Operation Photo Rescue's Online Community

I'm a little aprehensive because this is my first restoration for this project and I'm not a professionial in any manner. I'm entirely self taught, so go easy on me.

The original had some pretty bad spots, especially on the right side of the face.

(http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/417/original0sn.jpg)


This is what I was able to do with it. I welcome any suggestions.

(http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8162/restored7ra.jpg)



I look forward to hearing any criticism because the quality of work is what's important to me, I just want to turn out the best image I can.

Thanks...Kenny

Slasher,

This is a tough one. Maybe a little too tough to take on for your first restoration out of the gate. The restoration that you created may resemble the person in the photograph, but it no longer resembles the photograph.

With that said, this certainly displays the fact that you have considerable skills. Not to mention dedication, because it looks as if you spent considerable time on this. However, if I were in your shoes (and I'm not ... I gave up restoration due to lack of skill), I would start from scratch on this image or throw it back into the pool. If you throw it back, grab something less challenging so you can feel the success that you deserve. Then you can always go back to something that will test your abilities.

There's no shortage of challenges in this line of work.

Good luck.
Dave

Thanks Dave. I feel the same way. I understand that the restorations need to bring back the memories of the original photograph. I really don't know where to quit restoring. My problem is if I see a flaw, I tend to fix it. This photograph had so many I basically had to render most of it. To me it now looks more like my rendition of the original than a restoration of it. I'll throw this one back in the pool and let someone else have a crack at it. Thanks for the input!

Hi Everyone
I am new to the site and waiting for my first photo so I thought I would try this one. Am I going in the right direction.

Harvey Fish.

p.s. I know there is additional work to do on this but wondered if you thought it was worth it.

Harvey

I think you may have something there.  Just keep in mind this is the lo-res version; so you'll have to do it all over again on the hi-res version... just don't want you to do double work, that's all.

What is your approach on this vs. what Slasher did?

Hi Mr. siteadmin
I have no problem re-doing it at a higher res.   I assume you are thinking in terms of 300.
To repair the facial features I enlarge the pic to the largest poss so as to repair while changing the minimum. When I use the tools  I vary  the opacity and flow a great deal to try and avoid a too flat look.
Where you have items like the guys jacket in this picture that are almost beyond repair I replace. reshaping and recolouring to get them as close as poss to the original.

Harvey

This is the completed hi res pic. Feedback please.

Harvey

Here is the original. As you can see, there is a lot of damage and he's basically missing an ear.

(http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/6478/project1nw9.jpg)

Here is the first draft:

(http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9714/project2jn7.jpg)

I'm pretty pleased with it so far. It doesn't look so much like a painting like the last difficult one I attempted. Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Kenny

Great job on his eyebrow! It's tough doing the area around the eye.

There are just a few issues that I see. The repair to his cheek and ear are not proportionatey correct. If you look at the original, you can see his ear is quite a bit larger. The cheek is too large and far back.  Try flipping the image horizontally to get a fresh look at your work.

The contrast is quite strong (the lights are too light, and darks are too dark). Perhaps it's a monitor calibration issue on your end.  I usually leave those types adjustments until I've repaired the work, and unless the image is severly faded, only make minimal changes to the contrast as I like to keep it looking as much like the original as possible.

You might do a search for images of uniforms, as his cap does not seem correct.

I thought the ear looked a little off. I'll try to fix it later on. The contrast is much, much better in the High-res version, it looks really off on this, but It looks perfect in the larger image. As for the cap, not much of the white part was left to work with. I researched and used part of an image from a correct cap for that period for the top part of it (the white part). The insigina, band at darker parts are original to the image, only repaired. What is it about the cap that seems off? I'll put up another pic when I get his ear and cheek touched up a little.


Thanks, Kenny

I think it's curious that the contrast would look different in the hi-res version. It should look the same. My guess is that you are using a profile other than sRGB in Photoshop(Adobe RGB), thus when you post to the web (sRGB) it looks different.  I don't recall seeing anything posted by Admins about what profile to use, but it would seem that sRGB would be preferable to Adobe RGB.

Sounds crazy, but the cap reminds me of the halos one sees in religious images. It lacks dimension and looks flat, as if it's behind him and not attached to the brim.

Actually, I've always wondered why it does that. It's set on the default settings from when I installed photoshop; 8bit/channel  RGB. Whenever I save for web it always turns out darker, so I have to allow for it. The PSD looks fine, but I always have to adjust when I save it as a jpg or whatever.

On the hat, I think I can probably just add detail and shading and make it look better.

Any tips on my color profile would be appreciated because like I said, I'm self taught and it's probably something very basic that I never knew about, lol.

Thanks, Kenny

I'm really having a dilemma with the ear on this photo. I know we're not supposed to use body parts from another person. I'm having trouble rendering a convincing ear. However, I did find a drawing of an ear I can use and set it to darken and set the opacity where it gives a suggestion of a proper ear without looking obvious. Any ideas?

Here's the pic with the new ear and I've shaded the hat somewhat and adjusted the contrast. The ear isn't from another person, it's a drawing that I reworked so I'm not sure if I can use it or not.

(http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/9291/project2aao4.jpg)

Hope I'm not driving you crazy...but as long as you ask I''ll reply.  The hat still doesn't look right. If you look in the original, you can see that the hat is the same brightness and color as his face.  You have it almost blended into the background. It should be brighter, not "soft", and the same color as the band on the front. 

Regarding the ear. It doesn't look that bad, however, it is also too soft, and perhaps too small.  If you look at the original an outline of the outer ear  is there. You should keep that and build around it, especially for size reference.

Hmm, ok. I think maybe what I'm doing is giving up on the hat and the ear without trying to build on what is there. I'll start the ear and hat again from scratch and try to just build on them instead of replacing them and trying to make the new stuff "fit in". I really do appreciate the input because that's how I learn. Does the rest of the image look ok?


