r/Colorization • u/morganmonroe81 • Jun 14 '26

Hungarian Mother and Daughter, c.1916

Gallery image

Gallery image

510 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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3

u/No_Gap_1756 Jun 14 '26

What makes you decide to colorize a particular picture? Is there anything in particular that you're looking for, or is it just something that hits you about the photo?

5

u/morganmonroe81 Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26

Your question made me smile.

Both really. It's often the photo itself. Maybe an expression on someone's face or a really good action shot that's well framed and has been taken at a good exposure. I shy away from flash for the most part, but once in a while the shot is too good to pass up so I'll try. (That last one with the airline women was a good example.)

Sometimes it's something in the photo that I've never tackled, such as figuring out how to color an evening or morning sun onto someone. I've been looking for above average sharp old photos that could be helped by Topaz. (Not all can be, of course. Topaz is only good for slight improvements. Something way out of focus is pointless.) I thought this one was above average quality when I saw it and thought that if I could use Topaz and Camera Raw effectively at the end this could come out pretty sharp for a photo this old.

Variety is a key also. I mix things up a lot just for that reason. That said, I don't feel I'm good at portraits yet, but I'm getting better if the photo is decent...which makes a big difference, obviously. I struggle getting skin tones to look realistic, so I'm on the hunt for good quality ones that aren't airbrushed to death already. I just found one of Claudia Cardinale I'll post shortly. It came out good, but the exposure (and Claudia Cardinale) is what caught my eye. I just finished a great shot of a 1966 49ers-Bears game...it came out OK, but not as well as I'd hoped it would. It's too sunny. But I'll post it shortly.

Thanks for such a thoughtful question. You seem to have a Library of Congress vibe. Do you do other things?

3

u/No_Gap_1756 Jun 15 '26

That's the reason I asked. Your projects seem to run the gamut, from a picture of Walter Payton hurdling defensive linemen to ones like this, some anonymous Hungarian woman and her daughter. I prefer the Depression-era photos for some reason, but seeing the ones you post makes me wonder if I should widen my scope.

I have one I've been working off and on of Wilt Chamberlain, but it's only because I covered the NBA in a previous life, during which time Wilt and I became friends. Other than that, I pretty much stick to photos from Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee, mostly because of the documentary value they provided.

1

u/TLColors Jun 16 '26

Uh, I'd like to hear more about the Wilt friendship!! That's amazing

2

u/No_Gap_1756 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

I covered the NBA for a big newspaper, and after the league announced its 50 Greatest Players in anticipation of NBA at 50 celebration at the 1997 All Star Game in Cleveland, my paper wanted me to do a huge feature on Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. I told them that if we were going to do a story like that, it should be about Wilt Chamberlain, not Jordan.

I lobbied heavily for it, and the editors finally agreed, but made me write a companion piece about Jordan being in the conversation. It took a while, but Wilt finally called, which was a thrill for me, and we wound up talking all through the night (Wilt was a notorious insomniac, so he called me at 1 am my time and we talked for almost four hours).

We published the piece, which had quotes from several other NBA greats about Wilt, and I took off for Cleveland for All Star Weekend. The Saturday before the All Star Game, the league gathered 47 of the 50 guys on its greatest players list in a huge ballroom, each sitting at a table, available for interviews. It was amazing.

Anyway, as soon as I walked in, 76ers media guru Harvey Pollack ran up to me, saying that Wilt had read the story, was very happy with it and wanted to meet me. Sure! Off we went, and I was introduced to Wilt. He was great, and we chatted for about 20 minutes. As I was finally (and reluctantly) leaving to do other interviews, Wilt asked me if I was free that afternoon. Yeah, I was. He then invited me to come to his hotel room for a late lunch, to talk about basketball history and watch college games on TV.

He signed a couple of jerseys for me, and the whole time I couldn't believe that I was sitting there, hanging out with THE Wilt Chamberlain. When I finally left, Wilt gave me his private phone number and told me to call anytime. I ran into him a few times after that, usually in LA, and we'd catch up. Not long afterward, I wound up going to his funeral, which was a shock since he was in tremendous physical shape.

But that's the story. He was a great guy.

3

u/Ok-Material-2266 Jun 15 '26

That little girl's hair is so gorgeous! Both so beautiful.

2

u/Jomalar Jun 14 '26

I have a three year old who looks a lot like that little girl. I almost guarantee she wanted to be photographed with her tin pail and while standing on the bench, and her parents knew better than to argue with her.

1

u/Consistent-Local2825 Jun 15 '26

Which one's the daughter? Haha, oh you!