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
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Young Princess Diana With Her Guinea Pig Peanuts At The Sandringham Pet Show, 1972
Also well done. You didn't oversaturate the hair here which is great. The critter is oversharpened though.
I see both William and Harry in their mother. I have no doubt she’d be proud of both of them and also saddened to see the rift between the two. 💔
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.
Amelia Earhart
Let me give a compliment to your work; you actually take the trouble to add different colour variations to your colourizations. Which is fantastic. Many many don't for some silly reason; Things are rarely just one colour, and the colour can vary from reflected light and colour, as well as thickness of material, and so on. So kudos!
The colorization of Ian Harris’ iconic hippie girl at the Hyde Park concert in July 1969 with the floppy hat and dotted eye makeup is absolutely stunning 🤩 !!! … who was she anyway ???
George Washington Carver, March 1942
You know, we learn about this man in school and all his inventions, but this is the first time I remember seeing an image of him. Very cool!
please tell me I'm not the only one who knows good old GW Carver as peanut dude from The Who Was Show??? Yes... ook I'm leaving bye now
He looks as though someone just gave him a great idea and he’s ready to run with it and change the world again!
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.
Albert Einstein Wearing His Levi's "Menlo Cossack" Leather Jacket, 1938
I’m not sure about ‘hot’: he kind of looks like a nice old teacher trying to be trendy.
Load More Replies...Frank Sinatra Arrested, Mugshot From 27 Nov 1938
he was arrested for 'adultery and seduction' - charges dropped. Apparently flirting was illegal?
My favorite song by Mr. Sinatra: One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)
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
The Lumière Brothers (Louis On The Left & Auguste On The Right) In Their Laboratory, Lyon, France, Ca. 1925
Billie Holiday And Mister, February 1947
She had a innocent look about her here, later photos show the pain and suffering
She had so many personal problems, including substance abuse. The entertainment industry tends to do that to performers. So sad.
Load More Replies...Girl With A Bird And A Dog, Boston, Massachusetts, US, 1920s
The colour photo actually looks more dated than the black and white one
Yup. Colourizing photos is incredibly hard to pull off perfectly. Some of these are though so overall I'm impressed.
Load More Replies...Looks like a Muscovy, which aren't native to New England. I've only seen them in Florida.
James Dean In "Giant", 1956
I honestly can't see that. Looks like a careless kid to me. Eyes too narrow, too close to his nose. Nope for me.
Load More Replies...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
Wanted to say just that. Every time I automatically look for a controller in his hand.
Load More Replies...More than anything, I feel bad for Jacqueline, having her husband shot and killed right next to her.
I swear I saw him in this photo with a videogames console pad in his hands..
I’ve seen this one before and thought it was really cool! They look totally relaxed in this picture, too!
Illuminated Tires Developed By Goodyear In 1961
I wonder if we could ever bring this back! Driving would certainly be safer!
Unpacking Mona Lisa At The End Of World War II, 1945
lmfao they all there staring and Mona Lisa just there with that smirk like "hullo".
I can only imagine how those who made the discovery must’ve felt when they realized what they were holding!!
Paul Newman's Navy Enlistment Photo, 1943
The little hint of a pouty face is adorable. He is a beautiful man!!!
I can only imagine what he must’ve been thinking as he prepared for the possibility of death on the battlefield. He reminds me a good bit of my late stepgrandfather, who served as a late teenager/early young adult!
It never occurred to me that Paul Newman had a single day where he wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but there it is...
Audrey Hepburn
Charlie Chaplin In "Shoulder Arms", 1918
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.)
King Ferdinand And Queen Marie Of Romania Arriving At Dover, UK, For A State Visit, 12 May 1924
King Ferdinand is wearing his favourite M.1923 cavalry uniform with Marshall insignia. The only quibble I have is the sash running right to left was light blue with gold edging. There is a contemporary portrait of him wearing this exact uniform made by noted painter of royalty Philip de László which shows this, but unfortunately BP apparently doesn't allow me to post links, because the answer just disappeared after I pressed "post". Anyway, it can be found even on Wikipedia Commons: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_I,_King_of_Romania,_Prince_of_Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen[dot]jpg Also, on the off chance you got your information about the uniform from Emil Boboescu at the MMN, I'll talk to him about this next time I see him...
Clark Gable, 1946
He looks haunted. I’m sure Carole Lombard‘s death took an immense toll on him!
