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05/30/2009 02:12:29 AM · #1 |
This is my husband's uncle. Such a sweet man and unfortunately dying of cancer. It is such a sad time for all of us. I was given a photo that had aged terribly and asked to repair it so they can use it for his military funeral. I've only tried to restore a photo a couple of times but not one this yellow/orange from fading. Here are my results (Photoshop is so awesome), the prints came out awesome! Any suggestions to make this better than it is?
Before
After
ETA .. this is Danny as of a week ago
Message edited by author 2009-05-30 02:14:44. |
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05/30/2009 03:51:51 AM · #2 |
Kat, far from being a expert, I think you did a remarkable job.. |
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05/30/2009 09:51:03 AM · #3 |
You might want to contact Brad. He's GREAT at this. |
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05/30/2009 11:03:16 AM · #4 |
I am sorry to hear about your husband's uncle. I lost my father to cancer almost 4 years ago now - and I remember the heartache of editing and repairing images of him after he passed.
I took a quick stab at your photo - the edit you posted had a very green tint to it. The good thing is that the photo image does not have a lot of reconstructive work to perform, but the deterioration of color was pronounced. Overall I think you did a great job with cleaning up and editing the image - it is really a color balance thing at this point.
I did a levels adjustment (and used the grey eyedropper) to perform a gross white balance adjustment. Since the various inks fade differently, I was unable to directly 'fix' the shot. After that i performed some Hue/Saturation, selective colors, and then some channel mixer adjustments to get the image in shape.
In addition, I took the edit you worked on (nice job with the clarity and vignette) and did some color adjustments using the same techniques as above (levels eye dropper), color balance, hue/sat, and selective color.

Message edited by author 2009-05-30 12:17:01. |
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05/30/2009 01:12:03 PM · #5 |
Thank you for the help bassbone . I was having a hard time adjusting the green and keeping the pink tones out. I'm going to print some 4x6 of your edit and take those with me today.
NathanW Yes, I know of Brad but didn't want to bother him since I got so close with my edit and the family was very happy with it.
I had such a hard time with the greens. When I'd try to adjust to tone them down a bit I'd get more pink than I wanted and could never seem to get the red in the flag right.
Thank you for the help, suggestions and comments!!
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05/30/2009 10:02:12 PM · #6 |
Ok .. changed my mind. I'm going to PM Brad because we all decided to get the stripes in the flag back to red, they are too pink and no matter what I do to correct it (short of painting it which I'm really bad at getting even coverage) I loose the colors I want in the rest of the picture.
We went to see Danny today, he's going downhill quickly and was not having a good day. He asked for a good bit of help which he normally does not like to do. He did love the restored picture and was very happy I was able to make it look like it does. He wants this framed for his funeral so I'm trying to do my best to get this looking good.
Help from anyone is very much appreciated because I just can't seem to get that red right. bassbone 's edit came so darn close but it still printed more on the pink side. |
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05/30/2009 10:27:58 PM · #7 |
Is this better? I might have messed up the other colors though, I'm not sure.
eta: yeah, I did. I can't get the colors to upload what they look like in photoshop. arrrghh!
Message edited by author 2009-05-30 22:30:02. |
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05/30/2009 10:58:32 PM · #8 |
Yup, you got the red in the flag but a bit in his coat too, same thing that keeps happening to me! |
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05/31/2009 01:09:29 AM · #9 |
I haven't got the skin tones right, and the rest is just guessing, plus there's a bit of red stripes near the edge I've missed, but are we getting closer?
R. |
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05/31/2009 01:13:02 AM · #10 |
Do you have the original scan available for someone to work with?
Matt |
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05/31/2009 01:38:30 AM · #11 |
Yes I have the original scan ... PM me for my email address! |
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05/31/2009 01:39:24 AM · #12 |
Robert, that looks awesome!!!! Skin tones are a bit red but I LOVE the edit!!!
ETA .... his eyes are light blue
Message edited by author 2009-05-31 01:39:55. |
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05/31/2009 01:46:56 AM · #13 |
Matt .. sent you an email
Robert ... you have my email if you want the original ... I need an 11x17 print of this for his funeral (not sure your edit will do that)
Thank you so much for the help!!!! I am frazzled driving an hour each way to see him as often as I can right now .. Hospice says he is going down hill fast because he's stopped eating :( |
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05/31/2009 02:24:35 AM · #14 |
Originally posted by Katmystiry: Matt .. sent you an email
Robert ... you have my email if you want the original ... I need an 11x17 print of this for his funeral (not sure your edit will do that)
Thank you so much for the help!!!! I am frazzled driving an hour each way to see him as often as I can right now .. Hospice says he is going down hill fast because he's stopped eating :( |
I just sent you an edit. Please let me know if there is anything more I need to do to it, or if I'm even going the right direction.
Matt

Message edited by author 2009-05-31 02:27:35. |
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06/04/2009 11:03:27 AM · #15 |
Better?
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06/04/2009 01:32:31 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Brad: Better?
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Well except she said his eyes are light blue, I'd say you rocked the edit.
Matt |
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06/04/2009 01:58:13 PM · #17 |
oops.
I didn't know his eyes were blue.
Fixed:
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06/04/2009 02:03:13 PM · #18 |
Brad did an awesome job on this. I am so happy with the colors. I did email him about the eyes because they are light blue in real life. I can't wait to show the family and Danny.
He is not doing well. We went to see him yesterday. He's coughing a lot, very sick to his stomach and his weight loss was alarming in a 4 day period. Hospice started him on morphine last night and I know this is not a good sign :( |
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06/04/2009 02:04:31 PM · #19 |
Thank you Brad!!!! I'm waiting for the fixed version to arrive in email!! You are so awesome!!! |
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06/04/2009 04:56:37 PM · #20 |
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06/05/2009 12:57:51 AM · #21 |
Thank you Nathan.
Brad, the edit came out so well I have sent it off to Canvas On Demand for a canvas print to be displayed at the funeral and so his mother can hang it in her home. I can't thank you enough for the hard work you put into this for us. |
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06/05/2009 05:06:43 AM · #22 |
Happy to lend a helping hand in this.
Just pay it forward someday with this in mind:
When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream,
whose face we may never see, will benefit from our action, even as we enjoy the
fruits sent to us from a donor upstream. |
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06/05/2009 06:32:29 AM · #23 |
Originally posted by Brad: Happy to lend a helping hand in this.
Just pay it forward someday with this in mind:
When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream,
whose face we may never see, will benefit from our action, even as we enjoy the
fruits sent to us from a donor upstream. |
That, my friend, is SO SO true and exactly how I live my life now
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06/05/2009 09:24:27 PM · #24 |
It is with great sadness that I let you all know that Danny passed away from his cancer this evening shortly after 6 pm :(
Thank you everyone for your help with his portrait. It will hang proudly beside his casket at his military funeral. |
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06/05/2009 09:36:05 PM · #25 |
Kat,
I am so sorry about your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
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