For some, an old photograph loses its charm when "restored" to modern day clarity with all the age spots removed. Some photographs however, benefit greatly from just a nudge of enhancement. An improved contrast or the reversal of the yellowing brings out details that otherwise would have been missed and lost forever.
To please both camps of those of us who rescue old photographs, here are both the originals and the enhanced of just a few of the latest additions to Lost Gallery.
This one was enlarged slightly in relation to the mounting board.
Can't get enough?
Look back at these previous pages on ENHANCEMENT
Enhancement: Looking for Lost Details - March 2011
Enhancement: Looking for Lost Details - April 2011
Enhancement: Looking for Lost Details - May 2011
Enhancement: Looking for Lost Details - June 2011
Enhancement: Looking for Lost Details - August 2011
Enhancement: Looking for Lost Details - September 2011
And there's more!
Go back to THE MAIN INDEX PAGE
There are now more than 8,000 photographs in the Lost Gallery.Or try out the NEW BACK PAGE INDEX
The most popular photographs
An album of the most requested photographs in the Lost Gallery.
Area 51 and a Half 
You are probably not authorized to see these.
Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! 
This is a collection of photographs that disappear on the way home from the photo processing shop.
And don't miss
Cabinet Card Gallery
Everyday Ago
Forgotten Faces and Long Ago Places
Forgotten Old Photos
Penny Tales
Square America
Tattered and Lost
Vernacular Photography
The best
FOUND PHOTOGRAPH
sites on the web.
And for postcards try
THE DAILY POSTCARD.
All images are the property of Lost Gallery and the author. Permission must be granted for their use. All rights reserved.
THE KIDS
It is always a mystery how a photograph of any of these precious children could end up lost or abandoned. Here are a few. You will probably say "Ooh..." at least once.
Dee and the Business School
The beautiful Dee. A curious story; What do you see?
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
"What are they doing?"
I LOVE seeing the images as the original owner would have seen them. Instead of just stepping back in time it makes you feel like you're behind the lens.
ReplyDeleteChild with large drink? What the heck is going on with that kids stomach???
And I love the third one down. "The Claw!" See it at your local drive-in theatre.
Very interesting, I'm still a bit undecided as to what is best. I agree that clarity is improved but sometime charm is lost. I suppose, having both original and copies gives the best of all worlds.
ReplyDeleteI note that my parents weren't the only ones to practice the art of tiny subjects in massive backgrounds.
Until I enlarged the picture of the two youngsters on the mountain, I thought it was a Scotsman in a kilt with a long staff and a child to left.
Thanks Tattered and Lost. You are exactly right: seeing the images as the original owner would have seen them. Sometimes hidden details emerge revealing the real reason for the photograph.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe a sudden breeze might have billowed the child’s play smock. But the enhancement didn’t reveal what I really wanted to know: What is in the child’s left hand?
“The Claw!” You’re right! I can just see the lobby cards now.
Thanks Mike Burnett. I feel the same way. I would rather see the original, faded, yellowed, wrinkled and torn. It gives me the feel of its journey to our time. But I can’t resist looking for the details that have been lost along the way. I seldom “repair” the photograph, ironing out the wrinkles and scratches; I just remove the yellowing and sometimes bump the contrast a bit. Nothing else. I’m just looking for details I might have missed otherwise. None of the photographs on this page benefitted from that as much as some on this page: http://lostgallery.blogspot.com/2011/03/enhancement-looking-for-details.html
Yes, standing too far from or too close to the subject was/is a common flaw of the amateur photographer.
As long as we save them. That's our greedy goal.
ReplyDeleteYes, Tattered and Lost, agreed.
ReplyDelete