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New York circa 1905. "Dreamland Park, Coney Island" (original image). It's hard to believe it all burned to the ground. This was one heck of a coloring job but I was intrigued to see Dreamland as it might have been. If only we could visit this amazing place. View full size.
I am amazed at the color detail of this picture. How in the world does one begin to colorize a photo like this? Do you look at old colorized postcards to get a sense of which colors to use or just jump in and use whatever seems right? There are some really great colorized photos here on Shorpy. Thanks to all the contributors.
Anyone who thinks colorization is always a bad thing for historic photographs needs to go to Avzam's web site (http://paintedback.blogspot.com/). Scroll down to the one with the Greyhound bus and the Royal Crown Cola sign for a real treat.
Another excellent colorization of an old amusement park. I can almost feel the spray from the Shoot-The-Chute as I speak.
With all the over-dressed [by our modern standards, anyway] folks in the photo, it's nice to see one person--the little kid on the beach at lower right--is bucking the trend and going his own way. "Dang it, it's summertime and I'm gonna be comfortable!"
And, given the park's demise by fire several years later, I find the exhibits on "Fighting Flames" and "The Great Baltimore Fire" somewhat prophetic.
With the colorization, more of the details are noticeable. For example, the pavilion on the right that dramatizes the "Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.
Checking my daily Shorpy newsletter via my cell, l scooted this image around on the screen checking out details before seeing the note that it HAD been colorized. Honest to goodness, I had no idea. Didn't even cross my mind I wasn't looking at a color photo. I'm glad I didn't notice the title or caption first; it was the best "Wow" moment I've had for quite a while. Thank you.
"Where other colorization jobs often appear unnatural and garish " - well, thanks. Maybe you'd like to give it a go?
However - well done Avzam. It is really a good piece of work, and at least you're getting comments. Colorizations never seem to warrant them no matter how much work has been put into them or how good they are (and I'm talking here not of mine, but some other very talented colorizers whose work is on here).
[This might be a good time to point out the link to the Colorized Photos gallery down the left-hand column that some may be overlooking. - tterrace]
Really an exquisite job. I can't imagine how you did it; it must have taken hours. But the result is stunningly realistic. I'd love to see you take on some of the glorious street scenes on Shorpy. Natural-looking color adds so much life.
I didn't realize Eastman was experimenting with Kodachrome this early. The B&W original is very interesting, but this colorized version actually makes me a little sad I couldn't have gone there. Truly excellent work, Avzam.
Off-the-chart effort. I hope all the praise the community is giving you brings cheer. =)
I have been visiting Shorpy for years but never as a registered user. This photo impressed me so much I felt compelled to register just to leave this comment! Like others who have commented I'm not really a fan of colorization, but your photo is absolutely spot on. Where other colorization jobs often appear unnatural and garish yours seems almost perfectly balanced. The fact that it is a Coney Island photo (one of my favourite subjects) is simply icing on the cake. I can't wait to see your other photo projects. Simply excellent.
I am not a big fan of colorization of old photos, but as someone else mentioned already, this feels natural and "real." Nice job.
I love this so much, I could practically marry it. This is gorgeous. The saturation and balance is right on target. It looks "correct," if you know what I mean; I can look at this photo and believe it. That's a tough target to hit, but you've done it.
Excellent attention to detail. Everwhere I look I see variation. This isn't a photo that was colorized; this is a photo that was restored.
I expect this took freakin' forever to do.
Excellent! Even the little boy about to go swimming. Neat, neat neat!
Looking at that, I feel like I am there now.
Some colorization's come out feeling too ... something. I don't know what it is. Yours looks natural and balanced.
I don't think you missed one! Most excellent job!
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