The Colorized Twitter account was launched in December 2020, and it’s already amassed over 8.2k followers who can’t get enough of its stunning colorized photos. However, Colorized is much more than purely a Twitter account. That’s only one facet of the online presence of Colorized's website, which allows anyone from around the world to upload their own black and white pictures and have them revived with vibrant colors within seconds.
According to their site, “Colorized is a brand that represents a community passionate about bringing colorful optimism to the darkest parts of humanity through unique and high quality storytelling.” It was created in 2020 by childhood best friends Justin Levine and Will Gwyn, who previously founded HistoryDaily.org and GroovyHistory.com.
“We owe the inspiration of Colorized to our loyal following who engage with our history content every day,” the founders explain on their site. “The positive feedback on colorized history photos on GroovyHistory and HistoryDaily has been unprecedented. And to meet the excitement of our readers for the colorized history content, we have created Colorized.com.”
Colorized also has a mission of giving back to the community, as their website states they are “committed to bringing colorful optimism to the darkest parts of humanity through conscious capitalism”. “By combining social responsibility with business growth, we create a sustainable impact that enhances the lives of our team members, our partners, as well as people around the planet,” the founders write.
“The more readers we reach, the stronger our community becomes and the more real and measurable difference we’re able to make. Through increased contributions to meaningful charities, we are working to solve some of the world's biggest challenges.” They also note that they are focused on supporting life-saving clean water projects, hunger initiatives, mental health research, poverty abatement projects, animal rescue, Cancer and Alzheimer’s research and much more.
To learn more about the world of colorizing vintage photos, we reached out to Peter Shafron, founder and owner of PhotoFixRestore, a photo restoration and photo colorization company located in Southern California. Peter was kind enough to open up about his personal story and share with Bored Panda how he got into photo colorizing in the first place. “My Dad was in WWII (a soldier in the Soviet Army) and a prisoner of war of the Germans. My uncle was also a soldier (Australian Army), killed and cannibalized by a Japanese soldier in WWII in the mountains of Papua New Guinea,” he shared.
“My three great uncles were in WWI fighting in Europe, a whole world away from sunny Australia. So I was surrounded by dramatic and deadly history growing up. I started colorizing photos thirty years ago using paints and pencils, now I use Photoshop. I have done work for private and public galleries and museums and even did a campaign for Coca Cola colorizing WWII soldiers.”
“When I was young, I would stare at all the old family photos and want more!,” Peter shared with Bored Panda. “What were these people like, not as static monochrome memorials, but as people? Adding color brings the people and the surrounding items back to life with an immediacy and an impact that can be truly stunning. Colorizing old photos really is a way to make them come alive. You feel like you might have known them.”
We also asked Peter what he loves most about colorizing photos and why he finds it so special to see black and white photos brought to life. “To see an old black and white photo carefully colorized is always an emotional experience because it makes us realize that we are really like those people, separated by years but not by our humanity,” he told Bored Panda. “Seeing old soldiers, for example, no matter what side they fought on, colorized and real again creates a connection and a kind of understanding. They were just young men caught up in events much larger than themselves and powerless to do other than serve. It helps me to understand and even forgive those enemy soldiers who took a toll on my family.”
We were also curious to hear about Peter’s process when it comes to colorizing a photo. “In the old days we used paints and pencils applied directly to the photographic print, first applying a spray lacquer to create a ‘key’ for the paints or pencils, then going to work like you would with a coloring book,” he shared. “These days we scan the image in high resolution then open it in Photoshop. Next, we restore any tears or scratches, and apply a very light sepia tone – this helps later get the right skin tone when we apply color,” he explained. “Depending on the subject, and what information we have about the people or events, we will then research the time and place to make sure we get the colors right for uniforms, badges, patches or ribbons.”
Black and white photos certainly have a unique charm, but it’s great to live in a time where we have the option of whether we want our photographs in color or not. We tend to feel more connected to colored photos because they are more relatable to us. They don’t appear to be from a time capsule or an age that lived completely differently; we can’t distance ourselves from them. These were real people who existed on the same planet that we do; they just happened to have less advanced technology. A colorized photo can instantly transport us back in time, but it makes us feel like we fit in, rather than stand out. I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel more connected to my grandmother when I see a photo of her at age 25 in color. She looks almost exactly like I do now; the resemblance is uncanny.
We also asked Peter if he could think of any favorite photos he’s ever colorized. “One of my favorite images is of my sister as a little girl. She was the kindest person I ever knew, and she died from asthma,” he shared. “The photo shows her in front of our old house and front wall that our father built.”
“Another personal photo is of my twin boys – I took the image in black and white on film at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich England, then made it color much later when they turned 21,” Peter told Bored Panda. “Carefully working on photos of people I love is very special – it is kind of like a meditation and the ‘remembrance of things passed’.”
“Old photos are the closest thing we have to a time machine. Looking at an old photo is like peeking through a small hole in the dark blanket of time. Colorizing an old photo makes that experience even more real.”
If you’d like to check out some of Peter’s amazing work or learn more about his company PhotoFixRepair, be sure to visit their website right here!
If you’re still not convinced of the benefits of having colorized photos, we consulted this article from Paso Robles Daily News discussing why colorizing photos can be so great. The first point that they note is that colorizing an old picture does no harm to the original image. “[It] used to mean that someone will take your precious family heirloom and color it manually, so there is an assumption that coloring photos could damage them. But that is simply not the case now. With technology like Photoshop, you don’t have to sacrifice your black-and-white photo to colorize it,” Access Publishing explains.
“With modern colorization services (like those offered at IRC), you simply send in your photo – or even a picture of your photo – to be colorized. It’s all done digitally so you can keep your original and negatives.”
Colorizing a cherished family photo can also be a wonderful, heartfelt gift for a relative. “Many people are sentimental about old photos – breathing new life into them by colorizing them will get you loads of props at the next family gathering,” Access Publishing notes. “Don’t forget to put them in a proper frame and package them nicely! It makes a big difference when you go the extra mile to display your colorized photo as a work of art. And make no mistake, it is!”
