Restoring old photos in the digital age

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, souvenirs and images from the past always have a sacred value. Old photos not only record a moment, but also a part of memory, a link connecting generations. Therefore, the need to restore old photos has become a part of life, helping people connect the past with the present.

Every picture tells a story

The small photo studio of Mr. Hoang Nam and Ms. Nguyen Thi Khien on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Hong Hai Ward, Ha Long City) has been open since 2000, nearly 25 years. This is one of the few photo studios in Ha Long specializing in restoring old photos.

Every day, diligently recreating photos that have faded over time, for Mr. Nam and Ms. Khien, each photo is not only a job but also has great meaning when it can restore the memories stored in each photo. Each old photo of a customer when coming to the store carries within it a memorable story. According to Ms. Khien, there was an old woman nearly 80 years old who brought an old photo of her youth, now stained with time, hoping that the photo shop could restore and combine her photo with a photo of her husband when he was young to preserve the memory, because they never had any photos taken together when they were young.

Photos brought for restoration are usually photos of youth.

Before coming to the photo shop, each old photo has a different journey, going through many years, preserving many memories. Therefore, each photo is very sacred and precious. Restored photos are often wedding photos, commemorative photos of youth, old photos of martyrs, some photos are blurry, blurred, missing corners, some photos have lost all details and are very difficult to restore, or there are even families that do not have any photos of their relatives but still want a photo to worship. Therefore, the photographer must rely on other photos taken at the same time or based on the family's description, trying to perfect the photo to make it as realistic as possible.

Although they are just simple photos, but preserving the memories of loved ones, especially for the relatives of the deceased, the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed, the photos become more precious, helping families maintain the invisible connection with their loved ones, feeling the space, time and emotions of the moments in the past. Those photos may fade over time, but they are always vivid "witnesses" of time and memory.

Mr. Nam and Ms. Khien advise customers on photo restoration.

Recreate original memories

Photo restoration not only helps to restore discolored, old, moldy, blurred, or torn photos to their original state, but can also restore old black and white photos to color.

Mr. Hoang Nam said: When receiving the photo, I will have to assess the level of damage, the type of material of the photo and the elements that need to be restored, then digitize the photo using a scanner for processing on a computer. The editing process must adjust each small corner of the photo to ensure that the original details are retained as much as possible and add editing details while still ensuring that they are as similar as possible to the original details.

Nowadays, photo editing technology has developed, greatly supporting the workers. However, to have a beautiful restored photo, keeping the spirit of the character in the photo, the experience and skill of the repairman is still the most important factor. "This job not only requires technical knowledge, but also requires sophistication in preserving the soul and core of the photo. You must be meticulous, careful, and do every detail, especially the face and eyes" - Ms. Khien shared. Spending all the time and effort to restore old photos, although it is not easy, Mr. Nam and Ms. Khien always feel happy with the work they do, trying to improve their skills little by little to have more and more beautiful restored photos.

Many of the photos were blurred, lost details, and were difficult to restore.

Nowadays, with the development of technology, the restoration of old photos is also greatly assisted by AI artificial intelligence. This not only helps the restoration process become more accurate, but also creates new, clearer, more vivid photos. Recently, portraits of famous 20th century poets such as Han Mac Tu, Che Lan Vien, Xuan Quynh, Xuan Dieu... are names admired by many Vietnamese literature lovers, have been restored into color photos, fresh, vivid. Or portraits of martyrs are also restored using this technology.

Photo restoration work today is supported by photo editing tools.

With the support of technology and the heart of the craftsmen, the restoration of old photos is becoming more and more realistic and soulful, more beautiful, both in terms of color, the way of processing details and images. In the future, the work of restoring old photos will not only stop at restoring still images but, based on modern technology, can also be further developed by displaying them in 3D space, thanks to which the characters in the photos, especially the great men of the century, will be closer to today's young generation. And that is also a way to bring a part of the memory from the past to the present.

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