The new Pixel By Pixel site has been live for two months now so I thought it was about time the Pixel By Pixel Blog came online too. Here I would like to share with you a selection of the images I am fortunate enough to restore and retouch, as well as the occasional tutorial for those who would like to learn restoration themselves.
It was a difficult task choosing images for the web site. I receive so many gorgeous images to enhance and accompanying some of them, the story of their origin.
These images were presented to me a few months ago by the Dorrigo RSL Sub Branch in NSW. A member of the branch purchased the photos at a clearance sale about ten years ago for $2.00 each. What an amazing find!
The photographs document a recruiting/enlistment event at the Dorrigo Showgrounds in 1915. The procession was making its way across the bridge over the Bielsdown River (current bridge is in the same location) to the showgrounds. The prominent building on the right hand side of the road is the Dorrigo Hotel (Top Pub) and the one behind the shed on the left is the Commercial Hotel (Bottom Pub). They are still both in existence today.
The horse women were known as the Dorrigo Grenadiers and they performed at shows and events…no military connection. The procession image shows the 15 men who had enlisted followed by Lady Britannia on the wagon then the town band followed by the Grenadiers and the local citizenry.
Of those 15 men, we know of 6 who were killed during World War 1…their names are on the Dorrigo Monument that was erected by the town in 1921 at the intersection near the Top Pub.
Thank you to Bob Denner and the Dorrigo RSL Sub Branch for trusting me to restore your images and allowing me to share them.
Recruiting/enlistment event at Dorrigo, NSW in 1915. Original image
Recruiting/enlistment event at Dorrigo, NSW in 1915. Image restored by Carol Heath, Pixel By Pixel
Recruiting/enlistment event at Dorrigo, NSW in 1915. Original Image
Recruiting/enlistment event at Dorrigo, NSW in 1915. Image restored by Carol Heath, Pixel By Pixel
the Dorrigo Grenadiers, 1915. Original image
the Dorrigo Grenadiers, 1915. Image restored by Pixel By Pixel
The Dorrigo Grenadiers, 1915. Original image
The Dorrigo Grenadiers, 1915. Image restored by Pixel By Pixel
I prefer to scan my images for restoration where possible but with this one, it simply wasn’t an option…..for two reasons;
The image was presented to me while on holidays. I didn’t have access to my scanner or computer and even if I did it would have involved removing the image from the deeply matted frame it has been housed in for approximately 80 Years. Here within lies my second dilemma. On close inspection, I noticed that there was barely a section of the image which did not have emulsion peeling away from the fibre base of the image. Some of the emulsion appeared bubbled. The original image was so fragile. If I did attempt to remove it from the frame it may very well have resulted in further damage. Removing an image such as this from a frame is the type of job best reserved for a conservator or specialist framer.
Making the most of available resources, I re-photographed the image using available light, black fabric to reduce reflections from the large frame and a borrowed tripod, I then set upon the task of restoring. This involved a great deal of cloning, healing, burning and dodging. Like most things, the best results are achieved with time and patience…certainly the case here.
original photograph of Albert Green, Walcha
photograph of Albert Green, restored by Carol Heath, Pixel By Pixel
Thank you to the Green Family for trusting me with this image. It was a challenge but absolute pleasure to restore.
Polaroid photos have never been noted for their superior quality and the one taken of my son today at the MCG by organisers of the cricket clinic he attended with the Victorian Bushrangers is no exception. In fact, it’s pretty horrible. The composition and lighting are fine and it’s a great memento of my son enjoying his time on the “hallowed turf’ but it is reminiscent of Polaroid photos I have restored, taken 30 years ago that have aged and suffered over the years. Perhaps old film stock, stored incorrectly is to blame? Perhaps this particular camera / film combination is not capable of anything better? I can only say that we were a little disappointed as I waited eagerly for his image to appear after reassuring him that “Polaroid photos just take a little time”.
It’s times like this I am grateful for my photo editing skills; a quick levels and curves adjustment, a bit of scratch removal, some colour burn and dodge, a new border and volia!…. a somewhat improved photograph for him to add to his collection.
Of course I did take my own camera along and took more than just a few snaps to add to the family photo album…..but there are no ‘before and afters’ to show you with those.
There are numerous methods for sharpening an image in Photoshop. The High Pass filter is one of my favourites. This short video tutorial demonstrates just how easy it is. I’m using Photoshop CS5 in this tutorial, but the same method applies to Photoshop Elements or other versions of Photoshop.
This is my first video tutorial. I know the quality is not fantastic and I know that it runs for more than five minutes. Oops!
