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I Colorize Historical Black And White Photos, And Here Are My Best 50 Works
Hi, I'm Jecinci, a 36 years old architect & 3D Artist from Romania with a passion for colorizing black & white photos. For me, colorizing black & white pictures is a hobby that opens a vibrant and dynamic window into the past, through which memories become a vivid reality.
I started this hobby of photo restoration five years ago, after seeing a tutorial on YouTube by chance, with an old photo of my grandparents and continued with other members of the family. The next step was to improve my skills, and, with the help of some of the best photo editing artists in the field (Olga S., Doug B., Dragos A., Florin R., Patty A., Jared E., Mads M., Jordan L. & others, to whom I would like to say a BIG "Thank you!"), I managed to do that (and will continue to do so, I hope).
More info: jecinci.com | Instagram | Facebook
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Young Princess Diana With Her Guinea Pig Peanuts At The Sandringham Pet Show, 1972
Final score:
152points
After a while, I started to concentrate on portraits until I managed to get a good grasp on them. This improved my "technical" Photoshop skills and gave me the courage to tackle other types of vintage photos like landscapes, war scenes, cars, city life, and all sorts of miscellaneous subjects.
RELATED:
I like to colorize images that intrigue me and my imagination. Images I'm curious to see in color, besides portraits of important or less important figures, some more or less known, some more or less controversial. I like to give people that follow my work images that will set them on a path of discovery and a bit of knowledge. That will put a smile on their faces, or make them remember a part of history (like they do for me). By doing this, I also share with them a bit of myself, a bit of what interests me.
#4
Albert Einstein Wearing His Levi's "Menlo Cossack" Leather Jacket, 1938
Final score:
126points
#5
Frank Sinatra Arrested, Mugshot From 27 Nov 1938
Final score:
124points
I would like to thank the people who follow my work for their support, and I hope that I will be able to keep them interested in the future with the images I have not yet colorized. You can follow me on my social media and see my other works on my website.
Here is a part of my over 1300 colorized photos. I hope you'll enjoy them
#6
The Lumière Brothers (Louis On The Left & Auguste On The Right) In Their Laboratory, Lyon, France, Ca. 1925
Final score:
123points
#7
Billie Holiday And Mister, February 1947
Final score:
122points
TheReader19 6 years ago
She had a innocent look about her here, later photos show the pain and suffering
#8
Girl With A Bird And A Dog, Boston, Massachusetts, US, 1920s
Final score:
116points
#9
James Dean In "Giant", 1956
Final score:
115points
#10
Newly Engaged Couple, Senator John F. Kennedy And Jacqueline Bouvier, Relaxing At The Kennedy Family Home In Hyannis Port In Cape Cod, Massachusetts On The 4 July 1953
Final score:
107points
#11
Illuminated Tires Developed By Goodyear In 1961
Final score:
104points
#12
Unpacking Mona Lisa At The End Of World War II, 1945
Final score:
99points
Kamsi Ikonne 6 years ago
lmfao they all there staring and Mona Lisa just there with that smirk like "hullo".
#13
Paul Newman's Navy Enlistment Photo, 1943
Final score:
97points
#14
Audrey Hepburn
Final score:
96points
#15
Charlie Chaplin In "Shoulder Arms", 1918
Final score:
94points
Mary Rose Kent 6 years ago
Here’s a fun fact: The pancake makeup that looks so white on the screen and in stills was actually a pale green. (I’ve done a lot of reading on the early days of cinema, and this is one of the bits that has stayed lodged in my brain.)
#16
King Ferdinand And Queen Marie Of Romania Arriving At Dover, UK, For A State Visit, 12 May 1924
Final score:
94points
#17
Clark Gable, 1946
Final score:
93points
#18
Albert Einstein
Final score:
93points
#19
King George Vi Riding With His Daughters Princess Elizabeth (Later Queen Elizabeth II) & Princess Margaret In Windsor Great Park, 21 April 1939
Final score:
90points
#20
Marlon Brando, 1950
Final score:
87points
Kate Noble 6 years ago (edited)
I love the idea of cold blue lighting on one side of his head and the warm light on the other.
#21
Fokin & Fokina, Cleopatra Ballet Costumes, Stockholm, 1914
Final score:
86points
#22
Two Romanian Peasants, 1928
Final score:
86points
#23
"Pistol Pete" - Frank Boardman Eaton
Final score:
85points
#24
Giraffe Women Looking At A Guard, Posted At St. James's Palace 16th Century Main Gate, During Their Visit In London, 1935
Final score:
85points
Mary Rose Kent 6 years ago
These are the Kayan (Red Burmese) people of Myanmar (then called Burma). The rings go on when they’re very young and they wear them for the whole of their lives.
