Monday, December 27, 2021

Rescans, 1958

Every once in a while, I like to find an old, previously-scanned slide and tackle it anew - hoping for improved results because of a newer, better scanner and (theoretically) better Photoshop skills. Let's see how I did this time!

This first example was originally posted back in 2011, and looking at it now, it's pretty dreary. The colors are desaturated, with a strange greenish-grayish-yuckish haze that makes me wonder if a nearby dump full of tires was burning.


Part of the problem is that the original slide had faded to the usual pink/magenta. This is how things look when I get angry! 


Well, there's my new attempt at rescanning and color-correcting. I'm much more pleased with the way it looks, even though there are still are some problematic areas. There is a subtle pinkish cast to some areas that I could have fixed if I was willing to spend more time on it, but there are so many quality shows on Netflix!


Next I tackled a scan (first shared in 2009) featuring GDB's "first family" - the mother and her son were in the very first post on this blog. Almost all of the slides from this batch had also turned pink to a degree, and some of that rosy color still shows on this version.


I've managed to bring back some of the blue in the sky (increasing the contrast helped), and also brought  out some of the yellows on Castle Rock's stony battlements. I hope somebody slapped that rude little boy on the back so that his face stuck like that for the rest of his life. That'll learn 'im!


I hope you have enjoyed today's rescans.

18 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Nice restoration work, as usual. As for our young friend, at least he's not scowling.

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Very nice rescans, Major! Thanks for putting in the extra work, and sharing the results with us!

JB said...

Beautiful results on the Pirate Ship, Major.
In pic #2: Looks like there are a few flies buzzing around the flagpole. ;-)

Andrew said...

Thank God, I feel like you hadn't posted any views of Fantasyland from the Skyway for a while... I felt like I was crawling in the desert, looking for water.

Andrew said...

Time for some verb tense practice

"Lou and Sue" said...

Andrew, at least you spelled ‘desert’ correctly.

Nice re-scans, Major!

Major Pepperidge said...

I’M BACK, BABIES!

Nanook, I don’t know, with that tongue always sticking out, he’s going to need to put chap stick on it. And that stuff doesn’t taste so good.

TokyoMagic!, you are welcome!

JB, ha ha, yeah, I guess I didn’t do such a great job “de-dusting” that scan! Not sure why, I was probably on drugs as usual.

Andrew, I would honestly love to know what percentage of my slide collection consists of photos taken from the Skyway. 40%? I really have no idea, but it’s a LOT.

Andrew, just keep practicing your fiddling, the verbs will take care of themselves.

Lou and Sue, maybe Andrew was crawling in a dessert. Something with lots of whipped cream!

JG said...

Nice (re) work, Major. Welcome back, hope you had a good time and stayed dry.

Good to see the First Family. I often wonder what happened that we are now enjoying their vacation snaps. I hope they all had long and happy lives.

Cannot get too much Skyway or Pirate Ship for me, even before Skull Rock.

Jg

Melissa said...

Rescans are like a trip to the optometrist. Better one? Better two?

Welcome home, Maj!

Anonymous said...

Great job. And a reminder to us how much technology has changed in such a short time. KS

DrGoat said...

Great rescans. From the Angry Red Planet (old movie reference) to beautiful earth tones.
Melissa, it's always seems to be 2 is better than 1 for me. Every time. Well Andrew, you wouldn't want to be crawling in this Tucson desert. Wet, and cold. This whole week looks miserable. Usually welcome rain, but winter rain is a horse of a different color.
Thanks Major, glad you returned safely. It's crazy out there.

Nanook said...

Major-
"...he’s going to need to put chap stick on it. And that stuff doesn’t taste so good. I understand it's one of the Colonel's "secret blend of 11 herbs & spices". (It's not so secret anymore-!)

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, we’re glad you’re back!
What’cha bring us??

Melissa said...

Ten years ago, my sister gave me an absinthe-flavored Chapstik for Christmas, and I just finished it off this Christmas.

Anonymous said...

After a smack, that kid probably grew up to be the attorney that made Disney put up all the guardrails on TSI.

JG

Bu said...

There's guardrails on Tom Sawyer's Island?...they ruin everything. Very impressive work with the photos. Why do they get magenta-ee again? Why does everyone stare with bugged out eyes when their photos are taken from another Skyway bucket? Is it like a train wreck? Like...you can't turn away? Perhaps they are super models and it's in their DNA to turn to every camera? Who knows. I do like the ordinary town of Anaheim in the distance...and the houses that haven't been torn down yet. Such a contrast when that part of the world was merely a Jack Benny joke from time to time. I was told if you stick out your tongue and someone hits you in the back of the neck (karate chop) that your face will be frozen in that position forever. Of course, we all tried it and that explains my facial expressions today. Thanks and welcome back Major.

Anonymous said...

I was about to send you way too many of my photos that turned that out pink color, but who can compete with Netflix?

Ah, those Disney details. I always loved conquering the rock castle. This photo reminds why. Even the spire is subtly shaped to evoke cliff dwellings or perhaps Lookout Tower in Grand Canyon. This too must be the work of mud-master Fred Joerger.

MS

Major Pepperidge said...

JG, thanks, and I did have a good time. It’s funny how the “First Family” keeps popping up, even 15+ years later. But it feels right. Like you, I wondered how these great photos wound up being tossed out, but that’s a story I can only guess at.

Melissa, ha ha, you say that only days before I am supposed to go to the optometrist! I’m going to ask them to give me one of those Geordi La Forge thingies.

KS, boy has it ever. I just watched a YouTube video about how CDs are basically on the verge of being extinct, and even though I get *why*, it kind of made me sad. I still have my original CD player (at my mom’s house), it cost me $450!!

DrGoat, oh, I am familiar with “Angry Red Planet”, and that spider-bat thing. I used to truly love that movie, and then I caught it years later and realized how cheesy it is. But I still love it. I know that rain can cause problems, but I am so grateful for the water.

Nanook, I forgot, he can use bacon grease!

Lou and Sue, A NEW CAR! Unfortunately it’s only one car, and it’s in a garage in Oxnard. But you guys can take turns!

Melissa, absinthe-flavored Chapstik! My old roomie loved absinthe, but I am not fond of anise-flavored things in general, so it was not my thing. He’d spend $70 for one bottle. And he had all of the paraphernalia.

JG, I wanted them to add chain-link fence around the whole thing, but nobody else agreed.

Bu, how am I supposed to NOT fall in the water? Some film stocks used dyes that were very “fugitive”, they’d look good at first, but over time the other colors would fade leaving only magenta. So the challenge is usually to mitigate the magenta, and to somehow bring back the yellow and cyan. I don’t know about people staring that much, except that the Skyway ride moved right along, and if you wanted to see as much as possible, you probably had to really pay attention.

MS, you should send those photos anyway! No guarantees, but it’s always a fun challenge to try to restore those old faded images. I wish my nickname was “mud-master”.