Thanks,

Kenny

The photo with the ear reworked from what was left of the original:

(http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5309/project2bik5.jpg)

I still haven't started on the hat yet, I want to get this ear done first.

I went ahead and worked on the ear some more and replaced the hat. If you look at the original there is only a vauge outline of the outer brim. The man in the photo is wearing a naval officer's uniform. I studied numerous pictures of naval officer's uniforms and then found a suitible donor image for the outer brim.

(http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/6478/project1nw9.jpg)(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6352/project2ckz7.jpg)

I would greatly value some opinions before I upload this.

Thanks,

Kenny

Finished! (I hope, lol)

Unless Mike wants it reworked, this is the final version of my restoration:

(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/9792/projectfinalen8.jpg)

I think the tie and hat dark areas still need some work done on them.  Just my opinion.  But is definitely much better than what they had.

I think it's fabulous.  Don't touch a thing. :up:

Hey everyone. I'm sorry I haven't been working on my restoration like I should. I had surgery last week and I'm just now getting where I can sit comfortably and work.

Anyway, here's my latest. As usual, I welcome advice and/or criticism.

Original:
(http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4114/originalra1.jpg)

Current version:
(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1958/version1as2.jpg)


Thanks for taking the time to look.


Kenny

Hi Kenny --

Sorry to hear you had to have surgery.  Here's hoping you're doing well.

The only thing I'd change on the tall gentleman is that there still appears to be some dark coloration on his trousers.  I'm looking at the light source and don't think it's shadow.  The most noticeable area is right beside his hand with the cigar, and the outer thigh area of the other side.  Otherwise I think he's great.

I agree with Paula - I think your guy in uniform is ready to go home.  He looks fantastic.

Best wishes

GG

Thanks. I see what you're talking about. After a while of looking at it, my eyes tend to go  :D

I'll probably use the dodge tool to even it out later when I'm feeling up to it.


Thanks a bunch  :)


Kenny

Version 2:

(http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5383/version2ce2.jpg)

I lightened and evened out the areas on his trousers. It looks pretty close to ready to me.

Hi Kenny

Definitely much improved.  I honestly can't see anything else that I'd change.  Super job!

GG

Thanks  :)

I'll send it on for Mike's approval.


Kenny

Excellent work! Good job  :up:

Here's my newest project:

(http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/8741/originalra3.jpg)

As you can see, the color is quite damaged. I've been doing mostly black and white restorations and some mildly color damaged color photos. Should I repair the damage first, then color correct?

I've looked at the channels and the blue channel is damaged pretty heavily. I did some quick adjusting to see the result, but the color was still damaged afterwards.

I would appreciate any help in fixing the color on this. I tried the 3 point sample technique and it ended up with a strong blue tint. I'm open to any suggestions.


Thanks, Kenny

Hi Kenny,

It's my understanding you color correct first, then do the repairs.  I've tried color corrections after repairs, but sometimes, the  corrections, especially if you are using a blending mode, will show up.  For example, you fix a spot, then color correct, and that spot then becomes obvious, due to the blending mode you used.

Looks like a great family photo, and I wish you the best in restoring it.

Christine

Hey everyone. I need some advice. The image I'm working on currently has a severe color problem. I've tried every way I normally try to color correct and it still leaves me with strange tints in different places, depending on what I do.

Right now I'm going through and correcting each different part of the image using a mask. It looks to me like it's starting to come around, but I want some different eyes to look at it and see.

I haven't done anything other than color correction so far, so take that into account. I believe when I get to the repairs I can fine tune any places I've missed in the color correction. Thanks for taking the time to look at what I have so far.


(http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/812/colorcorrection1wx2.jpg)

Hi Kenny

I think you're on the right track with the color correction. What you've done so far looks great.

GG

This poor image was in worse shape than I thought. I still had a bluish cast to it that I couldn's adjust out. What I'm trying now is to re-tint the entire image to get rid of it. I'm using the quick mask mode to make my selection and using a new layer set to color with and adjust the opacity until I'm satisfied with it. This is just a rough draft, I still have much, much more work to do:


(http://img436.imageshack.us/img436/9276/colorcorrection2xz2.jpg)


Does anyone know what that object might be right above the boy's head right next to santa's face? I say it looks like a dove or something, but my wife isn't so sure. Settle our argument, lol.


Thanks for looking

Kenny

Kenny, it could be a Dover by the shape of it.  Colour correction seems to be in the rightish area as well.

(http://img473.imageshack.us/img473/9640/project1jd5.jpg)

I still have to go over it and make the final adjustments on the color, etc, but I want a fresh set of eyes to look at what I've done so far and see what you think. I ended up omitting Santa's hand on the left side of the picture, I just couldn't make it look right and I really didn't have much to work with.


Thanks for looking


Kenny

Hi Kenny

Except for the color issue, I think your restoration looks fine.  I don't think Santa's hand will be missed.  Didn't look as if there was much of it showing even before the damage.  I can't wait to see the final version and learn how you've dealt with the color. 

Good luck!

GG

I feel like I've been chasing my tail on this one  :D

I'm pretty close to reaching my limits on what I can do on this one. Unless someone has any advice, this is the final version:

(http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4466/project1aiq8.jpg)


I left as much of the original color as I could, but there wasn't much to work with. I used a different layer for each color I replaced. Layer masks are my friend :P

I've tweaked the color and as much as I still see problems, I think it's about as good as I can do. I've intentionally left the colors muted somewhat. I feel like more vibrant colors would make it look too obvious it's been colorized.

I realize they will adjust the final color while printing, so I think it'll turn out ok. If this were a picture of my kids I would be pleased I think. That's what I do with every picture I do. I see my kids, parents, grandparents, etc in every picture. I try to treat them as such.

anyway, again thanks for looking!


