You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I published a small Carte de Visite I had acquired which showed a picture of a woman taken by the Victorian photographer William Brigham of Scarborough. At the time, I speculated on what the woman would look like if she had been photographed today : no older, but with modern clothing and a modern hairstyle. I promised to have a go - with the help of Photoshop and my friend Jane as a model - at producing a "Brigham Girl : Then And Now" study. Whilst we were in Oxford I took some photographs and since then I have been playing around with Photoshop and I have come up with a couple of images.
The first image attempts to show the Brigham girl with Jane's hair and jumper. Looking back, it would have been probably better to have had a photograph of Jane in a more contemporary setting - sat at her computer for example - but it is an interesting study.
The second image switches the polarities, so to speak, and takes Jane's face back to the 1880s photograph. I think she looks quite grand, rather like a fine Victorian lady. As an experiment, it was interesting and one I must try again once a suitable old photograph comes up. The other project I promised to undertake whilst in Oxford - the Candy Floss Machine project - is another story which deserves a post all to itself so I will return to the subject next week. In the meantime, a bit thank you to Janie for agreeing to be my model and for the Good Lady Wife for acting as photographers' assistant.
I think you did an amazing job with your Brigham girl! Your model and assistant, too. The middle photo actually looks rather a lot like someone I know.
ReplyDeleteA fascinating project Alan. Always a pleasure to visit your blog. Have a grand weekend.
ReplyDeleteI failed to achieve that 'pursed lips' expression, though. Seem to have ended up with a smug smile.
ReplyDeleteInteresting project, Alan. Sounds like it was fun to do, too.
ReplyDeleteSo often we see edited photos online and don't realize they've been edited -- at least I don't. his was very fun to see the before and after images of your work. I'm really impressed.
ReplyDeleteDang. It's a good thing I edit my blog posts better than I edit my comments. It should have read, "This was very fun...."
ReplyDeleteI"ve been meaning to learn photoshop for a while. I watch my daughter do amazing things with it for her work. I think Jane somehow fits the Victorian elegance better than the Brigham lady does the modern world.
ReplyDeleteAlan, this is fascinating! I have PhotoShop waiting on me too! In fact, I had promised myself an introduction to it during this summer vacation from school.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am in England, I stay with a dear friend in Oxford. Isn' it a marvelous city?
Put her in a turtleneck and wow...she's modern! Super photoshopping. Love this, Alan!
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