Albert Einstein
When this picture was taken he was asked to not look serious so he did this!
King George Vi Riding With His Daughters Princess Elizabeth (Later Queen Elizabeth II) & Princess Margaret In Windsor Great Park, 21 April 1939
They still need some riding lessons, based on how they're sitting/holding the reins
They are sitting correctly, and you can only really see Elizabeth's hands, and I'd have to assume she is taking more of a dressage approach to gripping the reins, although it would be weird, as she is riding English Hunter for everything else. (Competitive rider since I was 6 :)
Load More Replies...Marlon Brando, 1950
I love the idea of cold blue lighting on one side of his head and the warm light on the other.
Thank you! I do like to play with them :)
Load More Replies...Fokin & Fokina, Cleopatra Ballet Costumes, Stockholm, 1914
They're eye makeup in the colorized picture looks much darker than the B/W. I barely see any eye makeup in the B/W.
Two Romanian Peasants, 1928
"Pistol Pete" - Frank Boardman Eaton
Giraffe Women Looking At A Guard, Posted At St. James's Palace 16th Century Main Gate, During Their Visit In London, 1935
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.
I noticed that one of the "women" in the photo is actually a child.
Load More Replies...For those curious, exceptionally long necks are a mark of beauty in that culture and have been for centuries. The longer a woman’s neck is, The more physically attractive and desirable for marriage she is considered to be.
Those women look like they are wondering if the soldier has the head equivalent of their long necks under his hat. 😁
Load More Replies...Not to sound ignorant, but do they do that as a beauty standard or is it a religious thing they do? Just wondering what the purpose is of the rings.
Romania, 1930s
Am I the only one who thinks that the colour photos seem to make some the pictures look older?
I guess the color makes the difference to modern times stronger. You notice how similar the nature bits and such are and how many things looked the same then as now - so suddenly you have the opportunity to really home in on the things that *were* different
Load More Replies...Frances Benjamin Johnston, Self-Portrait (As New Woman), 1896
I feel like I could walk into her house just by taking a closer look at the picture. The colorization and a closer look at the photo effect that somehow!
Laurel And Hardy
I love seeing the people you’ve never seen in color before-makes them real.
Finnish Soldier Looks At A Burning Town, 1944
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.
Dutch soldiers burnt down Rovaniemi Finland after they lost the WW2 to Soviet
Load More Replies...Fokin & Fokina, Scheherazade Ballet Costumes, Stockholm, 1914
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy And John F. Kennedy Cutting The Cake At Their Wedding, September 12, 1953, Newport, Rhode Island
Thanks! I do work a lot on the originals before colorizing them.
Load More Replies...Am I the only one who thinks JFK looks like a Ken doll 24/7. Not trying to hate I actually quite like him :)
Ken was introduced in 1961, so for all we know, he was based on JFK—the dashing, easily romanticized new president.
Load More Replies...Arnold Schwarzenegger Posing At The Victoria Palace Theatre In London, Circa 1968
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.
He was 21—we all looked so young at that age (barring genetic disorders and/or diseases).
Load More Replies...I find that look of his very unnatural and unattractive looking. Now, boys have a lot of body image problems, too. Just great. Can he move? He looks like he'd be so slow my grandma could run circles around him.
Bela Lugosi - A Hungarian-American Actor, Famous For Portraying Count Dracula In The Original 1931 Film
I can see why he was typecast! He definitely had the intimidating facial expressions and mannerisms down pat! I do think he got a raw deal in the end since he made clear he didn’t want to act in so many horror films anymore and he kept getting offers directing horror films even when he turned down many an offer.
Desmond Thomas Doss (Hacksaw Ridge) & His Wife Dorothy, After Receiving The Medal Of Honor From President Harry Truman, October 12, 1945
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)
Malcolm X And Muhammad Ali, New York, March, 1964
Malcom X was the person to converted Cassius Clay to Islam, which is when he became Muhammad Ali.
Neil Armstrong, Nasa Research Test Pilot, With The Bell X-14 At Nasa Ames Research Center, February, 1964
Another quibble: Neil Armstrong's flight suit during the Gemini era was light blue. There is an earlier one which was orange, but it didn't have those distinctive black zippers. The flight suit still exists: [https] historical.ha.com/itm/explorers/space-exploration/gemini-neil-armstrong-s-owned-and-worn-early-flight-suit-directly-from-the-armstrong-family-collection-tm-certified-by/a/6205-52167.s
Also, the jacket was khaki, not blue (ironically, here worn with an orange jumpsuit, but of a different design): www.newsweek.com/2019/03/22/top-flight-1359355.html#slideshow/1358772
Load More Replies...Butchers In A Bucharest Market, 1932
These are all stunning, but I bet this one took A LOT of work. Stunning
Man In Scottish Uniform O S C
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
and yet the ladies couldn't get enough of him....he must have had some killer charisma.