Kenny  :)

Hi Kenny

I'm wondering if you can do any more with the color of their faces?  Santa looks very ghostly to me, and the kids' faces are each a different shade with, I think, just a little more yellow than looks right.  Small things.  The main thing is that you're satisfied with it, and as I mentioned before, the actual restoration is excellent.

Best wishes!

GG

Thanks, Glennab

I look at it today and I think what i'm going to do is desaturate and retint the faces. My wife said the same thing about santa's face. I couldn't really see it last night, but I see it now. We don't want the kids looking Jaundiced :P


Thanks!


Kenny  :)

*Quick question*

Santa's face looks "ghostly"...

what exactly makes it look that way? It's kind of like one of those optical illusions where you have to pick out the darker color but they are actually both the same. His tint is darker than it appears, it's just because it's surrounded by white. Maybe if I gave him a bit of a rosy nose and cheeks, perhaps? That might be adding in too much, though. I'll try it and see how it works. Basically I'm just thinking aloud....errr...typing aloud...you know what I mean :P


Kenny

Yes, I have to agree with you.  Santa's face does look a bit pasty.  It's hard to tell what it looked like in the original.  Perhaps just a very, very slight pinkish coloring, to give his face a little more definition.  You don't want to overdue it, but a little color might help.  Otherwise, I think you've done a nice job on this picture.

Christine

Thanks guys, for all the help  :loveit:

I've adjusted the faces best I could. Here is the final version:

(http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6286/bourleta1535mergedfacelh9.jpg)


It sill has a slight colorized look to it, as well it should. The original color was so damaged my only option was to hand tint large portions of it. This image has been my most challenging yet, not because of the physical damage, but because of the color damage. I hope it's up to standards.


Kenny

Hey Kenny

I think that's a definite improvement.  I can imagine the challenge of getting the colors satisfactory, and for those of us viewing the image on screen the look might be quite different.  I don't like to offer criticism unless I can be specific and, if possible, give a potential solution.  I hope my feedback helped.

I'll expect a return favor when I'm ready to post my next one.  It's so detailed that I'm going crazy trying to figure out the background and re-create what I can without it looking like a painting.  Man o man!

Later!

GG

I appreciate it. Of course I'll return the favor!

I just want to say that you guys are awesome. I can always count on honest criticism and advice. The high res version of this looks much more natural.

I know I can always count on you guys and I thank you :wnw:

Kenny

I think you did a great job!  I'm waiting for my access to Photo Shelter so I played with it a bit to fix it, colorized it with 40s colors, and rendered it in Oil Portrait.

I don't know how to insert a photo yet on this forum, but I'll shoot you the work in Email if you want.

The right side of his face was the hard part, I copied the left side, fliped the image, and inserted on his right side.  From their all I had to do is adjust the blending.

Great Job!

Thanks. To insert a pic here, just host it (imageshack, photobucket.etc), then use click the little picture at the top of the text box right below the I.

You can email it to me if you want. I think my email is in my profile. If not, it's [email protected]


Thanks

Kenny


ps...your avatar made me grin, lol

Hey all. I haven't had a chance to work on my newest pic yet. My son got hurt and has a spinal injury :(. He's doing good so far, but he'll probably have to have back surgery. He's 17 :(

Anyway, This one is a real challenge. Any ideas on where to start? I have an idea what to do, but I appreciate any input.

(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/929/originalwg9.jpg)


I'm thinking of using the healing tool first to smooth out the skin on the damaged areas, then using the clone tool set on low opacity to add the right color. Then, the healing brush again to restore texture. I've already tried using just the healing brush, but it didn't help the discoloration.

Also, the file size of this image is HUGE! It's 2848 x 4288. The .PSD is 105 MB and my computer is really taking a beating working on it. I know I need more memory, but I can't afford it right now, so I have to make do. What do you think the smallest I could re size it to and it still be high quality?


Thanks for looking...


Kenny :)

Hi Kenny,

I'm so sorry about your son.   How serious is the injury?  Gotta be difficult for someone so young.

If it's any comfort, I fractured my back about 11 years ago, and while I was laid up for a couple of months, I'm able to do anything I want now.  Hurts sometimes, but all I have to do is rest it and I'm great.  I haul 50 lb. cat litter bags, do heavy yard work and move furniture with little problem.

About your new restoration:  I'm wondering if you can do the opposite of what I do when I have a photo that's too light.  That's to duplicate the layer and use one of the lightening layer effects (I'd try them all).  Sometimes it'll take more than one layer, but it might help.  As far as file size, I'm not sure how you could handle that unless you have software that reduces and enlarges images using fractals.  The one we use at work is a Photoshop plug-in called Pixel Smart, and it does a fantastic job.  I don't remember what it cost, though.

I know what you mean about not having enough RAM.  I am experiencing my last week of dealing with that, and I can't wait to get my new Mac.  When I try to create hair with the brush and smudge tool, I'll have to sit here for what seems like forever before I see any results.  Makes me crazy!

I just joined the U.S. Army forum to try to get help with my Master Sergeant's ribbons.  Hope someone responds.  I talked up OPR in my request hoping to stir more interest. (That's a fascinating site, by the way.  I wish I had more time to spend on the forum.)

Anyway, give your son a huge hug for me, and tell him that the best thing he can do is keep his spirits up -- watch funny movies, read funny books and have a positive attitude!  It really works.

Best wishes,

Glenna

Hi Kenny,

Can't give much help on how to work the image, what you are planning sounds OK to me, if somebody comes up with other advice it will be helpful to me also.

Regarding the file size, if my math is right the image is 12+MB, how much you can reduce the file size is going to be limited by the print size of the image - they don't seem to scan to any fixed formula, I have had 7x5s over 5 MB and 11x14 at just on 2 MB.

I struggle with large file sizes with PS CS2  and only 256MB RAM, I find I have to restrict the number of layers, I usually open another layer and carry out restoration of an area or feature, then save the file, then I merge the layer into the working image and carry on to the next step and resave with a new name and so on - it means you have a lot of saved files but it allows you to go back if you have a disaster.