#25
Romania, 1930s
Final score:
85points
TheReader19 6 years ago
Am I the only one who thinks that the colour photos seem to make some the pictures look older?
#26
Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (As New Woman), 1896
Final score:
81points
#27
Laurel And Hardy
Final score:
81points
#28
Finnish Soldier Looks At A Burning Town, 1944
Final score:
79points
Sanne H. 6 years ago (edited)
By the way, Rovaniemi is officially considered a city, and it's not just any city, it's located exactly at the pole circle, it's the hometown of Finnish Eurovision Song Contest winning rock band Lordi, and it's the place where you can visit the house of Santa Claus. In winter it is full of foreign tourists.
#29
Fokin & Fokina, Scheherazade Ballet Costumes, Stockholm, 1914
Final score:
78points
#30
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy And John F. Kennedy Cutting The Cake At Their Wedding, September 12, 1953, Newport, Rhode Island
Final score:
77points
#31
Arnold Schwarzenegger Posing At The Victoria Palace Theatre In London, Circa 1968
Final score:
76points
Marnee DeRider 6 years ago
That was just before women stopped being allowed to have any fat on their stomachs whatsoever or they were considered chubby, at least in almost all shows and movies (not necessarily music videos). In the movie industry, she's be considered plus-sized now. So stupid.
#32
Bela Lugosi - A Hungarian-American Actor, Famous For Portraying Count Dracula In The Original 1931 Film
Final score:
76points
#33
Desmond Thomas Doss (Hacksaw Ridge) & His Wife Dorothy, After Receiving The Medal Of Honor From President Harry Truman, October 12, 1945
Final score:
74points
Donald Truck 6 years ago
Wonderful and spectacularly brave person who made a stand based on his moral values and never moved a bit (Pls forgive a humorous comment since he looks like CR7 with a moustache on this one)
#34
Malcolm X And Muhammad Ali, New York, March, 1964
Final score:
74points
#35
Neil Armstrong, Nasa Research Test Pilot, With The Bell X-14 At Nasa Ames Research Center, February, 1964
Final score:
74points
#36
Butchers In A Bucharest Market, 1932
Final score:
72points
Mindy Keys 6 years ago
These are all stunning, but I bet this one took A LOT of work. Stunning
#39
Martin Luther King Jr. And Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Share A Laugh In Davis' Dressing Room At New York's Majestic Theater In 1965
Final score:
69points
#40
Podu Ros Neighbourhood Viewed From The The Palace Of Culture With The City Pool In The Foreground, Iasi, Romania, Early 20th Century
Final score:
69points
#41
Salvador Dali, 1954
Final score:
67points
#42
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, 1920s
Final score:
66points
#43
US Civil War - Officers Of The 69th New York Volunteer Regiment Pose With A Cannon At Fort Corcoran - Col. Michael Corcoran At Far Left, 1861
Final score:
66points
#44
Winston Churchill, Cigar In Mouth, Gives His Famous ‘V’ Sign During A Visit To Bradford (Lister's Mill) On December 4, 1942
Final score:
65points
#45
Romanian Woman In Traditional Costume From The Early 20th Century
Final score:
64points
#46
Audrey Hepburn Putting On Lipstick At Her Home In Mayfair (65 South Audley Street), London, September 1951
Final score:
63points
#47
"The Rat Pack" In NY, Carnegie Hall's Backstage, 1960s
Final score:
60points
#49
Main Square In Brasov's Old Town Centre, Romania, Early 20th Century
Final score:
59points
#50
President Lyndon B. Johnson And A Turkey Presented To Him In The Fish Room Of The White House, November 16, 1967
Final score:
59points
Much like Jecinci, who finds joy in breathing new life into black and white photographs, Matt Loughrey's work also centers around bringing historical images into the modern day through colorization.
While Jecinci might find inspiration in the images of family and intriguing subjects, Loughrey explores the stories of individuals from the 1930s, adding depth to his work with the intriguing history of real-life criminals captured in their authentic mugshots.
#51
Queen Marie Of Romania Visiting The Pyramids Of Giza, Cairo, Egypt, 1930
Final score:
28points
#52
Fire Spitter - Cracheur De Feu, Boulevard De Rochechouart, Paris, 1949
Final score:
27points
#53
Marlon Brando With His Father, Marlon Brando Sr., Los Angeles, April 1, 1955
Final score:
25points
Tracy Moorhead 6 years ago
Brando was a good looking man, though I think he had mental issues!!
