Resurrecting the Dead

The tittle is not intended to be taken literally. In fact, my grandmother has been passed away for quite some time now, and I do not want the tittle to be take irreverently either. Ok... Enough of the disclaimer!

In my quest to move my images from one hard drive to another, I have fallen victim to the dreaded memory lane syndrome. I was doing very well until I saw this image and it screamed MAKE ME ALIVE! Kind of in the context of the Frankensteinian It's Alive! quote.

Alright, I'll stop bashing my grandmother, she was not exactly Frankenstein. So the image above was actually in pretty good shape for a scan of eight or ten years ago. I took some time, err, a break from my Lightroom two step and brought it into Photoshop to see what I could make of the image. Look at the layers panel below to see what all transpired.

The Layer 0 copy is something I just always do when editing in PS to keep it ultimately non-destructive. Besides it provides a great before and after image. On the copies layer I did some spot healing but it did not take much to get it looking good. The Levels adjustment layer brought the haziness out of the image and better set the shadows and highlights where I wanted them.

I did not want to do a complete colorization of the image but thought a slight effect would add a nice effect. To get the skin the right color took two different layers and the key here is to use a Soft Light blending mode and adjust the opacity of each layer. This is a slight juggling act to get them both just right but it is definitely a season to taste effect. I had to leave the lips, eyes, and brow alone in the colorization and come back to them seperately.

Now here is the creepy part. I was sitting there putting digital makeup on a photo of my dead grandmother. I have no idea how old the image was but it must have been at least 95 or 100 years old. Anyhow, here is the final result. Hopefully I gave it the respectful treatment it is due.

It is not a full colorization nor is it a duotone but it is definitely better than an aged black and white print. So Ansel Adams may be rolling over in his grave for toying with a B&W but he can take it up with my grandmother.

Cya... Doug