Five Miserable Men From Ovenden

This is an Edwardian studio Cabinet Card featuring five unknown men. On the reverse is a studio stamp which reads “B Collier, Photographer, Ovenden, Nr Halifax” I have not been able to find any record of such a photographer in any of the lists of Victorian and Edwardian studios, nor in census records, but that … Continue reading Five Miserable Men From Ovenden

A Photographic Tale Of Several Wilkinsons

I have a new printer due to arrive today, so I spend a bit of time sorting out a suitable image to test it out with. Eventually I decided on this Victorian portrait of a young lady from the studio of a local photographer, Wilkinsons. A high resolution scan of the old Carte de Visite … Continue reading A Photographic Tale Of Several Wilkinsons

Kate

This is a photograph of my grandmother, Kate Kellam, which must have been taken sometime around 1900, a few years before she married my grandfather, Albert Beanland. Catherine, who was always known as Kate, was born in the small town of Morcott, in Rutland in March 1877, to Albert and Catherine Kellam, and whilst she … Continue reading Kate

VICTORIAN REALITY

VICTORIAN STUDIO PORTRAIT OF UNKNOWN WOMAN (BROWN, BARNES & BELL, LIVERPOOL) : The Victorians would have loved those smartphone apps where you can brighten your smile, get rid of your piggy eyes, and dissolve blemishes. Look carefully at any old Victorian studio portrait and you can see where eyebrows have been extended and spots scraped … Continue reading VICTORIAN REALITY

Stop Messing About

"Stop messing about" is a cry that has accompanied my entire life. "Stop messing about and get on with your homework, stop messing about and get down to some real work ....": you can change the latter part of the sentence, but the first few words remain the same. Some time the cry comes from … Continue reading Stop Messing About

Looking Back

I've always been rather intrigued by those Victorian gentlemen who used to go around saving lost souls. I have never aspired to provide salvation to that degree, but give me a sad and wanting old photograph, and I will grab the Photoshop Bible and get down to my devotions along with the most pious amongst … Continue reading Looking Back

The Strange World Of Warner Gothard

It's a strange lockdown world we live in where dog grooming is classed as an essential service but the human equivalent is not. The result is that our dog is today walking around like a well-coiffured matinee idol, whilst I look like an over-enthusiastic kitchen mop. It would be nice to think that my abundant … Continue reading The Strange World Of Warner Gothard

Making My Mind Up About AI

I still can't make my mind up about AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) colourising programmes are all the rage: smart little apps where you can feed a monochrome image in at one end, and a beautifully realistic full-colour rendition emerges from the other end. To be honest, sometimes it is beautiful, sometimes realistic and sometimes it … Continue reading Making My Mind Up About AI