I’d love your feedback regardless. Would you like to see more quick Photoshop tutorials? (When I figure out a better way of recording and displaying them that is).
PS. If you’re a whizz at video recording and broadcasting via web, I’d love your thoughts on the best software for recording and method for embedding video into my blog posts.
I use this image in my Photo Restoration courses. It is badly stained and on first glance, looks like it would take hours to restore. And had I scanned it as a greyscale image it probably would.
But I never scan photographic images in greyscale. I’m a big fan of RGB (red, green blue). Let me show you why;
This is the original image scanned and saved as an RGB file. Looks pretty bad. That horrible reddish/yellow stain covers most of the image.
But take the time to inspect each of the individual colour channels and you might be pleasantly surprised.
This is the blue channel…no pleasant surprises here;
The green channel isn’t much better. At least I can see more of the image but there is nothing to get excited about here either;
But look at the Red Channel! This is where you can get excited. It’s hard to believe this is the same (unedited) image. The image I originally thought would take quite a few hours to restore will now only take about an hour! There are obviously still areas of damage which require my attention and I will need to do some clever editing to replace the blue and green channels but it is easily done…without losing any hair.And here it is restored (with a sepia tone applied).
Now, had I scanned this image as a greyscale file, this is what I would have had to work with. No hidden surprises lying within colour channels. What you see is what you get: Hmmm, no thanks.
So the moral to this story, which lacks technical info but instead just uses pictures to demonstrate is……….Scan your images for restoration as RGB, even if they are black and white images. Whilst miraculous results like these cannot be achieved with all images, that extra colour data increases your chances and may just save a few hairs.
The answer is yes but sadly I don’t need to ask to know that one of these babies would be beyond my budget.
Among the many tasks I perform at Pixel By Pixel is flat lay product photography. You know? those images of clothing you see in catalogues and in online stores? Designers, manufacturers and online retailers send me their collections and I photograph, edit and optimise their images for web, removing backgrounds and ensuring the images are an accurate depiction of the real item. I also edit images that many of my clients take themselves.
Flat lay photography is not at all difficult, but it can be tricky maintaining even lighting, minimising wrinkles, achieving accurate colour reproduction and emphasising textural qualities of the fabric. I also find it hard on the back, styling each item, photographing it then replacing it with the next. Despite the term, “flat lay”, I often photograph items on a board placed at a 45 degree angle, held in place with a slip resistant fabric and if necessary, pins (size of garment permitting). My studio lighting and tripod are set at an angle to compliment this set-up.
Garment Photographed for The Enchanted Child.
Yesterday I discovered StyleShoots, an innovation by the Dutch company iShopShape. All I can say is you will need to see this for yourself. Watch the video. Even if you are not a photographer or image editer, I’m sure you’ll be impressed. If you have ever spent hours bending over, styling and photographing flat lay images, then hours in front of your computer, stylus in hand creating clipping paths and masking backgrounds from garments with lace, tulle, feathers and such, you will dream of owning one of these, just like I do.
Hmmm, I wonder how long I would have to save up for one of these?
A few months ago, Trish from Amby Baby Hamocks contacted me requesting images for the front page of her new website. She had already had the product images taken for her shopping cart but wanted inviting, fresh, bright images for the front page. This is after all the first impression that visitors to her website would have and she wanted to make sure it was a good one. She found a lovely location and a couple of gorgeous, pint sized models. Here are just a few images from our shoot;
Congratulations on the new website Trish. It looks great!
I come across quite a few images like this one; quite obviously treasured by the owner but in need of a little TLC. Restoration wasn’t particularly difficult in this case but it was time consuming. There really aren’t any shortcuts when it comes to repairing damage like this. Each tiny crease and crack in the emulsion needs to be cloned and healed, ‘pixel by pixel’. The lady’s face was a little tricky but thankfully a reference passport photograph taken of her when she was older was supplied which clearly showed the shape of her jawline and lips. This made my job a little easier. Comparing the end result with the original image and then delivering that restored image is just one of the things I just love about my job and when I receive feedback like this, it makes it even more rewarding;
“Hi Carol, You have done a wonderful restoration job. The restored face of my Grandmother is fantastic. Extremely impressed. It is amazing how a badly damaged photo can be restored so well. I thank you so much for your time, effort and great care in restoring a most precious photo of my Mum’s family.”
Thank You Theo for that great feedback and allowing me to share your image.
It’s that time of the year again. I have been busy editing last minute jobs, many of them restored photographs intended as gifts and quite a few family portraits intended for Christmas cards and gifts. Now however it is time to put down the stylus and enjoy a few days off.