The other thing I do is have a spare parts file, I open a new blank  image the same dimension a the file I'm working and drag layers into it to store for reuse, this I particularly use if I have used an adjustment layer on the layer I am about to merge,I drag the layer and its adjustment layer in to the store file, I can then recover the adjustments if I foul up.

I found that having a lot of adjustment layers open in the image caused a lot of colour cast problems when the file size is large and PS is short of memory.
I hope you can understand these ramblings, not sure I can! hope it helps you in some way, I know that one of these days when I can afford it I'm going to upgrade my RAM.


Max

Thanks, Glennab  :).  He can walk, but he has a herniated disk between L4 and L5 and it's causing him a lot of pain. He goes to the neurosurgeon monday and there's the possibility it might be taken care of without surgery. He's a total jock, weightlifting team, wrestling, track, etc. He's already come to terms with the fact he can no longer play sports. He has a good positive outlook and he says he can support the team in other ways. I'm really proud of his courage.

I've experimented with layers using different settings, but I either end up with making the damage darker, or the image ends up so light you can hardly see it. So, no easy way out on this one!  :funny:

I think I'll reduce the size just a little to make it more manageble. I have 512 mb of ram, but with the working file size at over 100 mb, it's killing me.

Thanks, Aussiemax and Glennab :)


Kenny

I did a quick test and I think I'm going to do what I had in mind originally. This is just a fast test, but I think It'll work:

(http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7415/testwm2.jpg)


Question,  though. I'm laughing as I type this, but hey....you have to find the humor in this sometimes. Anyway, my question is about the baby's nipples. You can't see them in the original because of the damage. Do I paint them in or what?  :funny:

I mean, I don't want someone looking at the picture and saying "hey, where's the kid's nipples?". The bellybutton....eh, I think it looks like it's probably below the diaper line. I don't know whether he's an innie or an outie anyway. But the nipple thing...any suggestions? :p


Kenny

Kenny

Sorry my suggestion didn't work, but what you've done so far looks great.  You have a very valid issue with the baby's nipples and navel.  That may be a decision for admin.  What a challenge!

Your son sounds like one heck of a great guy.  I know I miss mine.  He lives just far enough away that with our busy lives we don't see each other much.  When he was a teenager, we joined a little sailing club and raced sailboats for a few years.  I wanted to keep him busy and away from trouble and drugs, and we had a blast.  I hope you're enjoying your guy as much as I did mine. -- and still do when we can get together.  Time gets away from you.  My "baby" is going to be 38 in December.  And I'm only 30. (in my mind!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

GG

Ugh, this one is really frustrating. I've made all the big corrections, but as they say, "The devil is in the details".
I've tried various things to put the detail back in his hands and feet. I feel confident in being able to shade the rest of him to look natural, but the hands and feet are giving me problems. I'm working with a mouse and it's so hard for me to make it look natural with it. I even tried making a brush using the patterns in his feet, but it also picked up the damage, so I wasn't able to be successful with it. When I get frustrated I've found it's best to walk away for a bit. That's what I'm going to have to do with this one for today. Maybe it will all go smoothly tomorrow.

(http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8488/take2gf1.jpg)


As always, criticism is appreciated :)


Kenny

Hi Kenny

I hesitate to suggest this only because I'm not sure how to use channels to full advantage yet, but when you look at each of the channels is there one that has more detail than the others?  Maybe you could use that one to define the feet and hands.

I know what you mean about having to walk away from the restoration for a while.  I'm dealing with a lot of frustration with my current one -- the Army Master Sergeant.  It's starting to come together, and I think most of it looks good, but there are some details that I can't seem to get just right.  Consequently I keep adding layers to try new things -- I now have a 161 MB file.

Hopefully I'll be able to post it soon, as I'm going to need some fresh eyes!

GG

Hi Kenny

I was going through the new posts and found this from havril (Harvey).  I hope he doesn't mind my pulling the quote, but it might help you:

Open Channel pallette in windows tab. Using levels balance each colour in turn to enhance details. Select blue channel again and go into image> apply image with blue in source channel and multiply in blending at 30% opacity click OK.In main picture using quick mask select girl and save selection inverse and save selection as background. Using curves go between the two  saved selection to sharpen details.

This might be of value.  I know I'm going to keep it in mind, since I'm terribly channel-challenged.

Have a great day!

GG

P.S.  I thought I'd add that Harvey's suggestions is in "So what's the rules when..." in Difficult -- just to give you the perspective of the discussion.

Glennab,

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'l give it a try!  :)

Slasher,

I apologize for coming into this late, but please don't resize the image. There is a method to our madness. First we don't scan the damaged originals. We photograph them on copystands with pro-level digital cameras using raw file formats.

The reason that we do this is so that we can reproduce the best print possible. We are also returning the same size print. Meaning, if the hurricane victim brings in an 8x10 damaged original she's going to get an 8x10 restoration. Same goes for any size prints. We got quite a few that were twice the size of a 16x20 (which is one of the reasons that we don't scan the damaged originals).

If this image is a large file size, it's because it's meant to be printed in large format.

Thanks.
Dave

I'm stuck on my latest project. Without resizing, it is simply too large for me to work on right now. However, I've ordered a Gigabyte of memory and a GeForce video card which should be here today. This will allow me to easily work on a large image file.

When I said resizing it, I meant just reducing the entire file size. The aspect ratio is left intact. I can easily put it back when I'm finished. It's just makes it a little easier to work on.

Either way, I'll be back in business today so long as UPS doesn't let me down.  ;D



Kenny :)

I'm stuck. I could blame it on not having a graphics tablet, but the truth of the matter is I can't go any further on my project. As much as I hate to give up, I'm going to have to hand it off. If anyone wants to finish this one, I can send you the .psd of what I have so far.