Load More Replies...I can feel the evil radiating off of him every time I see photos of him and felt nauseous even now. The colorization makes the photo even more terrifying!
Martin Luther King Jr. And Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Share A Laugh In Davis' Dressing Room At New York's Majestic Theater In 1965
Podu Ros Neighbourhood Viewed From The The Palace Of Culture With The City Pool In The Foreground, Iasi, Romania, Early 20th Century
Salvador Dali, 1954
Didn't this fancy pants moustache have a gay affair with someone?
According to Wikipedia, the poet Federico García Lorca made advances but was rebuffed.
Load More Replies...Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, 1920s
Dont really know what you're talking about ... but it rings a bell..
Load More Replies...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
With the blurred background and the scale of objects around them, they almost look like miniature toy soldiers
I was thinking the same thing. Like part of a diorama
Load More Replies...Wow this is 161 years ago. Imagine all the history we now look back on that hadn't even happened at this point yet. It makes me wonder how people will look back on us in 161 years. They will have so much footage and photos, they'll be able to jump right into the past. Old picture like this are fascinating to me.
Ok everyone strike a natural pose... ho no none of you have any idea do you :(
Winston Churchill, Cigar In Mouth, Gives His Famous ‘V’ Sign During A Visit To Bradford (Lister's Mill) On December 4, 1942
hence the "his famous" (as he did it the first few times) ;)
Load More Replies...He's flipping the bird. In the USA it's the middle finger, in the UK it's this.
I actually didn't know this! Thanks! 😅🙈
Load More Replies...Oops he got that one wrong. I remember saying to my dad as we were driving around our local suburb all of 40 years ago giving the exact same V sign. I had to say to him you realise that mean up yours and not the peace sign. Oh well R.I.P. dad :)
LOL. Churchill does the english version of The Finger and the cameraman {and america} think it's a Victory sign. LOL
Romanian Woman In Traditional Costume From The Early 20th Century
how is her hair done? Those look more like twists than braids. I'm curious!
Audrey Hepburn Putting On Lipstick At Her Home In Mayfair (65 South Audley Street), London, September 1951
Someday every person who is now alive on earth will all just be a collection of history and photos. So weird.
Her dressing table is gorgeous. Notice how she doesn't have 20 various bottles of hair and other assorted products like we do now?
"The Rat Pack" In NY, Carnegie Hall's Backstage, 1960s
Corvin Castle, Romania
Main Square In Brasov's Old Town Centre, Romania, Early 20th Century
President Lyndon B. Johnson And A Turkey Presented To Him In The Fish Room Of The White House, November 16, 1967
Oh cmon in the FISH room?? Naturally it was taught to swim!
Load More Replies...That man has a lot on his mind but no where near what the poor turkey has.
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.
Queen Marie Of Romania Visiting The Pyramids Of Giza, Cairo, Egypt, 1930
Back then only one pyramid was finished, the construction of the other ones hasn't even started :D
Fire Spitter - Cracheur De Feu, Boulevard De Rochechouart, Paris, 1949
Marlon Brando With His Father, Marlon Brando Sr., Los Angeles, April 1, 1955
Brando was a good looking man, though I think he had mental issues!!
So hot, but yep it got bad ! So I’ve read I didn’t know him personally ! :)
Load More Replies...Kirk And Michael Douglas, 1960
Michael’s face has changed so much, I didn’t recognize this as a younger version
French Soldiers & Red Cross Dogs Before Departing For The Front Tuileries Gardens (Place De La Concorde Gate) Paris, France, 1915
John Fitzgerald, Jack Kennedy
The Wreckage Of The Messerschmitt BF 109e4 In Kent On 5 September 1940 During The Battle Of Britain
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
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.