Fitting the theme of Christmas, I thought I would share a project that is very close to me; My nine year old son just loves Lego. He also joined Cub Scouts earlier this year. A while ago he started creating the alphabet from Lego. Soon the entire family became involved and before we knew it, we had a created the entire alphabet in Lego. I did the photography and editing of course.
Alphabet Chat in Lego by Addison Heath
It wasn’t long before Addie’s Project evolved and with the help of his family, little sister included, a series of greeting cards was created. He sold these at a local Scouts Christmas Market earning his first Cub Scouts badge. He also sold some to friends and at his school plus a few posters and cards on his Redbubble page.
So, on behalf of my Family and Pixel By Pixel, I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year (with a sampling of my Son’s Lego greetings cards).
The way we restore photographs today is quite different to the way images were restored before computers, but the concept remains the same. Some restorations are purely objective; the image has obvious damage with an obvious restoration solution. Spots, tears and scratches are repaired, mould and stains removed and sometimes, the ‘jigsaw’ is pieced back together. On most occassions this is quite straight forward. On others however a more subjective approach to the image is required to first interpret what the original may have looked like and then repair it. Sometimes a little guess work is required.
This was the case with this photograph of Ocean Chelman, presented to me for restoration by his Great Grandaughter Aileen. There are no living relatives who knew Ocean personally so sadly there is no-one we could call upon to describe his features. Instead, we used images of his descendants as a guide (especially for the shape of his nose) and a copy of the image which had previously been restored using traditional methods. I applaud the restoration effort of the original restorer (name unknown). He or she would have had to make a copy negative of the original image, print it then ‘paint’ in the missing details.
My approach was a little different. I first cut my digital copy of the image in half where it was cracked and repositioned the two pieced so they aligned as closely as they could. I enhanced the exposure and repaired those obvious spots, scratches, etc. I then rebuilt his face using texture and luminosity samples from other sections of the image and created new features using burning and dodging techniques, a little like drawing I guess.
Aileen is currently searching archives for more images of Ocean. I am keen to see what she finds. I would love to know how closely we were able to render a likeness. This was definitely a challenge but a most enjoyable one. Thank you for trusting me with your image Aileen.
Apart form one short course back in 2000, I am completely self taught when it comes to Photoshop. I learnt from necessity when I was teaching in high schools, staying just one step ahead of my tech savvy students. It wasn’t until I started my business and in particular restoring photographs that I realised how little I knew about this amazing program.
It was a series of books which taught me most of what I knew about Photo Restoration during those early days. Of course I have learnt a great deal since then…..I am always learning. Each new image introduces a new challenge.
I am often asked which books I would recommend to those wishing to learn how to restore photographs.
This snapshot shows just a few of the Photoshop restoration and retouching books I love they just happen to be available from my Amazon store as well. All books in my store ship from Amazon in the US. You may be surprised at just how affordable they are, even with shipping.
By far the best restoration book I have ever read is Katrin Eismann’s “Photoshop Restoration and Retouching”. (Note the numerous yellow ‘post it’ tabs on the copy I first learnt from). The most recent version is now a few years old. It was written for CS2 however the content still applies to more recent versions of Photoshop (and even Photoshop Elements). You can even download the images Katrin uses in her lessons so you can complete the very comprehensive, step by step tutorials in the book.
Katrin’s Photoshop Masking and Compositing book is equally as impressive.
Another fantastic restoration book in my collection is Ctein’s, “Digital Restoration from Start to Finish”. This is a more ‘technical’ book which outlines all aspects of copying, restoring and archiving your images. I recently attended a webinar where he explained some of the techniques he demonstrates in his book. Since then I have adopted new processes in my restoration workflow, especially applying to colour correction.
I also like Scott Kelby’s books, in particular one of his recent offerings, “Professsional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers using Photoshop” and Matt Kloskowski’s recent publication, “Photoshop Compositing Secrets “. All books are jammed full of step by step tutorials and screenshots to assist the reader. I should note that Scott Kelby’s retouching book is aimed at Photographers, not high-end photo retouchers. His techniques are designed to enable productive workflow to photographers who do not have hours to spend on a single image. He has a huge collection of books, all of which I find very easy to read. He writes, just as he would speak.
With each new version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements new books arrive on the scene. I usually add them to my Amazon store as I hear about them but I cannot claim to have read them all. The books listed above are books I own and can recommend.
Have you stumbled upon any great restoration or retouching books?
