This Artist Colorizes Old Photos And They Might Change The Way You See History (30 Pics)
Mads Madsen is a 25-year-old Danish man who has an interesting hobby that's just perfect for a history-obsessed man like himself - colorizing old photos.
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Mads Madsen is a 25-year-old Danish man who is fascinated by history and is even pursuing a Master's degree in ancient Greece and Rome history. The man also has an interesting hobby that's just perfect for a history-obsessed man like himself - colorizing old photos.
Mads has been doing colorizations for years and in a recent interview with Bored Panda said he got into it after coming across some colorized photos on Reddit. "They were colorized by hand. This discovery led me to a more in-depth search, and I learned that it was actually done by an old lady," said the man. "She had a website dedicated to hand-coloring photographs of all periods with oil. It just absolutely blew me away."
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Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
When choosing photos for his colorizations, Mads always checks whether the subject's eyes will look good in the final picture. "I've always had a fascination with beautiful eyes, and that's how I pick most of my photographs," said the man. "If you look through my gallery, you'll see that most of the eyes there are steely-blue or sky-blue, and they (hopefully) are framed beautifully by the surrounding color, contrasting with it really nicely. So that's the main criteria."
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Mads says that colorizing an old photo is no easy task and is especially difficult when it comes to overlapping objects like tree branches stretching into the sky. Since he doesn't want the sky to look brown or the branches to look blue, he has to do everything by hand.
If you'd like to try your hand at colorization, Mads has prepared a useful video tutorial - you can check it out here!
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
'Harlem Hellfighters' poses wearing the Croix du Guerre, awarded for bravery in an outnumbered battle against German forces. He also received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2015 - 12th of February 1919
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
German and British soldiers laid down their arms, and climbed out in to no man's land for an unofficial ceasefire during Christmas. Supposedly over 100,000 soldiers participated, gifts were exchanged, British soldiers cut the hair of German soldiers, officers swapped buttons and coats, privates exchanged candy - and the next day, the fighting resumed, and the carnage continued.
it's worth noting that not all parts of the front celebrated this truce, some parts of the frontline only had small agreements of a minor ceasefire to recover bodies, while others sang songs from within their trenches.
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.
Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. He is best known for the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working class life in the north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, are widely acclaimed, as are his essays on politics, literature, language, and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Orwell's work continues to influence popular and political culture, and the term Orwellian – descriptive of totalitarian or authoritarian social practices – has entered the language together with many of his neologisms, including Big Brother, Thought Police, Room 101, memory hole, newspeak, doublethink, proles, unperson, and thoughtcrime.
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Eisenstaedt himself is quoted as saying 'He stared at me with hate in his eyes', despite the events following up to this. Eisenstaedt had photographed Goebbels sitting on his own outside in the courtyard, had approached him and taken a photograph of him with a warm smile, and then moments later was confronted with this, when Goebbels had learned of Eisenstaedts 'true identity'. Sad.
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Note the Mickey Mouse watch he is wearing as well.
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#1 Desmond Doss, Conscientious Objector And Medal Of Honor Recipient. He Was Given The Medal Of Honor For His Actions At Hacksaw Ridge, During The Battle Of Okinawa, Where He Carried 75 Wounded Men To Safety Under Heavy Enemy Fire
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#2 Two American Soldiers Proudly Show Off Their Personalized "Easter Eggs" (155mm Artillery Shells) Before Firing Them
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
When choosing photos for his colorizations, Mads always checks whether the subject's eyes will look good in the final picture. "I've always had a fascination with beautiful eyes, and that's how I pick most of my photographs," said the man. "If you look through my gallery, you'll see that most of the eyes there are steely-blue or sky-blue, and they (hopefully) are framed beautifully by the surrounding color, contrasting with it really nicely. So that's the main criteria."
#3 Frederick Douglass, Talented Orator And Frontspokesman Of Abolition. Escaped Slavery, And Led A Freedom-Movement
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#4 Amelia Earhart, Unknown Date
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Mads says that colorizing an old photo is no easy task and is especially difficult when it comes to overlapping objects like tree branches stretching into the sky. Since he doesn't want the sky to look brown or the branches to look blue, he has to do everything by hand.
If you'd like to try your hand at colorization, Mads has prepared a useful video tutorial - you can check it out here!