I'm pretty pleased with the way it's going, but I simply can't get the detail back in his hands and feet and make it look right. I have the .psd file and it's broken down into individual components so it would be easy to fix for the right person with the right tools.


Here's a low res version of where I am:

(http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5637/handoffcs6.jpg)


Any takers?



Kenny

I've spent Wayyyyy too much time on this one. That and I haven't been able to work on it like I should. Anyway, time for this little fella to go home. I'm still not absolutely happy with how his feet and hands turned out, but all in all I think he looks pretty good.


Original: (http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/929/originalwg9.jpg)



Restored: (http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1931/finalva8.jpg)


I feel like I gave birth  :wow:

Kenny,

I think this looks great.  I'd send him on home, and I hope you don't suffer from pospartum depression (although I hear Tom Cruise is an expert on the subject!) Ha Ha.....

Job well done.   :up2:

Christine

Good job Kenny, a hard one. By now I bet you feel as if you have adopted him.

Max

Hi Kenny

I think you put an amazing effort into this little guy.  My assessment of the hands & feet is that the only way to get more definition would be by creating shading and shadows.  I don't know about you, but that's one of the most difficult parts of the restorations for me.  Not having a fine art background, I have a hard time figuring out just where to darken areas to pull out the shapes in a realistic manner.  Maybe with practice we'll all get more comfortable with that part of the restorations.

Hope all's well with you and your son.  How's his recovery coming?

Best wishes

GG

Hi Glenna, Max and Christine, thanks for the critique.

I feel I could possibly draw in the shadows and creases, but I'm stuck with using a mouse and I lack the skill to do it with just that. Maybe one day I'll get a Wacom and who knows?

Thanks for asking about my son. They gave him an injection into the disc that's ruptured and he's doing physical therapy twice a week. That, and he has to be in traction daily. They ordered him a portable traction device and he straps himself in and it pulls the vertebrae apart. He has to do that for an hour at a time, twice a day.

He says the pain has really lessened and he's coping pretty well with everything. He's a tough guy and he has a heart of gold. Everyone who meets him loves him and I'm proud of him and the courage he's showing.


Kenny  :)

Kenny, I'm so glad your son is mending.  He must be super special to  be handling this setback so well.  What's his name?  Is he able to go to school?  It's wonderful to know how proud of him you are, because that will help him get through this even quicker.  There's nothing like a parent's love to give a young person the courage to keep on going even in the worst of times.  Please give him a hug for me!

GG

My son is named after me. At school he goes by Kenny, but around here we either call him Bud or Junior. He's still going to school. He's determined to get through his senior year. He missed quite a lot at first after the accident, but he's making it all up and then some. He's quite a guy.  :loveit:

Here he is hamming it up before the accident:

(http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8016/budws5.jpg)

Kenny

On top of all his other wonderful qualities, Bud is a handsome young man.  What wonderful strength of character he has.  I know back pain, and the fact that he's going to school in spite of the therapy and pain tells me that he's a person of much subtstance.  I suspect he gets it from his dad!


G'night!

GG

Best wishes for your son, he's a very good looking young man. Great work on your restoration too!

My latest project:

(http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6696/originalui9.jpg)


As you can see, I have my work cut out for me. The original image size for this is 4 x 6 and not the greatest quality to begin with. The faces are so grainy in high-res that I'm going to leave them alone and focus on the damaged parts.

I plan on doing the usual adjustments: levels, etc... Then repair the lower bodies and legs and then the background. Large parts of this will have to be cloned, but i think the end result will be up to OPR standards.

Any advice is welcome, as usual


Kenny :)


ps...sorry I haven't posted much the past few days, things have been crazy around here  :D

Hey Kenny,

A smart crop might be a good option. Stay in touch with your distribution coordinator so that you guys are on the same page. Thanks for jumping in on such a tough one!

Angela

Hi Kenny

All I can do is wish you luck!  This one is way beyond my expertise.  I hope you are able to at least crop out some of the superfluous background to make the job less daunting.

Is everything okay with you?  How's "Slasher Jr." doing?

Best to you!

GG

I think I can do this one without a crop. I'm hoping anyway...


My son is doing pretty good. They gave him another injection in his spine this week but it hasn't started working yet. He's still doing traction 2 hours a day. He's really hanging tough. :)



Thanks for asking  :loveit:

Kenny

Here's take one...


(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/4316/takeonezp6.jpg)


The damage kept drawing my eye, so I decided to start outside and work inward. I'll have to go back and make sure it doesn't look too obviously cloned later, but the big fix is done on the background. There was a man on the far left in the background that I finally decided to remove. There wasn't much left of him except for a silhouette anyway, so I cloned him out. I can still do a crop later to bring more focus to the people if I have to.

The skin tones are a huge problem, here's why:

(http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/8005/faceao6.jpg)


This is a crop of the little boy's face in high res. I feel anything I do will make it look painted. When zoomed out at normal viewing size he looks fine, though. I feel I should leave the skin alone and just repair major damage.

Anyway, my eyes are tired tonight, so I'm calling it quits for the evening.


I appreciate you taking time to look, as always...

Kenny  :)

Kenny,

you are doing a great job on this one, re: the faces, I think you can just leave them as is, as well as the other parts of the people that aren't in the damaged area, the pic displays at about 7x5 on my monitor and the detail looks good, there is so little detail in the photo that any work on the faces will stand out like dogs ------.

You are fortunate that all the males are wearing dark trousers, will make it a bit easier, main hassle will be the feet.

Keep up the great work.

Max

Yeah, the feet... :wow:

Ladies, I need your input. On the men it's not so much a problem, but what color shoes would the lady on the left be wearing? I don't know whether white or black shoes would be appropriate for that dress.

Help a fashion victim out, would you?  :funny:


Kenny  :)

Kenny

Normally a woman in a white dress would wear white or light shoes.  But the lady on the left doesn't show any white around the area where her foot would be.  Given that that could just be the damage obliterating whatever she's wearing, I'd say light would be your best bet.

