Remember this post?
I had many readers comment on how lovely the old pictures were, and how amazing it is to look at photos taken almost 80 to a 100 years ago. The older women in their silk saris, the younger women in more modern synthetic saris with their ruched and ruffled lace borders......the men in their crisp white dhotis and kurtas.
But if you're like me, maybe you wondered....what color was that sari she was wearing? Was it a dark navy blue, a dull brick red, a soft pastel shade...? And that puffy blouse? Cream colored or dark to match the sari border? What were her favorite colors? Is that an orange sari my grandma is wearing? Did she love that color that she passed on the love of orange to me???
Black and white have their own vintage appeal, but color photos give us so many clues about that time. Today you have color forecasters that tell you what the hot color for the season is and the next thing you know everything from dinner plates to cushions to clothing is in that color. Was there a favorite color that everyone wore 60 years ago? If a maharani was spotted in pink, did everyone start wearing pink??? If the popular actress of the time wore a sari a certain way, did everyone copy that? I've always wondered......
Enter VAL ERDE! Artist, Britisher, bird lover, blogger, and more recently "old black and white photos toucher upper"!!!! Val e mailed me after she read my post, asking if she could color some of the pics I had posted. I'll be honest and admit I was a bit skeptical......would it look too artificial or "made up"? I took a look at her website and loved the few examples of her coloring work.
I had many readers comment on how lovely the old pictures were, and how amazing it is to look at photos taken almost 80 to a 100 years ago. The older women in their silk saris, the younger women in more modern synthetic saris with their ruched and ruffled lace borders......the men in their crisp white dhotis and kurtas.
But if you're like me, maybe you wondered....what color was that sari she was wearing? Was it a dark navy blue, a dull brick red, a soft pastel shade...? And that puffy blouse? Cream colored or dark to match the sari border? What were her favorite colors? Is that an orange sari my grandma is wearing? Did she love that color that she passed on the love of orange to me???
Black and white have their own vintage appeal, but color photos give us so many clues about that time. Today you have color forecasters that tell you what the hot color for the season is and the next thing you know everything from dinner plates to cushions to clothing is in that color. Was there a favorite color that everyone wore 60 years ago? If a maharani was spotted in pink, did everyone start wearing pink??? If the popular actress of the time wore a sari a certain way, did everyone copy that? I've always wondered......
Enter VAL ERDE! Artist, Britisher, bird lover, blogger, and more recently "old black and white photos toucher upper"!!!! Val e mailed me after she read my post, asking if she could color some of the pics I had posted. I'll be honest and admit I was a bit skeptical......would it look too artificial or "made up"? I took a look at her website and loved the few examples of her coloring work.
So I promptly sent her 2 pics, Val did her thing on them and sent them back and I have to tell you I absolutely LOVE THEM! Here they are, tell me what you think.
This one
became this...
and this one....
turned into this....
What really struck me was how appropriate the coloring seems to that time. Not that I even have a clue as to what the original color of the clothing was, but if there had been color film available, THAT is what I would imagine the pic to look like.
This is what Val says about her work: "As you’ll have realised, I put a lot of thought into my colourings. And I try to combine my visual knowledge of the real world with my artistic experience to produce the results that I do."
Val would like to go semi-professional on this, and if you have any lovely old black and white pictures, or great family portraits from way back when, that you would like transformed into beautiful time appropriate color photos, contact her.
Val - thank you so much for doing this. I love them.
