To Colour or Not to Colour-That is the Question!

[manchesterunitedman1]

For anyone who uses Twitter they may have seen over the last 12 months more and more original Black & White images being turned into color photos.

Now it is my opinion that i do not want to see a team photo from say pre WW1 looking where the grass is green with colorful shirts and the like.

Yes i think it can in some circumstances bring the image "to life" but a sepia tone at best is from my thinking about as far as it goes.

Anyway, this is a Forum and we all have an opinion-some will agree with me and perhaps most will not, but there it is, so let's see what the consensus is!

I would also point out that a good collector friend of mine[also MU] loves having all these photos done and has sent me loads to print off which i have of the teams of yesteryear but it all leaves me cold, but he thinks the opposite.



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[sharrowblade]

Hi Leslie, I'm a great lover of monochrome photography.

So it would be a big NO from myself, to anything colourful
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[New Forest]

I have two photographs of Leyton FC taken in 1905 one is black & white the other in colour. They are the same photograph but the players names are in different positions. I say take it as it comes.

There is a discussion on another site about a team photograph which someone wants coloured in, but is asking if anyone knows what colour the shirts should be. Its an Irish Regiment club based in Aldershot during the 30's. Good luck with that one.

[Flaming Pie]

Not too bothered either way about the sports pictures being colourised , but away from football , l found that Peter Jackson film ‘ They Shall Not Grow Old’ 2018 unbelievable when l first viewed it. I think his colourisation worked.. Jackson took First World War footage and colourised it in a 90 minute film. If you haven’t seen it it’s well worth a look. To me it really brought to life the horrors that the poor lads had to endure. What stands out is that they were mainly baby faced kids. You could clearly see that most seemed to have rotten teeth and many looked malnourished .ln a way this came as a shock. The wealth from The British Empire was certainly not being spent on the troops!.

[Trieste to Trapani]

One of the best Christmas presents I ever got was the first edition of the Rothmans Football Yearbook. During the days before I went back to school after the holidays I set about colouring in, with crayon, the team badges. Whilst, in my opinion, this as enhanced the look of the book and made it unique, it has probably not added to its value.

[paulobee]

Seeing some of the old photos re-coloured is ok, in my eyes.

There's a new Bees book coming out with a number of pictures colourised.

An example is below.......

Black & White Original photo I own of a match at Griffin Park during 1942.

An International XI between Belgium and Netherlands.



Then re-coloured.......



To me, the re-coloured version stands out more than the black & white version.

All about opinions.......

[Five and In]

I agree with you Leslie.
The old black and white images have something special about them and like you, the colourised ones don't do anything for me at all.

Part of my Spurs collection are hundreds of press photos and even going into the 1990's the majority are black and white and I usually pass up the chance to buy colour copies.

Over to the rest..................

[manutd1977]

manchesterunitedman1 wrote:

For anyone who uses Twitter they may have seen over the last 12 months more and more original Black & White images being turned into color photos. Now it is my opinion that i do not want to see a team photo from say pre WW1 looking where the grass is green with colorful shirts and the like. Yes i think it can in some circumstances bring the image "to life" but a sepia tone at best is from my thinking about as far as it goes. Anyway, this is a Forum and we all have an opinion-some will agree with me and perhaps most will not, but there it is, so let's see what the consensus is! I would also point out that a good collector friend of mine[also MU] loves having all these photos done and has sent me loads to print off which i have of the teams of yesteryear but it all leaves me cold, but he thinks the opposite.

I've seen the persons collection, personally i prefer them in their original form, a bit like watching the colourised Laurel and Hardy films, loses it's charm for me.

[Raxfactor]

Got to admit I prefer them, brings to life pictures from eras past that well to put it bluntly don't look real or life like, much prefer the colourised versions and makes me realise they were just the same as us, and because of the colour easier to identity with.
Each to their own, its a personal choice, even though we look at the past in black and white its nice to see the world was as colourful then as it is today.

[Flaming Pie]

After looking at what paulobee posted , from being indifferent,, now definitely in the colourisation camp.That image of Belgium v Holland looks stunning. Perhaps they have improved the colourisation process? Image this being done with some of the old photos of the likes of Wolves and Blackpool in those black and gold and tangerine coloured shirts. At some stage in the future they will probably, using computer technology, be able to use footage of some of the legends of the game,, Billy Meredith, Dixie Dean and all the others , back to life . I often look at some of the legendary boxers from the past, Jack Johnson, Dempsey and the other greats and can’t believe the footage that is out there. Mind you, if the they colourised Dempsey’s brutal destruction of the giant Jess Willard it would make pretty gruesome viewing!

[pafcprogs]

I'm with Leslie and co on this....


Black and white for the era looks and feels right....
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[Pete’s Picture Palace]

I had an aunt who was a professional colourist (if that's the word) so I am the proud owner of some baby photos of me & my brother where we have lovely rosy cheeks and bright red lips. In my opinion they are an awful embarrassment. She did some lovely nature studies though, to be fair.

The major problem is getting the shade and tone right. The Holland kit looks like Blackpool's tangerine.

Call me old fashioned, and given the nature of my "business", I am very much a black & white man, but I accept that there is a place for colourising. Each to their own.

[Raxfactor]

There is a chap George Chilvers on twitter he has brought some of Latics past history to life in glorious colour some matches I recall, in this weeks prog v Gillingham he has a feature and a picture from our 1970/71 fa cup defeat at City and it looks stunning, still if you like grey and greyer keep going its your choice.
Adding colour has come a long way, and if you download an app you can have a go for free on some of your own pictures, my efforts are not as good as George's but it nice to play around.