Colorized Ava Gardner circa 1950

Here's a colorized Ava Gardner from a 1950 promo still, more sensous than Joan Crawford, though not as talented (would seem), another of my most favorite Hollywood actresses. Just look at that waistline, not to mention the Patrician face.

 

Colorized 1960 Plymouth Belvedere

Going back to my first love, colorizing vintage autos. Here's a rather unglamorous shot of a vintage dirt-caked car on a muddied street from a recent rainfall, though it could be mistaken to be a junkyard. Now why did I even bother colorizing one? This 1960 Plymouth Belvedere is the hardtop version of the sedan my father used up until my late elementary. And in the same color - black. I just love those tail fins and the headlights framed by angry-bird looking "eyebrows".

 

Colorized Bette Davis circa 1940 - 1941

Here's a colorized promotional still of Bette Davis taken circa 1940-1941. Not much else is known about the specific movie.

 

Colorized Philippine Scene

Here's an excellent b&w scenic shot by photography artist Reynaldo J. Castaneda. Couldn't help colorizing it when I first saw the exquisite photo entitled Ternate on My Mind which used a Schneider 120mm lens and Ilford HP5 b&w film. The photo appears to have been taken on an overcast afternoon. I just used some creative liberty for my favorite sunset setting.

Colorized Grand Duchess Tatiana Nilkolaevna, circa 1910

This is a colorized vintage portrait of the Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna (1897 - 1918), the 2nd eldest of among 4 Daughters of Car Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra of Imperial Russia.

 

Colorized Czarina Alexandra Feodrovna, circa 1910-12

Here's my colorized Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia and considered the real power behind Czar Nicholas II who, by all accounts, was a weakling. A real aristocrat who asserted the imperious autocratic power of the monarchy over peasants, the Czarina was hated by the Russian people, both rich and poor, firstly because she had a German birth and was the granddaughter of Britain'sQueen Victoria (Christened Princess Alix of Hesse), a total outsider. She was blamed by some historians as the main cause behind the downfall of the Romanoff line, the emergence of the Bolsheviks, and their eventual demise. She was nevertheless a strong Russian Orthodox believer after being converted from the Lutheran religion, a loving wife and mother who doted on her children with a very strong focus on her son Alexei who was the jewel of the family. She is now Saint Alexandra the Passion Bearer of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Excellent biography at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Feodorovna_(Alix_of_Hesse)

The colorization required some research, not so much on the imperial dress, but the jewels. I started colorizing this last month and the crown was initially solid gold with bluish pearls. Then I stumbled on the real Imperial crown of the empress made by the court jeweler Bolin, It was nowhere as solid but a wire crown with more than 150 flawless diamonds from 0.5 - 3 carats with the center inverted heart-shaped diamond at 20+ carats. Unfortunately, the only photo of the crown was only in b&w. To give some color distinction, I used pinkish pearls against the dead whites on the diamonds. (A version of this crown in all diamonds by Faberge was an option.) Revised and composited the real crown on the image with perspective and shadowing corrections.

I could not find an online resource on the necklace which was probably one of the many jewels she brought with her to Ekaterinburg and never found. I just guessed solid gold asymmetrically studded in pearls. Removed what looks like the back of the chair behind the empress which I considered more of an eyesore than anything.

Colorized Romanoff Sisters, circa 1913-14 OTMA

Here is my colorized version of the Romanoff sisters from a group portrait taken right about the same time, later, or earlier than the complete family portrait here and here. They are, standing left to right, Grand Duchess Maria, Grand Duchess Anastasia,  & Grand Duchess Olga, and seated is the Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicholaevna. Some liberties are again at work here.  The photo hardly hints of the painting on the left background.  While I could have just cropped it out,  I didn't want to crop any part of their bodies and the balance would be off.  So I just composited and darkened the 1882 painting of a Russian artist Nicholai Bogdanov-Belsky (1868 - 1945) titled "Reading a Letter".  He was at the height of his creative career during the first 20 years of the 19th century.  No specific reason for choosing his work, other than the colors. 

The Romanoff Family circa 1913 -1914 (Alternate Pose & Colorization)

Taken with a different pose and arrangement as the first which was the more popular of the two and also preserved with better detailing than the other earlier family shots. This alternate shot with a different order does not have the flowing graceful composition of the first with poor little Alexei overwhelmed by the crowd.

I have taken more creative liberties in colorizing this. A little research done earlier tended to show that the Tzar's imperial uniforms had a two-tone color, as is most common among royal military uniforms in Europe such as the Scott's and Hussar's uniforms, usually the neck, cuffs and breast. The colorization here takes some liberties to create a more aggressive and diverse color palette than the first. This time around, I used pastels for the ladies. 

 

Tsarevitch Alexei 1912-13

Here's another from the tragic Russian Imperial family, the youngest member and heir to the throne had they survived, Tsarevitch Alexei in uniform. Born Aug 1904, died Jul 1918. The original photo was taken sometime in 1912-13. In 2000, Alexei and his family were canonized as Passion Bearers by the Russian Orthodox Church. The family had previously been canonized in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad as saints and holy martyrs. Hence, their bones that have been excavated are now considered holy relics of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Required a little research to get the uniform right, especially the hat where I composited some parts from the real thing. There are versions of that uniform in light khaki color, but the middle breast vest was anywhere from red to dark red, same with the sleeve and collar.