very little to add anything for me.

 

Probably should have stopped there. Contemporary color WWII images exist and many from various theatres and homefronts have been posted online here and elsewhere. So who needs guesswork? Pre-aniline dye colors weren't very vivid, so uniforms before the mid/late 19thC likely didn't have a Technicolor palette. Jackson's restoration of WWI footage involved far more than just colorizing old b&w cine stock.

 

Not aware of any bogeymen conspiring to colorize Brady, Adams or Cartier-Bresson.

Not aware of any bogeymen conspiring to colorize Brady, Adams or Cartier-Bresson.

Never say never.

 

Here's Cartier-Bresson's Boat, in its original black and white followed by a colorized version ...

 

BOAT ORIGINAL

 

BOAT COLORIZED

 

And here's an interesting article, which I don't necessarily agree with in whole (don't agree universally that color distracts from decisive moments or form and shape) but which offers some interesting perspectives on color and black and white, using Cartier-Bresson as its grounding.

 

SOMERSET HOUSE EXHIBIT

 

Here's Cartier-Bresson's Boat, in its original black and white followed by a colorized version ...

 

BOAT ORIGINAL

 

BOAT COLORIZED

 

 

Hmm... it looks better in

color...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

Hmm... it looks better in

color...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

Don't know what "better" means. Is "better" more easily readable and more pleasing? Is "better" original and authentic? Something else? I generally think artist's original stuff is of greater value than direct reworkings such as colorization. On the other hand, some homages or tributes are as interesting as the originals they pay respect to.

 

And, how often do we set up a competition by considering "better" instead of just appreciating each for what it is?

Hmm... I just like it better

in color... I'm a simple

Great Ape... Complex ideas

are alien to me...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

Nice work but then there's Peter Jackson's "They Shall Not Grow Old."

 

 

Peter Jackson knows his craft. But, as a movie director, I wonder about his artistic and technical skills when it comes to videography. I've watched just the first 20 minutes of the film and I need to go back to it, primarily for its historic value. Once I've viewed the movie, I'll be able to judge - primarily by the credits - the extent of Jackson's colorizing skills.

Complex ideas

are alien to me...

Perhaps change your cartoon monicker to an amoeba. :)

I blame it all, rightly or wrongly, on my bipolar disorder (better named manic depressive). It really screws up my thinking sometimes. There were BAD times before I got into therapy and got 3 medications to treat it. There were lots of times I was certifiably NUTS.

 

Hmm... you still are...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

There were lots of times I was certifiably NUTS.

Hey, in today's world, certifiably nuts might be an advantage! Hmm...

Peter Jackson knows his craft. But, as a movie director, I wonder about his artistic and technical skills when it comes to videography. I've watched just the first 20 minutes of the film and I need to go back to it, primarily for its historic value. Once I've viewed the movie, I'll be able to judge - primarily by the credits - the extent of Jackson's colorizing skills.

 

My sense was that Jackson’s production cred was his real contribution to the project. The technical challenges required talent and resources he could tap through personal connections. That, however, didn’t involve Jackson sitting for hours at a work station puzzling out how to work out frame rates for old footage from the Imperial War Museum.

When seeing black and white none if us ever thought the world was really like that, so all these additions are simply very intelligent guesses.

 

Perhaps to some extent but Jakob Lagerweij takes great care and does research to reproduce uniforms and patches accurately, to quote him on choosing images:

• Jakob Lagerweij: Well, that depends on the amount of research that is required. Sometimes I can't find a certain insignia, or color patch, or something, and as long as I'm not really sure about the exact colors, I'd rather not post the image.
  

From the video there was a photo of two people walking through a square with the Star of David sewn on their close. The square and buildings still exist, he went there to be sure he was reproducing building colors accurately. Much of the uniforms clothing of the era still exists. Grass is still green and skies blue.

 

Jakob is doing museum quality and academic level history preserving work if doing this research and not just choosing colors willy-nilly. This was a war my father fought in. black and white is fine but the colorizing brings it all a little closer, less removed, people become a little more real and they were. As the black and white version gives us a feeling this all happened so long ago in history. That war ended only two years before my brother was born. I have B&W photos of my uncle who I never met and he was in the Navy lost at sea in the South Pacific in WWII. Seeing these images in color makes it all a little closer to our modern world. We can always go back to looking at the B&W version.

 

I am glad there are people like Jakob doing this work giving us a unique glimps to what people then were seeing.

Edited July 11, 2020 by Mark Keefer

Jakob Lagerweij takes great care and does research to reproduce uniforms and patches accurately

Accurate though they may be, there’s still, for me, something anachronistic about the process and result.

I am glad there are people like Jakob doing this work giving us a unique glimps to what people then were seeing.

I do understand and can empathize with this point of view. I think I prefer letting my imagination do that kind of historical “seeing,” even though I do appreciate the effort of this work and find the results interesting.

Photography. Read the facts. WW1 & 2 can’t be captured in black & white or colour.

I don't think anyone understands you. Can you be more adamant. Perhaps, then, we'll fully appreciate what you're trying to say. Maybe more [now removed] misspelled curses would help.

 

Do you think we haven't read the facts? Maybe we can separate facts from representation and documentation. Maybe we understand the importance of documents of history. I've seen enough photos of Nazi concentration camps to know what they represent, even though I've read factual accounts and heard accounts directly from survivors of those camps. Sorry, but there's no reason to dismiss photography. Photographs help us not forget, even if they're discussed in a more photographic context.

 

Now, get over yourself, will ya.

Edited July 13, 2020 by William Michael

Your life is not in danger when you look at photos

Nor is it when you learn the facts of history. So, you're not making a coherent point, unless it’s that no one should learn about war by any means except having been there. Well, I wasn’t born yet at the time of the two world wars, so I learn by reading and, unlike you, photos of these things have a certain kind of power for me. I’m glad there are photos of the Nazi death camps because they stand as a document against holocaust deniers and their ilk. Photos can also reach people on a gut level different from or supplemental to the way reading history can.

 

Getting back on topic, the colorization takes some of the power and authenticity of the photos away for me, while I’m also able to understand that others appreciate the color for a variety of reasons.

reducing that argument to colorisation is weak

 

A great example of a non sequitur