just an old-fashioned girl

Hello and welcome. I'm glad you dropped by. If you´re looking for something a little nostalgic of bygone eras with a timeless elegance and a little modern twist – in other words, something slightly “retro” – then you should feel right at home here in my shabby chic room. Month by month, there will always be something new to see so I hope you´ll enjoy your stay and come back again soon.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Sitting Pretty

I love and treasure all my old sepia photos. I find it incredible that they´ve survived for so long and how amazingly detailed they are when you consider how relatively primitive old cameras were. Of course they´ve faded somewhat over time but Photoshop can bring them back to radiant life with just a few mouse clicks and any little imperfections can be just as easily camouflaged. Something else I like about them is that it´s such fun to imagine what they´d look like in colour...and then just go ahead and use any colour I want. When I colour sepia tinted clothes it reminds me of the dressing dolls I used to play with as a child and it´s so enjoyable that it goes some way to making up for the fact that in many cases I´ve no idea where and when the photo was taken. In the one below all I know is that it´s one of many I have of my Aunt Lucas – in case you don´t already know, that´s the elegant lady sitting at the top of this blog – but I have no idea who her friend is, when or where the photo was taken or by whom. I think that she´s wearing the same coat as above, but as I haven´t a clue what colour it really was, I´ve made it green this time though I suppose I could have used purple or brown or anything else that took my fancy.

(And, before you ask, yes my aunt was really called Lucas. All I know is that it´s an old family name and I can only assume it was originally Lucasta which apparently dates from the 17th century and means pure light.)

So here she is, my elegant aunt and her friend, sitting pretty and trapped in a brief moment in time (can it really be?) over 3/4 of a century ago.

8 comments:

  1. You do such a beautiful job of restoring your old photos. I like the change of scenery for the ladies.

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  2. I wish I had your patience......... Love how the color stands out, and at the same time, is part of the picture :-)

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  3. What an impeccable job of restoring then extracting your aunt and her friend. I love how even though you colored them, they still look vintage. Really great job!

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  4. Very nice Helen, I never realised what a pretty Mum I had. That friend is Nan Black, she was a secret friend as, would you believe it, she was a (divorcee). Oh the scandal of it. It would be around 1942 I guess so she would be 24.

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  5. Thanks for that, Neville. I remember the name because my own mother often mentioned that Nan Black was a friend of her sister´s. Nice to put a name to the - scandalous! - face.

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  6. Love this. I have done extractions and colorization and can so appreciate the time involved. The wonderful results surely makes the effort put forth rewarding. I also love the pencil like sketch and writing of the background!

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  7. Wonderful work Helen, love the colouring.

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