Some readers have asked how black and white photos are colorized for use on this blog.
First I want to say that I like old black and white photos and I am a fan of pre-Technicolor movies and black and white television programs, but I must admit that colorizing can enhance an old photo. Visually, a black and white photo can look washed out – black, white and gray represent only a small portion of the color spectrum. Colorizing can bring the photo and its subjects to life.
Corel Photo-Paint and Irfanview software are used for pre- and post-editing.
I use these free websites to add color to old photos.
Image Colorization API (https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/colorizer)
My favorite colorization website is:
This site allows you about ten free colorizations before you must subscribe at $149 for the first year.
Each website uses a different set of color conversion algorithms. An uploaded image to any of these sites returns the colorized image in about 10-15 seconds. I will convert a picture using all of the websites, then select the image with the best result, although sometimes there is no good result and I will post the black and white image instead. Usually I perform additional editing using Corel Photo- Paint and Irfanview on my PC. On rare occasions, I use a free website that eliminates everything in the background of the photo, then insert a new background using Photo-Paint.
The colorization programs make educated guesses and don’t always convert accurately. They are particularly good at recognizing faces, bodies, hands, clothing, foliage, sky, buildings and water. Unfortunately, it seems that none of the programs convert roof color with accuracy - the terra cotta tile rooftops of the Mediterranean buildings of the era often look dark gray in the colorized image.
An example using a photo of Babe Ruth cutting his birthday cake:
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| Clockwise from top left: original black and white image, ColouriseSG, Algorithmia, Image Colorization API. Two of the programs even colorized the pictures on the wall. |
These are the black and white and colorized images of Walter P. Fuller and H. Walter Fuller that were used on this blog:
Here is my family (I'm the youngest).
Google is currently testing a colorize filter extension for the Google Photos app. It’s anticipated that the Google process will take colorization to a new level. When that happens, I may need to revisit many of the posts on this blog to update the colorized photos.