GG

White, after labor day?!!!  :P

I kid, I kid. Her legs are pretty much obliterated. See if this is within the guidelines. I borrowed part of the lady on the right's legs and rebuilt them to match the lady on the left:

(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2724/shoehelpnt9.jpg)


No, I haven't gotten to the shoes yet. Yes, she's wearing the ruby slippers until I find some shoes for her. (I didn't want her to be running around barefoot).

Criticism is appreciated


Kenny  :)

Hey Kenny,

Okay, so fashion isn't my strong point!  I did read recently, however, that the Labor Day rule is passe.  Besides, I like the ruby slippers!

To the serious stuff.  I think you're doing a great job.  The skirt of the lady on our left looks darn good.  What bothers me, and it may just be my worn-out eyes, is that she appears to have knees showing just below the skirt, and that would be too low.  I'm sure her knees would be hidden by  the skirt.

Best of luck on the rest.  We're talking anatomy, proportions and fine art.  Way beyond my expertise. You're a brave soul, Mr. Dread Pirate!

GG

Hi Kenny,

Wow, you've done an amazing job on this.  When I first saw the picture, I immediately thought "crop", but you really did a nice job bringing back the photo.  Keep in mind it is a 4 x 6 so I wouldn't worry too much about the fine detail.....it just won't show up.  Hard to say what color shoes she was wearing...I'm a hiking boot girl myself!  I'd guess white.  However, the others seem to have brownish shoes on.  You'd never know unless you asked the person directly, and the less obvious, the better, so perhaps brown would be the best option.  When I took this photography/Photoshop class 2 weeks ago, the one thing that often came up was "what is the focus of the picture?"  I know we all want it to be 100% accurate, including myself, but at times, we have to guess.  As I see it, you've done an absolutely outstanding job on this very difficult photo. 

Keep up the great work!

Christine   :)

The "knees" you see aren't really knees. They look like that, though, now that you pointed it out. It's just a trick of light and shadow (which is what photography is anyway). It was just a couple of spots that came out that way using the healing brush. I just now fixed it with about 4 clicks.

I plan on doing very subtle shoes. Light, but not glaringly white. Christine you're right, the focus is on the family as a group and nothing should pull the eye away from that.

I'll probably make it a vague whitish brown, just enough to show shoes, but not so much anyone will be paying that much attention to them.

Us guys have it so easy. I own shoes and boots of every color you could ever want....if you like black  :funny:


Thanks again for looking, you guys are great  :loveit:


Kenny  :)

It's getting there, slowly but surely.

(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/4771/mergedhealinguq9.jpg)


I still have work to do on the middle left of the picture. I have to render another leg for the girl standing sideways and legs for the guy in the mortarboard in the back. With a little color tweaking, some shadows and a final going over, I think it'll be ready.


Comments, criticisms....you know the drill :P


Kenny  :)

Hi Kenny

An amazing job!  I can't wait to see the completed restoration. I honestly don't see a thing I'd change. (and I don't see knees anymore!)

GG

(http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7136/mergedhealing2fc6.jpg)


I'm not 100 percent sure about the black shoes, but I think it looks pretty convincing.


Any suggestions?


Kenny  :)

Hi Kenny

I repeat: amazing!  They look great.  I'd send 'em home.  You've managed to maintain the integrity of the photo by restoring to match the rest of the image and not overcompensating.  You've done this before, haven't you???  Can't fool me!

Best wishes,

GG

Thank you, Glenna. That means a lot coming from you  :wnw:

It's time for me to get the kids up for school. I'll look at at again in a few hours and see how it look when I'm fully awake  ;D


Thanks


Kenny  :)

Great job Kenny!

Dave

Kenny, great job on the restoration :up:
The only thing that strikes me ( and I could be wrong ::) ), the woman on the right, with the little boy in front of her, may need a 2. leg or you could cover her a little more in that area.

GP

Hey Kenny, that's an amazing job! An incredibly difficult restore, and you pulled it off nicely :up:

Way to go! This family will be floored! Thank you!

I just received this one this morning :

(http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/563/originalpx0.jpg)


I remember there being a few more of him in the gallery. If I remember correctly, he's an actor. (He kinds reminds me of Dennis Hopper, but I know it's not. At least I think it's not)


Help!!!

Can anyone tell me his name? If anyone worked on another one like this, I would appreciate being able to see your finished work.

Any help is appreciated, as usual  :loveit:


Kenny  :)

Wow, good luck with this one.  I always saw it in the available pictures, but could never quite figure out what was around his neck.  It looks like lapels on his jacket or something.  Would the signature above the left side of his head by his autograph?  It looks like Paul "something", perhaps starting with the letter "D"?  The person's face to our left (his right) will obviously need to be cloned out, as you'll never know what she looked like.  Too bad the damage is over all of her face. 

I'll be anxious to see your final product, as you've done so well on all of the others.

Christine

My wife found out who he is!  :loveit:

She's a huge movie buff and started looking through IMDB.com for actors named Paul.

His name is Paul Darrow and the picture is of his character Kerr Avon from the Blakes 7 series. This should help Immensely! I still welcome any other photos of him, especially the signature. Christine, I know you're good at restoring signatures. It's undamaged in the green channel, any hints on restoring it?


Kenny  :)


*edit*

I have posted the picture on the official Blake's 7 forums. I hope someone there will be able to help identify the character on the left so I can put the face back.

I found this video while researching Kerr Avon:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ow4cJ3LDQtM (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ow4cJ3LDQtM)

This kind of stuff makes doing restorations fun  :funny:

I really lucked out on this one.

I got two replies from the Blake's 7 forum, including a link to this high res image:

(http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5621/79li8.jpg)

They just made my job a whole lot easier! I like to give credit where credit is due, so thanks goes out to the good people over at www.horizon.org.uk (http://www.horizon.org.uk) for responding so quickly and being so helpful.

