Nowadays, we carry some sort of photography equipment with us every day, and even the worst phone camera is way more advanced than the ones used in the 1900s. To revive those vintage black-and-white images, Sebastien de Oliveira has been colorizing them and giving them new appeal and interest.
Previously, Sebastien shared a bit about the complexities of his colorizing technique: “Let’s say that I observe a lot how the light works on objects—the reflections, the transparency, the temperature of the light—and all the different interactions between them, and I've found a technical way to reproduce them. The system involves colorizing not only each different object but also the different grays that compose each object."
We can only wonder what the future generation will do to update our photos to make them feel more alive, but for now, let's take a look at the colors hiding behind the photos of the past.
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#1
Actress Clara Bow Photographed In 1927
#2
1947 Ford Bubble Glass Top
#3
A Young Girl Read A Comic Book At A Supermarket, Anchorage, Alaska, 1958
#4
Rita Hayworth, Photographed In 1941 By George Hurrel
#5
Three Women Eating Spaghetti On Inflatable Mattresses At Capri, 1939. Photographed By Hamilton Wright
#6
November 22, 1963. Overview Of Crowds Of People Waving As President John F. Kennedy And His Wife Sit In Back Of Limousine During Procession Through Downtown Dallas, Texas; Texas Governor John Connally And His Wife Ride In The Limousine’s Jump Seats
#7
James Stewart On The Phone At His Father’s Hardware Store, 1945. Photographed By Peter Stackpole
#8
A Couple In Formal Evening Wear Pose For A Fashion Shoot At Night In New York’s Times Square, 1959
#9
Rochester, New York. "Mr. Babcock Tuning In For War News." September 1942 Photo By Ralph Amdursky
#10
November 1942. "Lititz, Pennsylvania. Small Town In Wartime. Mrs. Julian Bachman At Home With Her Family. She’s Twenty-Three, Has Been Married One Year, And Works At The Animal Trap Company From 7 To 4. Her Husband Is In Officer Candidate School Of The U.S. Army Air Corps In Kentucky, So She Lives With Her Parents. Her Brother Is Sixteen And In High School." Photographed By Marjory Collins
#11
Civil Air Patrol Student, Taking A Sunbath At The Silver Lake Airfield, Baker California, 1944
#12
Carol Van Aken Snacking Pickles And Coca Cola Between Meals In Tallahassee, Florida. 1957
#13
Steve Macqueen Get Into His Corvette Stingray. Photographed In 1966
#14
Amelia Earhart With Her Cord 812 Phaeton Car And Her Lockheed Airplane, 1937
#15
Oldsmobile Coupe, 1928
#16
Sinclair Gasoline Station At Night, San Augustine, Texas. Photographed By Russell Lee In April 1939
#17
A Young Woman Talks To Her Boy Friend After Her Evening's Work As A Cinema Usherette. Photographed By Bert Hardy, Engand, 1954
#18
Dorothy Lamour In 1939. Photographed By Everett
#19
Workers At A Carbon Black Plant. Sunday, Texas. Photographed In November 1942 By John Vachon
#20
No Caption Found For This Group Of 14 Teenagers Photographed In The 40’s
#21
Essex Street And Henry Street, Lower East Side, New York City Photographed By Marion Trikosko The 4th November 1959
#22
Nevada Test Site Forces Relaxing On A Military Leave In Las Vegas, Photographed In 1950
#23
Sunset On The Place De La Concorde, Paris, 1960
#24
A Young Liza Minelli Helps Herself To Some Christmas Treats At A Children’s Party. 1947
#25
Florette Reading On The Annecy Lake, 1943. Photographed By Jacques Henri Lartigue
#26
June 1922. Spectators At The Brooklands Racing Circuit, Surrey, (UK)
#27
Sentry Posted Outside Of House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, East Front. Washington, D.c., 1942. Office Of War Information
#28
Passengers Having A Sunbath On The Wings Of The Plane. All Aboard The Incredible Flying Yacht, Circa 1950
#29
Street Scene And Movie Theater, Lancaster, Ohio, USA,, August 1938 Photographed By Ben Shahn
#30
Ava Gardner Photographed In 1948
#31
Kennett, Dunklin County, Missouri. Courthouse Square, Photographed By Arthur Rothstein In July 1942
#32
Having Fun At The Gas Station, 1940
#33
September 1941. Yakima, Washington. "Migratory Agricultural Workers In Shack Towns, Tents, And Trailers. Boys Looking For Work Wait For The Washington State Employment Service Office To Open In The Morning." Photo By Russell Lee For The Farm Security Administration
#34
Traffic Officer Ticketing A Badly Parked Car On The Champs Elysées, Paris. Photographed In 1960
#35
Al Anderson And Ot Huston, 1910, Photographed By Lora Webb Nichols
#36
Lauren Bacall And Humphrey Bogart Photographed In 1947
#37
Patriotic Girl From 1924
#38
September 1952. "Man In An Airport Control Tower Looking At Radar Screen." Photographed By Phillip Harrington
#39
Chidren From Detroit, Michigan. Photographed By John Vachon. August 1942
#40
Lititz Springs Pretzel Company Lewis C.haines Owner And His Son Bob. Lititz, Pennsylvania. Photographed By Marjory Collins In November 1942
#41
Boys Playing Water Basketball In Frog Pond. Boston Common Circa 1920. Photographer Unknown
#42
Dorothy Malone And Robert Stack In The Film "The Tarnished Angels" By Douglas Sirk, 1958
#43
Carrie Fisher And Anthony Daniels Dancing During Production Of The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
#44
Oldsmobile Touring Car, San Francisco, Photographed In 1920
#45
California State Automobile Association Official Mechanical, First Aid And Towing Service Station, Northern California, 1927
#46
Preparing For The Landing, 1944
#47