Tofu's Workshop

[Tofu]

This is my first OPR photo!  It was rated as a moderate.  It's not visible in this smaller version but there were A LOT of white water spots all over the image.  But I think the rating was from the weird haze over the upper right corner. 

At first I thought it was a satin curtain sheen.  Now I know it's not as it goes over the subjects' hair.  So how do I fix it?  Warning I use GIMP and/or Macromedia Fireworks 8 so Photoshop-specific instructions will mean little to me.

Also.  The white "thing" by the man's leg seems to be an original object in the photo.  Should I remove it?  And by the hand at the left edge is a gray area.  I can't tell if it's original or damage.  Input would be appreciated.  Larger image is easier to tell what I mean but I don't have the server space to store it on.  I can email the original (and current restore) if anyone wants to see what I'm referring to in the photo(s).

Original:


Current State:

[pcraft]

Hi Tofu...  This looks like a difficult image..  You've done well so far.  I don't think it would hurt to remove that white thing beside the man's leg... And I think the grey below the hand at the left is damage... 

[beckysell]

Try the color replacement tool found under the paintbrush.  Has been a good tool for me in discolored spots in the past, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but can help to downplay spots of bad color a bit.  Also, one something like the background, (this ones a little tough because it's fairly sharp) try a copy tool with a low opacity just to help smooth out discolored edges.

[happyheart]

I'm not familiar with GIMP, but does it have tools like Hue/Saturation and Masking?  If so, you could possibly use a Hue/Saturation layer with a black mask on the bottom portion.  You could increase the saturation on the top to bring it closer to the bottom portion.  Then healing tool of some type could be used to blend the two areas.  You could also possibly blend the two halves with a slight Gaussian blur.  Use black to mask any areas you don't want the blur to affect.

I would suggest that this image is a perfect candidate for cropping also.  The hand and table expanse on the left does nothing for the image, and would eliminate a lot of repair.  I agree that the white thing by the leg, could easily be eliminate from the image.  It can't be anything too important.

[drcode]

Overall, it looks like a great restoration...

that "purple" area on the upper left I find distracting in the final picture I find distracting to the composition, hovever... I would treat this really aggressively by splitting the picture in two areas via a lasso: those with the purple gloss, and those without it) using some feathering on the lasso to avoid ugly seam. Then put the "purple" part in a separate layer and fix levels/contrast/hue/etc so that it matches the other parts seamlessly without the purple hue....

[Mark Wilson]

I reckon that purple area is a reflection. Don't forget that hese images were photographed not scanned.

Tofu, I love your signature  ;D

-Mark.