Thursday, November 19, 2015

Out of the Darkness - Rescuing Old Tintypes - Page One

Rescuing some old tintypes.

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 who rescue old photographs, here are both the originals and the enhanced of just a few of the latest additions to Lost Gallery.

The old tintypes need a little boost sometimes. Instead of fading, the light parts of the photograph darken. By nature, a tintype is a bit dark to begin with.

Eventually, over time, depending on the care given them, they are lost in the dark shadows of obscurity. Here are a few that were brought back by adjusting the contrast a bit.

They are enlarged slightly for this page too. It's for the details.

And here are some other BACK PAGES featuring the TINTYPE photograph:
Tintypes - Page Three
Tintypes - Page Two
Tintypes - Page One (This One)
And here are some interesting examinations:
Out of the Darkness - Look what I found
Out of the Darkness - A Set from a Bag
Out of the Darkness - Special Group

Tintype: Two Children
Tintype: Two Children


woman in fringed chair
woman in fringed chair
Tintype woman and child
Tintype woman and child

20110413 tintype man w stripe tie orig
Man with Striped Tie
Girl in fringed chair
Girl in fringed chair

Man with Watch chain
Man with Watch chain
This one really improved.
Man with cigar
Man with cigar

20101210 Gerald and EJ orig

This is like a tintype except it is not on tin. It is on a black card that looks like a stiff sheet of plastic. It is poorly trimmed and very small, about 1.5 x 2.5 inches.

I am not certain if the stain in the lower right is on the photo or IN the photo.

20101210 Gerald and EJ orig


Another thing different about this one is that it is a candid snapshot not a carefully posed studio portrait. New materials, faster cameras.

Gerald and EJ

Boy with Hat
Boy with Hat
Small Girl
Small Girl



The tiny tintypes were often placed in a paper matting as you see here. The mat made them less likely to be lost and the actual surface of the print was handled less.

Here, only the photo was enhanced slightly, the matting was left as it is to retain the feeling of its age.

Young man with bow tie
Young man with bow tie

Bearded man
Bearded man
Man with bow tie.
Man with bow tie.

Woman with book
Woman with book
Woman with necklace
Woman with necklace

Man with beard
Man with beard
Now, is that a beard or a fancy collar?
This one wasn't too bad to begin with.
Man with chair
Man with chair

No nonsense
No nonsense.
tintype on plastic board


This one I took a bit further. All tintypes are actually reverse-image because of the nature of the process. The photograph is actually the negative. (The shirt buttons are on the left.)

So this one was reversed to correct that and then converted to grayscale. A few more details emerged.

tintype detail
Although you can make out where the belt loops are stitched and see a four hole button peeking out, the detail of the buckle is still obscured.


Man seated
Man seated
Woman with Hat
Woman with Hat

Tintype woman
Tintype woman
Tintype woman with hat
Tintype woman with hat
Yes, I repaired this one just a bit.

tintype woman with jumper
tintype woman with jumper
20130913 20120911 Buhler  kns006
20130913 20120911 Buhler  kns006en

Tintype girl and doll
Tintype girl and doll
Portrait of a man
Portrait of a man

Tintype
Tintype
Lady in Chair
Lady in Chair

The most popular photographs most popular, Family Group, An album of the most requested photographs in the Lost Gallery.

Area 51 and a Half Area 51 and a Half You are probably not authorized to see these.

Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! completely unaware of the photographer This is a collection of photographs that disappear on the way home from the photo processing shop.

And don't miss
Cabinet Card Gallery
One Man's Treasure
Penny Tales
Square America
Tattered and Lost
Vernacular Photography
The best
FOUND PHOTOGRAPH
sites on the web.

And for postcards try
THE DAILY POSTCARD.
POSTCARDY

All images are the property of Lost Gallery and the author. Permission must be granted for their use. All rights reserved.

THE KIDS Lesson one. 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 Dee and the Business School
The beautiful Dee. A curious story; What do you see?

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
Neiffel and Helvetica Typehigh

"What are they doing?"

2 comments:

  1. Really enjoying all of these fixer-uppers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tattered and Lost. It's sometimes surprising how much just a little nudge will improve them.

      Delete

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