In ‘Face Painting’, I featured a fete in Devon that we attended in 1985. Among the photographs published there are some of Sam having his face painted. My favourite series from that day are those of Louisa undergoing the same experience. I had been unable to include them because I had framed the Louisa images in a set that has been lost. Nor could I find the negatives from that event, so I had scanned the remaining prints.
I am happy to say that I have now found the negatives and was able to reproduce Louisa’s courageous effort from those.
She began with a certain amount of trusting uncertainty.
Soon, she was getting a bit cross;
but responded to persuasion
with stoic patience, until…..
Wow!. The mirror bestowed delight.
When working with old negatives or slides, especially those that have strayed from my dedicated storage systems, there is always a risk of blemishes caused by deterioration or damage. This set suffered more than most.
What was required was a considerable amount of retouching. For those not familiar with the process I will briefly describe the editing facility in the iMac. The scanned images are placed in Photos. Clicking on Edit gives various options, one of which is Retouch. This is essential to remove stray spots, faults, and hairs that have blemished the original material.
Using the mouse the icon is placed on the damaged area, positioning a circle the size of which can be adjusted. Clicking or dragging on the circle transfers pigment pixels from the surrounding areas. I’m sure this isn’t a particularly technical explanation, but hopefully it conveys how painstaking one has to be to
transform this image into the third one above. An enlargement will clarify the problems. This shot has by no means the most blemishes, but it does have some of each. Sometimes I use cropping to save me doing all this. Thus, I could have removed the artist’s hair, but that would have ruined the context.
Even as I was closing what I thought was my final edit, I noticed that I had left, beneath Louisa’s ear in the first picture, a circular white lump larger than the blotchy one in the above original.
This evening we dined on Salmon Fillet & Spinach, and Cod Fillet & Sweet Potato, fishcakes topped with cheddar cheese; chips; and peas. I drank Doom Bar and Jackie drank fruit juice.
Adorable
Thanks, Lonely
The smile on that one picture! So fun! Interesting about the editing process.
Thanks a lot, Jodie
The smile says it all 😃
It does, Val. Thank you
That is painstaking work Derrick – and isn’t it odd that when we are striving for perfection, something always escapes our notice ………..
Thanks a lot, Pauline. It certainly is
Wonderful photos that capture the moment–and nicely done editing.
Thanks very much, Merril
I love these photos, Derrick. I almost want to have my face painted myself!
Many thanks, Luanne
That look of delight will bring smiles all over blogdom.
I love fish cakes, especially the Portuguese ones made with salted cod. No doubt I will indulge next year when I live a month in Lisbon.
Many thanks, Mary. It certainly was delightful
Derrick, these are wonderful!
The progression, along with your description, led to that very happy smiling face. Love it!
Very many thanks, Laurie
That second-last image is delightful.
That retouch button is a wonderful tool, Derrick. I have made 80-100 yr old black & white photos with many creases and spots relatively recognisable and clear. Sometimes increasing the contrast or black point can help too.
(I have also erased hundreds of leaf and stick fragments out of the lake water after photographing a Swan). Yes, I am a bit OCD and like subjects to be neat and tidy in my images 🙂
Me too, Vicki, although I’d probably leave in what was there :). Thanks very much
Hooray for retouching. Your results are wonderful. As was your meal this evening.
Many thanks, Lisa
The pieces leading up to the final result are precious and so wonderful, Derrick. I have never thought to do this when my children or grandchildren were face-painted! 🙂
Many thanks, Robin. There’s still time 🙂
Oh, you’re a magician! Hocus pocus — damaged photos are new again and grumpy Louisa smiles at the end. Great post, Sir Knight.
Very many thanks, Rose
Great post!Had a good laugh!Adorable
Thanks very much, Sofia
Superb group of face-painting photos – though by the final photo I must have picked up a bit of hay fever or something because my eyes started to water.
One of the great regrets in my life is that I didn’t take enough photos of the kids growing up.
Many thanks, Quercus. I love your hay fever image; and am so grateful that I did take so many in the pre-digital era.
Love the variety of expressions! Then, of course, there is the last. Those pictures sure do tell a story.
Thank you very much, Laurie
Well done Derrick, the photos are great. I enjoyed reading the commentary as well.
Many thanks, Timi
Such effort and attention–the work does so well by you
Many thanks, Cynthia G
My girls got their face painted yesterday – couldn’t be happier 🙂 When my daughter grew up it wasn’t that popular 🙂
🙂 Thank you, Inese