Kirk Douglas As Michael Midge Kelly In "Champion", 1949
in Lust for life he showed what a truely crafted actor he was, fantastic. and John Wayne's comment to him after the premier . "Christ, Kirk! How can you play a part like that? There's so few of us left. We got to play strong, tough characters. Not those weak queers," Wayne said. Douglas tried to explain, "It's all make-believe, John. It isn't real. You're not really John Wayne, you know." Wayne (born Marion Morrison) looked at him oddly, as if Douglas had betrayed him. Pick your heroes carefully folks.
Bucharest, 1930s
Buick Wildcat 3
King George V On Horseback At Buckingham Palace In 1914
Marie Gonzales Of San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, Circa 1930s
Germany, 10 Oct 1944
A Scene From "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935 Film)
Avram Iancu Square, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 1930s
Cluj-Napoca in Transsylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy before 1920, most of those beautiful buildings were built before WW1 (except maybe that cathedral on the left).
Load More Replies...Charlie Chaplin Visits Winston Churchill And Family, At Chartwell House, Near The Town Of Westerham, Kent In South East England, 1931
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.
WW2 Flame Throwers Army War Show, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 27, 1942
Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager
I remember the sound of all the sonic booms going on at that time. It was fun-scary.
Henry Ford In His 1896 Quadricycle During A Visit To Detroit, July 30, 1942
Princess Marie Alley, Iasi, Romania
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Because each hand had nearly a two-octave reach, some of his music can’t be played with all of the notes. I really love his Variations on a Theme of Paganini.
Load More Replies...Romanian Crime Thriller "With Clean Hands"
WW1, Corbie Albert Area, France, 1916 - British Army Soldiers Moving In Devastated, Wet And Muddy Conditions On The Somme Front At Ancre
William "Bill" O'connor, Ca. 1952-53
Adolf Dassler, A Founder Of Adidas
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, 1946
Marlon Brando, 1955
I saw On The Waterfront at a matinee and it was so powerful I was shocked and slightly affronted that it was still daylight when I came out of the theater.
Senator And Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy And His Campaign Manager, Robert Kennedy, In A Hotel Room During The DNC, Los Angeles, July 1960
I shook hands with Bobby Kennedy on his final swing through California—it was only a few nights later that he was shot.
Corvin Castle And The Main Market, Transylvania (Romania), Ca. 1900
Enrico Caruso, 1918
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.
He was a Naples boy - surely he was well used to seismic activity. Born in the shadow of Vesuvius.
Load More Replies...Robert S. Mueller - 1stLt. U.S. Marine Corps, 1968
Deck Of Gun Boat, Probably Mendota, Ca. 1865
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
Cetatuia Neighbourhood, Iasi Romania, Early 20th Century
Clive Staples Lewis
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
Rubin Hurricane Carter
Abandoned WW2 German Panzer Pzkpfw IV
Hiram Bingham III, 1917, A Possible Inspiration For Indiana Jones
Jane Maas
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.
US Civil War - 13 Inch Mortars - Ca. May 1862, Yorktown, Virginia. Battery No. 4, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, South End
Cluj Train Station, Romania, 1930s
WW1, Somme, September, 1916 - A 6 Inch Howitzer Being Hauled By Manpower On Caterpillar Tracks Through The Mud Near Pozieres
WW2 Alignment Of De Havilland DH98 Mosquito Mk.IV Of 105 Sqn RAF RAF On The Ground Marhamn, 11 December 1942
The most beautiful - and possibly the greatest - plane of WWII.
WW2 Troops File Past The Burning Wreckage Of A German Dornier Bomber, Shot Down While Bombing A Belgian Town, 14 May 1940
Fred Waters
General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, General In The United States Marine Corps
Richard Bong, Ace Of Aces, 1945
Robert B., 355th Fighter Squadron, 60's
Thank you! It takes me about 1h to do one, but yes, these are done in the last 2 y
Load More Replies...Sidney Block
Coltei Tower, Bucharest, Romania, 1867
U.S. Army Maj. Charles Kettles
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.
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!
The colour really brings the life back into these photos! Well done!
Very well done! I work with Photoshop for a living and I know how difficult this can be.
The colouring is beautifully done and really brings the photographs and their subjects to life.
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...Wow! Very nicely done. Thank you for sharing this fantastic work. Beautiful.
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.
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!
The colour really brings the life back into these photos! Well done!
Very well done! I work with Photoshop for a living and I know how difficult this can be.
The colouring is beautifully done and really brings the photographs and their subjects to life.
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...Wow! Very nicely done. Thank you for sharing this fantastic work. Beautiful.