#5 Nikola Tesla, With Roger Boskovich's Book 'Theoria Philosophiae Naturalis', In Front Of The Spiral Coil Of His High-Frequency Transformer At East Houston St., New York
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#6 Sir David Attenborough, Born This Day In 1926, Seen Here Petting A Macaw Around 1950-51
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#7 Helen Keller Greeting Charlie Chaplin By Feeling His Features
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#8 Alan Turing - A Computer Scientist, Philosopher, And Cryptologist Who Played A Crucial Role In Breaking The Nazis' Enigma Code - Seen Here In Happier Times. Unknown Date.
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#9 Native American Chief With Feathers, Unknown Date
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#10 Two Girls And Their Snow Fort, Ca. 1910
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#11 Sgt. Henry 'Black Death' Johnson Of The 369th
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
'Harlem Hellfighters' poses wearing the Croix du Guerre, awarded for bravery in an outnumbered battle against German forces. He also received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2015 - 12th of February 1919
#12 Ca. 1960 - A Civil Rights Demonstration. A Black Woman Is Glaring At A Man, Who Appears To Be A Segregationist, Donning The Confederate Flag On His Hardhat
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#13 Audrey Hepburn. Unknown Date
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#14 Christmas Truce Of 1914 During The First World War
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
German and British soldiers laid down their arms, and climbed out in to no man's land for an unofficial ceasefire during Christmas. Supposedly over 100,000 soldiers participated, gifts were exchanged, British soldiers cut the hair of German soldiers, officers swapped buttons and coats, privates exchanged candy - and the next day, the fighting resumed, and the carnage continued.
it's worth noting that not all parts of the front celebrated this truce, some parts of the frontline only had small agreements of a minor ceasefire to recover bodies, while others sang songs from within their trenches.
#15 Albert Einstein, Photographed Ca. 1948 By Yousuf Karsh
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#16 Jim Henson, Creator Of The Muppets, Sitting With Ernie & Kermit The Frog
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#17 Marilyn Monroe After A Party. A Rare, Solemn Moment Of Quiet For The Otherwise Boisterous Personality
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#18 Richard Pierce - 14 Years Of Age, Works As A Western Union Telegraph Messenger. With Nine Months Of Service. He Works From 7 A.m. To 6 P.m. Smokes. Visits Houses Of Prostitution. Wilmington, Delaware, Ca. May 1910
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#19 Einstein Laughing During A Dinner Party, Year Unknown
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#20 Paul Newman & Clint Eastwood
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#21 Brigadier General And Actor Jimmy Stewart. Participated In Over 20 Missions Over Nazi-Occupied Europe, And Even Flew A Bombing Run During The Vietnam War.
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#22 James Dean, Actor And Rebel Without A Cause, December 29th, 1954
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#23 Victor Hugo, Famous Author Of Les Miserables, And The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame - Ca. 1876
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#24 Mark Twain
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
#25 Eric Arthur Blair, Better Known By His Pen Name George Orwell, Was An English Novelist, Essayist, Journalist, And Critic
Image source: MadsMadsen.CH
His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.
Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. He is best known for the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working class life in the north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, are widely acclaimed, as are his essays on politics, literature, language, and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Orwell's work continues to influence popular and political culture, and the term Orwellian – descriptive of totalitarian or authoritarian social practices – has entered the language together with many of his neologisms, including Big Brother, Thought Police, Room 101, memory hole, newspeak, doublethink, proles, unperson, and thoughtcrime.
#26 Joseph Goebbels Scowling At Photographer Albert Eisenstaedt After Finding Out Eisenstaedt Was Jewish.
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Eisenstaedt himself is quoted as saying 'He stared at me with hate in his eyes', despite the events following up to this. Eisenstaedt had photographed Goebbels sitting on his own outside in the courtyard, had approached him and taken a photograph of him with a warm smile, and then moments later was confronted with this, when Goebbels had learned of Eisenstaedts 'true identity'. Sad.
#27 Buzz Aldrin, The Second Man On The Moon, Seen Here As Commandant Of The Air Force Test Pilot School, Ca. 1963
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
Note the Mickey Mouse watch he is wearing as well.
#28 Theodore Roosevelt Holding His Grandson, Kermit Roosevelt Jr. - Ca. 1916
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#29 Abraham Lincoln And George Mcclellan At Antietam, October 2nd/3rd, 1862
Image source: madsmadsen.ch
#30 Charlie Chaplin Without His Trademark Moustache In His Later Years, Working On A Movie Set
Image source: madsmadsen.chDE
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