#54
Kirk And Michael Douglas, 1960
Final score:
25points
Florida, but without the beach 3 years ago
Michael’s face has changed so much, I didn’t recognize this as a younger version
#55
French Soldiers & Red Cross Dogs Before Departing For The Front Tuileries Gardens (Place De La Concorde Gate) Paris, France, 1915
Final score:
24points
#57
The Wreckage Of The Messerschmitt BF 109e4 In Kent On 5 September 1940 During The Battle Of Britain
Final score:
24points
#58
Marine Dwayne L. Boice (Kansas City), 3rd Battalion 5th US Marines, Burns Out A Weapons Emplacement. North Korean Gunpit, Wolmi-Do Island, Inchon, 15 September 1950
Final score:
23points
Mary Rose Kent 6 years ago
My father was in the Korean War, and I found out at his funeral that he received three Bronze Stars. I’d had no idea.
#59
Kirk Douglas As Michael Midge Kelly In "Champion", 1949
Final score:
23points
#60
Bucharest, 1930s
Final score:
23points
#61
Buick Wildcat 3
Final score:
23points
#62
King George V On Horseback At Buckingham Palace In 1914
Final score:
23points
#63
Marie Gonzales Of San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, Circa 1930s
Final score:
23points
#64
Germany, 10 Oct 1944
Final score:
22points
#67
Charlie Chaplin Visits Winston Churchill And Family, At Chartwell House, Near The Town Of Westerham, Kent In South East England, 1931
Final score:
21points
Hugh Willie Mungous 4 years ago
It is very interesting that Chaplin visited Churchill in 1931 (so - during Churchill's wilderness years). That would seem to indicate that he too may have chilled by the rise of fascism in Europe although, of course, Hitler's Chancellorship was some time off yet.
#68
WW2 Flame Throwers Army War Show, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 27, 1942
Final score:
21points
#70
Henry Ford In His 1896 Quadricycle During A Visit To Detroit, July 30, 1942
Final score:
20points
#71
Princess Marie Alley, Iasi, Romania
Final score:
20points
#73
Romanian Crime Thriller "With Clean Hands"
Final score:
19points
#74
WW1, Corbie Albert Area, France, 1916 - British Army Soldiers Moving In Devastated, Wet And Muddy Conditions On The Somme Front At Ancre
Final score:
19points
#76
Adolf Dassler, A Founder Of Adidas
Final score:
18points
#77
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, 1946
Final score:
17points
#79
Senator And Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy And His Campaign Manager, Robert Kennedy, In A Hotel Room During The DNC, Los Angeles, July 1960
Final score:
17points
Mary Rose Kent 6 years ago
I shook hands with Bobby Kennedy on his final swing through California—it was only a few nights later that he was shot.
#80
Corvin Castle And The Main Market, Transylvania (Romania), Ca. 1900
Final score:
16points
#81
Enrico Caruso, 1918
Final score:
16points
Mary Rose Kent 6 years ago
Enrico Caruso was staying at the Palace Hotel in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, which happened at 5:12 a.m. He was so terrified that he never returned to California.
#84
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
Final score:
15points
#86
Clive Staples Lewis
Final score:
14points
#88
Rubin Hurricane Carter
Final score:
14points
#90
Hiram Bingham III, 1917, A Possible Inspiration For Indiana Jones
Final score:
13points
#91
Jane Maas
Final score:
13points
David Massey 4 years ago
The colorization on this pic, like all the others, is masterful and adds dimension previously unseen. That being said, colorization is never meant to be "an improvement," as if the photo somehow fails in monochrome. It just makes the photo more real and immediate. Thanks for sharing your work.
#92
US Civil War - 13 Inch Mortars - Ca. May 1862, Yorktown, Virginia. Battery No. 4, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, South End
Final score:
13points
#94
WW1, Somme, September, 1916 - A 6 Inch Howitzer Being Hauled By Manpower On Caterpillar Tracks Through The Mud Near Pozieres
Final score:
11points
#95
WW2 Alignment Of De Havilland DH98 Mosquito Mk.IV Of 105 Sqn RAF RAF On The Ground Marhamn, 11 December 1942
Final score:
11points
Hugh Willie Mungous 4 years ago
The most beautiful - and possibly the greatest - plane of WWII.
