Ambrotype Repair: Part 4

I've spent the majority of the time cloning healthy parts of the photo to cover damaged parts. My main photoshop tools are the spot heal and clone. I've also had to use the dodge tool to lighten shadows created by the glass cracks. This is gonna take some time!

Overall now:

Ambrotype Repair: Part 3

Crack Repair

The most obvious damage to the photo is the enormous cracks that came when it was broken. Additionally there are some scratches and general wear that has occurred to the photos sensitive image. All of these things will be fixed as I use photoshop to clone and replace damaged parts of the image with parts that are not damaged. It is kind of like how a plastic surgeon might graft healthy skin to repair scarred skin. This process is rather laborious so there may be some delays in posts.

Ambrotype Repair: Part 2

The first step was to run adjustments and curves on the photo. Ambrotypes don't have much contrast in them by nature, so running curves on the photo really allow much more depth to the photo. I also added a desaturation layer to pull out some of the weird colors that came with pumping up the contrast. There was a little rose pigment added to the original on the cheeks and chin of my great great grand parents. I want to leave that in, however I don't want the ugly greens and browns that seep in from the background. Adding the adjustment layer allows me to reduce some of those ugly colors without degrading the original photo.

Ambrotype Photo Repair: Part 1

Mary and Aaron Kinslow were my Great-Great Grand parents on my Grand Mother's side. They had Ambrose Kinslow who had a daughter Ma (Not her name) Kinslow who married a Nunn who had a bunch of daughters. One daughter was Susie Nunn who married Gill Harbison. They had two kids, Kay and David Harbison. David was my dad. SOOOOOO yeah, I'm related to the old folks and I'm going to be fixing this picture. I'll post the progress here.

About the Photo

This Ambrotype was taken around 1840-60. Ambrotypes are a type of photograph that is taken on glass. The light-sensitive chemical compound is put on the glass, then exposed to the light through the camera lens. The actual picture is a positive image that is white. You wouldn't be able to tell much by holding the glass to light. In order to see the details you must put the glass over a dark background like black cloth or paper.
This particular picture was broken and therefore was in many pieces. Since the photo has to be lit from the front, scanning was not an option.
To get the photo digitized I piece the broken picture together over a piece of black cardboard. I put a florescent light directly above the glass at an angle and took a picture of the photo using my Canon 6D. To repair the photo I will be using Photoshop.

Robert Berger 460 train watercolor

My newest watercolor. A fantastic watercolor if the steam engine 460 of the Pennsylvania line. Bob had some very realistic originals for sale at the Berea Craft festival July13,2013