I have to go to my sister's house in a few minutes, but I'll work on it later on today and post an update.


Kenny  :)

Kenny - Great sleuthing!  You have a perfect reference now!

And the video was a hoot.  I agree.  Little side wonders like that make our restoration work even more fantastic.

I gained an Irish guardian angel while I was posting on the Army.com web site looking for my Sergeant's ribbons.  He posted that "Nope, he couldn't help me, but hey you other guys, get with it."  I think I fell in love!  There are some incredible people out there!

GG

This is the fastest one I've done yet :P

(http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1756/patched2fh6.jpg)

I used the face of the man on the left and part of the upper background to patch the damaged photo. I did a lot of cloning and healing to make it all work together. A little color and contrast adjusting later and I ended up with what you see here.

I did the best I could on the autograph. I copied the signature, used a soft eraser brush to smooth the edges, then set the layer to darken.

I'll wait to see what you all think before I upload it.

This one was the funnest one I've done.


Kenny  :)

Wow!  Speed demon!  The only pick I have is the hand holding our hero under the arm at our right. It and the area around it has a slight greenish cast, and the shape is a little off.  I can't quite put my finger on what needs fixing (pun, hah!) but it seems a bit too angular at the edges, for one thing.

Wouldn't it be great if they were all this easy?

GG

I feel like I'm hogging the forum with all my posts :P

Revised version:

(http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/4012/patched3fv9.jpg)


I tried to fix the hand, but it kept looking wrong. I finally just replaced the funny looking parts of it using the hand on the left. I did a little more color adjusting.

See what you think,


Kenny

Kenny, a great job, just shows what a little research can do, I avoided that photo like the plague, I had no idea who or what he was, what colour it should have been, or where all those damn hands were coming from.

A great job on what could have been a real pig. Re: the hand, I think the original was better, get rid of the slight colour cast and its OK, it looks strange, but thats how the original looked.

Max

Great job Kenny,this must have been a lot of fun for you when everything just fell into place so well. I looked at this one in the gallery and originally thought he may have been an actor doing the Three Musketeers or something,checked out the video...how wrong I was! Again, beautiful work, congrats,Vicki :up:

Kenny, I really like the way you handled the hand. (Not again!)

Max, I have to disagree with you on this one.  To me the odd shape of the hand drew my eye away from the main subject.  I don't think smoothing it took away from the overall effect -- to me it enhanced it. The more natural looking hand makes it less prominent, and I don't think it defies our goal.

I'd be interested in other opinions on that.

Best to you both!

GG

There are a lot of hands here....which one are you talking about?!

Christine

Nevermind...I figured it out.  It's the upper right (from our view), correct?  The original kind of looks like he has 6 fingers!  Whilte the restored hand looks better, perhaps the man has a disfigured hand???  Probably best to keep it as close to the original as possible, despite the odd look.

Christine

Kenny and crew

I had to post this ASAP, because I've given some thought to the issue of the hand (a hazard of a mind that never shuts off!), and I believe I was wrong in suggesting one that differs from the original.  Chris is right, he may have a disfigured hand, and the person who went to the trouble to get the actor's autograph would probably be a fan and aware of all aspects of the photo and the characters, including the hand in question. It probably should remain as close to the original as possible.  Mea culpa for suggesting otherwise.

GG

Kenny,

The look of the hand may be from where you repaired it, why not use the same hand from the other photo? It still looks a little odd, but it is original.

Max

Hey, good idea, max! I can skew it a little to make it work.


Thanks!  :up:


Kenny :)

Here he is with the new/old hand (im confused) :p

(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/6310/newoldhandpr5.jpg)

I say it's perfect, and time to send it home.  I would have NEVER thought to do the research you and your wife did on this photo.  You deserve extra stars of praise on this one!

Good job!

Christine

Hi Kenny

Wonderful restoration! You're an ace! And I hope your wife gets plenty of "atta-girls" for her research.  Great team effort.

GG

Hi Kenny,

A really top class job, both in research and restoration, I would have still been bumbling about trying to work out what the image was all about, and what colour the coat should be.


Max

(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7978/originalcc4.jpg)


As you can see, I've picked another doozy. I swear I've seen this boy before, in someone else's worklog. The name on the image is Turnbull. If anyone has another picture of this boy, I would surely appreciate it.


Kenny :)

I wish you luck Kenny, you don't have a lot to work with, I don't like ones with small children, their parents can always remember what they looked like. :funny:

Hope you can find another photo.

Max

Kenny, if you can't find another version of this little guy, I'm wondering if you can pull anything up using Vikki's tutorial on channels.  It's amazing what she pulled from a photo that Chris was working on.  I believe she created her own thread with the tutorial.  Good Luck!!

GG

Hey Max and Glenna. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm going to need it!

Glenna, I've already checked the channels. The blue channel has just enough information for one side of his face that I can reconstruct the other side. The only problem will be the nose. It's still damaged in the blue channel, so I'll have to build it from what's left.

The blue channel has damage the other channels don't. The wooden horse looks horrible in the blue channel. What I'll have to do is use the parts of it that have the information I need, then blend it in, then repair the whole thing.

I'll try to post an update this evening.


Kenny :)

Ever feel like you've bitten off more than you can chew? That would be me, presently. I have to walk away from this one for the evening to save what's left of my sanity  :funny:


I really need advice on this one. Right now I'm working on the face, which is the hardest part for me. This is the original face:

(http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/1025/originalfacegw9.jpg)

This is the face partially restored:

(http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/2897/partiallyrepairedfacefo4.jpg)

I'm going to do the mouth last, so I really haven't done much to is thus far. My plan was to do half the face; copy, flip and use the good half to replace the damaged half. Well, it's not working out so hot. This is what I get :

(http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/5046/mirroredfaceam3.jpg)

As you can see, it doesn't look like him anymore. I made an animation for comparison purposes:

(http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3087/animatedfacepi2.gif)


The eye is the worst offender in my opinion. It looks to me like the original is much shorter, for lack of a better word. I don't know whether to just try to fix what's there without mirroring the right side, or try to fix the eye and the hairline, etc. I was able to get some information out of the blue channel, but not much.


Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks for looking :)


Kenny

Kenny -- All I can offer is moral support!  One difficulty with mirroring a face is that no one has a symmetrical face, and it's always fascinated me how different one side can look from the other.  Katrin Eismann has a few good tips, like making sure the flash dot is moved in the eye that's replicated to keep the person from looking cross-eyed.  Unless you can glean information from the channels or layer effects, you're gonna have a battle with this one.

I spent a lunch hour at work playing with layer effects, filters and channels, and sometimes details will come up in strange ways.  Sometimes converting to lab color mode and checking the light and the two color channels will help.  Also Lighting effects under filters has helped.

Good luck, bud!

GG

Hi Kenny

Excellent job up to now. As Glenna said if you check the channels you will find that the blue channel has less damage and it will give you a guideline. as you will see the boy's mouth is wide open.

Harvey

Hi Kenny,

You are doing a great job on a difficult subject, the thing I most notice in what you have done so far is that I think the Nose is a little too broad, and that may be effecting the look of the eye.

It will also look better when you restore the flow of his hair at the front, the other problem I have encountered using channels, overlaid to restore, is that it seem to destroy the natural texture of the image, compare the left side of the boys face in the original,l to what you have restored, that happened to me on the baby photo I did last, made it easy to recover detail, but when I had finished all the texture was destroyed and blotchy and I had to do it all again, or maybe I don't know how to do it properly, but this appears to be occurring in your image.

The horse should not be too much of a problem, quite a bit of good material to clone or paste, and the focus of interest is the child, all in all you are doing well, keep up the good work. :up2:

Max

I'm sick today so I'm taking a break. I couldn't stay away, though, so I'm checking in :P


Max, I've been thinking that very thing about the texture. It's rougher because I used the blue channel to build up the missing features. But, the blue channel is also blotchy. I'm thinking about trying to combine the two to make it better somehow.

On the nose.....yeah, I've basically just put a rudimentary nose on him until I can finalize the shape. The same goes for the hair. I hate doing hair, it's so hard to make it look natural.

Anyway, I've just got a 24 hour bug, my wife just got over it. (gee thanks hunny for giving it to me  :funny:)

I hope to get back to work tomorrow!



Kenny :)

Kenny, I hope you're feeling better.  I wanted to tell you that I played around with the little boy's image this evening - tried going to CMYK and looked at channels, ditto LAB.  Tried filters, effects and everything else I could come up with, and I have to agree with Harvey.  The blue channel in RGB gives you the best of what little detail you can glean from the obliterated side of his face.  I wish I could help more.

GG

Glenna,

Well, you confirmed that I'm on the right track at least :P

The blue channel gives me the most information on his face, but it's also the worst looking channel for the rest of the image. It also makes his skin really blotchy. I'll give it a try later on today if I feel better.



Kenny :)

Sorry I haven't been around for a couple days. Everyone here has been so sick. We're all doing a lot better now though, so worked on a project today.

I got this one a few days ago:

(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/65/originalmontefortewx5.jpg)


It's so damaged there's not much I can do with it without destroying his facial features. Here's what I've done:


(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/4614/take1de1.jpg)


Basically I just sampled part of the background and healed the whole thing with it. I realize there is something above his head, but it's so destroyed I felt like it was best to just have a nice clean background and focus on the gentleman.

His face is so faded I felt it would be easy to destroy what was there, so I just cleaned it up a little and fixed the damage on the clothes.

I would have liked to bring out more detail, but it simply wasn't there to bring out no matter how I tried. I think it looks pretty good, though. The owner will be able to recognize him and it's not so damaged anymore.

Comments and criticisms are welcomed, as usual  :loveit:


Kenny :)

Hi Kenny,

Nice job, can't see that you could have got any more out of that one, any work you did on the face would have destroyed any detail, only suggestion I can make, is that as there is no background detail maybe a crop off the top, a little closer to his head, may improve it.

Keep up the good work, you are performing wonders.

Max

Thanks, Max. I don't know about performing wonders, though. Lately it's more like plodding along while fighting an uphill battle  ;D.


I thought about the crop. I think I'll do that. It'll help frame him better.


Thanks  :loveit:


Kenny :)

Here it is with the crop:

(http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7554/take2fk2.jpg)


What do you think?


Kenny

Hi Kenny

I love what you did with this one.  The crop is perfect, and I think it's very appropriate that he looks so ethereal.

GG

Hi Kenny.

Looks good with the crop, actually the whole thing looks good, has that dreamy quality to it, and he looks as though he is looking up and communicating in thought with a higher authority. This is a perfect example of knowing when to stop, something I think I have yet to learn.


Max

Now, back to the one that's been kicking my butt. I keep working on the face. It gets that painted look so I use the ol' sandwich routine, it gets better, I restore some more...rinse, lather, repeat.

Here it is in it's current state:

(http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/9185/take1nf5.jpg)


Once I get the face done, it'll be downhill coasting on the rest.

I'm still plugging along, slowly but surely.

As usual, comments and criticisms are most welcome.


Kenny :)

I'm throwing this one back in the pile. The face is so damged :(

Hopefully, one of you with better drawing talents can fix it.


Kenny :)

Hi Kenny,

You have my condolences, I know how hard it is to have to give up when you have invested so much of yourself in the restoration, not just time and effort.
This falls into the category of those I feel should not have been accepted, had you a team of professional restorers it would be one thing, when you are depending mainly on the efforts of enthusiastic amateur volunteers it is another. Hopefully, come the new year we will have a new batch and be able to choose photos more suited to our individual abilities, in the mean time have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, get rested up and come out swinging next year.

Max