#96
WW2 Troops File Past The Burning Wreckage Of A German Dornier Bomber, Shot Down While Bombing A Belgian Town, 14 May 1940
Final score:
10points
#98
General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, General In The United States Marine Corps
Final score:
9points
#99
Richard Bong, Ace Of Aces, 1945
Final score:
9points
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What do you think ?
Otta Lucke 6 years ago
Very well done. You have a good eye for color and use it sympathetically. Far better job than most colorists I have seen lately. Will look for more of your work in the future. Keep up the good work.
Doober 6 years ago (edited)
I'm most impressed with your portraits and the amount of life brought to the images with your use of color. The subjects feel so much more real and tangible, like they could be someone passing you by on the street. Incredible work!
CookieNeerrrrd 6 years ago
The colour really brings the life back into these photos! Well done!
Tres D 6 years ago
Very well done! I work with Photoshop for a living and I know how difficult this can be.
Jackie Wacky 6 years ago
The colouring is beautifully done and really brings the photographs and their subjects to life.
Jill 6 years ago
It brings these people back to reality in a way. Color makes me really see them as having actually existed. ..and it was so well done!
Load More Replies... Mindy Keys 6 years ago
Wow! Very nicely done. Thank you for sharing this fantastic work. Beautiful.
HC 6 years ago
Beautiful work, but taken out of this artistic context, I feel the new technology takes away the historical value and emotions. Like colorized motion pictures.
JC Mewbourne 6 years ago
Honestly for still photos it adds what you say it detracts though I do somewhat agree with you on film
Load More Replies...
Full Name 6 years ago
Overall I'm impressed. My only concern with restored photos seems to be they are usually a bit oversaturated. It's a common theme with most restorations artists. Still, many of these are spectacular. Kudos.
jecinci (Post author) 6 years ago
Thanks! I try to keep them as "real" as I can, but i do exagerate the saturation in som for the visual enhancement (as i see it)
Load More Replies...
Robert Walters 1 year ago
Hippie girl in big hat with eye makeup at Hyde Park in London July 5th , 1969 is my favorite !!! … believe it’s Janet Forbes , Time Traveler !!!
JC Mewbourne 6 years ago
I find these mesmerizing, truly outstanding I can't get enough. How do you select the photos you're going to do? Any specific criteria? What subjects appeal to you most to work with? I can think of a few that would be fascinating to me anyway to see colourized. Thank you for artistry and hard work and skill and for graciously sharing them
Otta Lucke 6 years ago
Very well done. You have a good eye for color and use it sympathetically. Far better job than most colorists I have seen lately. Will look for more of your work in the future. Keep up the good work.
Doober 6 years ago (edited)
I'm most impressed with your portraits and the amount of life brought to the images with your use of color. The subjects feel so much more real and tangible, like they could be someone passing you by on the street. Incredible work!
CookieNeerrrrd 6 years ago
The colour really brings the life back into these photos! Well done!
Tres D 6 years ago
Very well done! I work with Photoshop for a living and I know how difficult this can be.
Jackie Wacky 6 years ago
The colouring is beautifully done and really brings the photographs and their subjects to life.
Jill 6 years ago
It brings these people back to reality in a way. Color makes me really see them as having actually existed. ..and it was so well done!
Load More Replies... Mindy Keys 6 years ago
Wow! Very nicely done. Thank you for sharing this fantastic work. Beautiful.
HC 6 years ago
Beautiful work, but taken out of this artistic context, I feel the new technology takes away the historical value and emotions. Like colorized motion pictures.
JC Mewbourne 6 years ago
Honestly for still photos it adds what you say it detracts though I do somewhat agree with you on film
Load More Replies... Full Name 6 years ago
Overall I'm impressed. My only concern with restored photos seems to be they are usually a bit oversaturated. It's a common theme with most restorations artists. Still, many of these are spectacular. Kudos.
jecinci (Post author) 6 years ago
Thanks! I try to keep them as "real" as I can, but i do exagerate the saturation in som for the visual enhancement (as i see it)
Load More Replies... Robert Walters 1 year ago
Hippie girl in big hat with eye makeup at Hyde Park in London July 5th , 1969 is my favorite !!! … believe it’s Janet Forbes , Time Traveler !!!
JC Mewbourne 6 years ago
I find these mesmerizing, truly outstanding I can't get enough. How do you select the photos you're going to do? Any specific criteria? What subjects appeal to you most to work with? I can think of a few that would be fascinating to me anyway to see colourized. Thank you for artistry and hard work and skill and for graciously sharing them
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