DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Photographer Creates Whimsical Images From Restored Black and White Photos

Aug 19, 2015 by Allen Mowery 9 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Underneath

I love old photographs…  Our home is decorated with snapshots from bygone eras and our basement has stacks of them (some dating back to the mid-1800s) sitting in boxes waiting for us to determine what we’ll do with them.

But, taking old photo love to a completely new level, Australian photographer Jane Long decided to take the image collections of Costică Acsinte and not only restore and colorize them but add a bit of a whimsical twist along the way.  Her vision and creativity apparent in the project are not only fascinating but rather humorous, at points.

flock-ba-lr

“The Dancing with Costică series initially came about when I decided to brush up on my retouching skills. After finding the Costică Acsinte Archive on Flickr I became fascinated with the images and their subjects. I wanted to bring them to life. But more than that I wanted to give them a story.”

farewell-1-ba-lr

“I wanted there to be some ambiguity about the images. Things that are almost real or not quite right. That’s why I like to place them in a slightly surreal context. But I think it should be up to the viewer to determine if the characters in my images are good or bad, light or dark.”

corvo-lr-ba

“I will probably never know the real stories of these people but in my mind they became characters in tales of my own invention…star crossed lovers, a girl waiting for her lover to come home, boys sharing a fantasy, innocent children with a little hint of something dark.”

burn-it-down-ba-lr

“This is in many ways a collaboration, albeit one with a photographer I have never met (and never will)and the man who has taken it upon himself to conserve the archive. It is through the work of Cezar Popescu in restoring and digitizing these images that I am able to draw on such a rich source of inspiration in Costică Ascinte’s work.”

beacon-lr-ba

All Hands on Deck

Tall Poppies

sweetheart-ba-lr

neptunes-bride-lr-ba

Musica

Fetiță

The series, on exhibit at the Romanian Embassy in Canberra, Australia, is the melding of passion, vision, and history.  To see more of Jane’s incredible work, check out her website, or follow her on Facebook and Flickr!

 

The series was exhibited at the Romanian Embassy in Canberra, Australia from March-June this year. It
was also shown at the Romanian Photo Festival in May and opens at the Ballarat International Foto
Biennale on the 22 nd of August.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

“Earth Restored” shows astronauts’ photos of the Earth as you’ve never seen them before Default ThumbnailJ.F. Kennedy Photographs By Jacques Lowe Restored From Contacts After Negatives Lost On 9/11 Behind The Scenes: How They Restored The Original 35mm Negative Of Jaws And Updated It Into The Digital Age This photographer creates surrealistic images without Photoshop manipulation

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Adobe Photoshop, Costică Ascinte, jane long, post processing, vintage

About Allen Mowery

Allen Mowery is a commercial and editorial photographer, pseudo-philosopher, and wannabe documentarian killing time amidst the rolling hills of Central Pennsylvania. When not shooting client work or chasing overgrown wildlife from his yard, he loves to capture the stories of the people and culture around him.

« Feel Free To Waste The Rest Of Your Day By Turning Your Entire Portfolio Into Emoji Mosaics
Easily Simulate The Look Of Two Camera Angles When You Only Have Footage From One Angle »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Insta360’s new teaser says they’re entering the gimbal market
  • Users report blurry photos from Samsung Galaxy S23/S23+ cameras
  • Whale with severe scoliosis captured by drone video
  • Photographer builds 11-foot electronic waste skull to show Bitcoin’s impact on climate change
  • Fuji’x April X Summit reported to be cancelled

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy