Can anyone clear up this image of a Carr Family Wedding from the 1940s

[Wiggy]

I've been watching this very difficult restoration with great interest - (being far too chicken to even attempt it    )

Hats off to all who had a go at it . . .but I think Cazz takes the trophy for this one.     Only my opinion, mind.   

Wiggy     

[Handypandy]

I've been watching this very difficult restoration with great interest - (being far too chicken to even attempt it    )

Hats off to all who had a go at it . . .but I think Cazz takes the trophy for this one.     Only my opinion, mind.   

Wiggy   

I agree wholeheartedly, an excellent job. Definitely not one for the feint hearted.

[japeflakes]

Still trying but give in to all the experts on here. Well done

[dafydd46]

For the superb restoration from Cazza59, manual dexterity and skill of a higher order than I possess was required.

I cheated! I used the Fast Fourier plug-in (part of the @G'MIC plug-in of GIMP). This is capable of removing any sort of repetitive pattern. The results will depend on the quality of the original scan. The downsides are that it can introduce artifacts at the edges of the picture and will increase noise to a greater or lesser degree.

A quick search on the internet suggests that there is a similar, free, plug-in available for Photoshop.

dafydd46.

[Wiggy]

Hmmmm.

   I probably shouldn't have singled out one restoration . . . . It isn't really the done thing when everyone is learning and doing their best . . . .  And goodness knows, I'm no expert as anyone will tell you!   I will 'pull my head in' in future!     

Well done all of you.   

Wiggy.

[dafydd46]

@Wiggy,

Your opinion is perfectly valid. I am sure no-one will take offence and that we are all here to learn from each other.

dafydd46.

[Handypandy]

@Wiggy,

Your opinion is perfectly valid. I am sure no-one will take offence and that we are all here to learn from each other.

dafydd46.

I agree. I don't see how anyone could take offence. To be honest, results like that are an inspiration.

Also...I might add... your first upload on this thread dafydd46, is not so shabby either.

[MartynS]

Carr Family

[Mike Morrell (NL)]

Hi Peter,

Many thanks for your tips! However you did it, your result is amazing! Digging around on internet, I read that 'Fast Fourier Transforms' (FFT)' are the way to go for removing repeating textures/patterns from photos. Less tedious than brushing in lines! There's no standard FFT filter for Photoshop but there are a couple of free third-party versions on internet that you can download. I've tried installing a couple of of these in Photoshop but so far without success. I've no idea how effective an FFT plugin (or stand-alone program) could be. Intuitively, I think there must be a way of 'automating' (to some extent) the removal of repeating texture/patterns in whatever software we use. Just haven't got there yet

Mike

Hi, Mike. From one learner to another.

With the archway I just obliterated the lines with the smudge and blur tools. With the pavement I ran the burn and dodge tools as appropriate to try to even out the darkness/lightness and then smudged what was left. I tried to do the same thing with the lines through the people: brush in either a darker or lighter area so that the lines would disappear. I also tried to make some people/objects darker or lighter so that their detail was clearer; that is, rather than just using either the burn or the dodge tool, I alternated between them.

I’m not that happy with the end result or the method. The method was very tedious and it was very difficult to get the shades right so that the lines would disappear; sometimes when I zoomed out I found I was making the lines worse or merely making them only slightly less visible. The result wasn’t really that good for the time involved. You’ll note that in desperation I added some canvas texture to try to hide some of the lines that were still to visible.

I have read that some programs and/or plugins have a facility for removing scan lines but I don’t know how effective they are. GIMP, or at least a plugin available for GIMP, is supposed to have it. I use Photoshop Elements and I can’t find anything like that in it.

I’d love to know how Dafydd46 so thoroughly got rid of the lines and also how Cazz achieved such a truly remarkable result; looks like a lot of very clever work.

Cheers, Peter