TO TINT OR NOT TO TINT - A GOOD QUESTION

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Personally, if done well, I like tinted photographs but “done well” is an important qualification.  A colorized photo overdone is not so pretty.  I’ve included a sample of that in this post.  I’ve also included at least one very odd colorization.  Anyway, that’s enough.  On we go . . .  

My Great Grandmother, Ella Chase Taylor (seated), with her younger sister Eliza Taylor.  Only a blush of pink on their cheeks, and pink on their ties and hair bows, but even that little bit makes a difference.

My mother, Lillian Adelle Whitney, at age 17.

I hadn’t thought of it in years, but this tinted photo of her reminds me of a song she used to sing around the house:

“Alice Blue Gown” from the 1919 musical, “Irene”

In my sweet little Alice blue gown
When I first wander'd down into town
I was both proud and shy
As I felt ev'ry eye
But in ev'ry shop window I'd primp, passing by
Then in a manner of fashion I'd frown
And the world seemed to smile all around
Till it wilted I wore it
I'll always adore it
My sweet little Alice blue gown

Judy Garland...Alice Blue Gown - YouTube

(I don't remember my Mom jazzing it up, though.)

A sepia photo of me when I was around 2 yrs old.

And this is the color tinted version.  Color really does add so much more life to a photo.

A color-tinted photo of my Mom’s younger brother, my Uncle Jim, when he was in the Navy in 1943.

My husband’s black & white portrait round about 1952 when he would have been 12. 

What a difference a little bit of advice from the photographer, no doubt to smile with lips closed to hide the braces, and button up the shirt.  He looks at least two years older than he does in the first photo.

I found this photo online so I don’t know who this is, but the colorization of this photo seems overdone.

Look Ma, no hands.  A bouquet pinned to a bride’s gown was kind of a ‘thing’ back when, I guess.  My husband’s grandmother had her bouquet pinned to her wedding gown in 1909, but to the bodice of her gown which actually looked pretty.   This gal has hers pinned at the waistline which looks kind of odd?  The colorization of the photo isn’t bad, but maybe the coloring of the tree behind her should have been softened a bit?  Her pink dress was done well, I think.  For some reason, most of the tinted photographs I saw when roaming the internet had women in blue.  Not very many in pink.

This was my husband’s Grandmother, Lillian Ross Pringle Brasier, in her wedding gown with her bouquet pinned to her bodice.  I wonder what this photo would have looked like tinted.

The colorization here is something like the one of my Great Grandmother Ella and her sister, Eliza, where only a portion of the photograph was tinted – their cheeks, ties, and hair bows.  In this photo only the girl’s dress and hair ribbons are colored.  Not even a blush on her cheeks.  Interesting.  

But what in the world is going on here?  Why was the photo not only tinted, but changed to make the children appear standing half under water on bird legs and feet?  Was there a significance?  How strange.

The colorization of a complete scene.  I love this – the old car, the cabin in the woods.  Reminds me of when I was first married and living in a log cabin in the woods except we had a brand new red Karmann Ghia parked in front of our cabin. J

The red Karmann Ghia is missing, but this was our cabin in the woods when we were first married.  We lived here for four years and I, mostly, loved it.  It had its drawbacks such as the laundry being 30 feet away in a shed.  Lots of fun doing the wash in the snow!  But mostly it was pretty neat.  It had a big deck off the back overlooking the north fork of the Smith River and summers were beautiful here. 

:->

La Nightingail