9/6/16, 2:53 PMBrazilian artist makes history feel like the present with beautiful colorized photos - The Verge

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Brazilian artist makes history feel like the present with beautifulcolorized photos

In 2016, we are overwhelmed with options for adding color to black-and-white photos.Cheap smartphone apps, artificial intelligence, and Photoshop knockoffs are accessible toamateurs and hobbyists, and YouTube is a constantly replenishing source of step-by-step tutorials. And yet, if you've tried colorization, you've likely discovered the finishedresult looks like highlighters scrubbed over an old newspaper.

Yes, anybody can add color to old photos, but doing the job well remains a craft. MarinaAmaral is a professional colorist. Her job isn't simply to add color, but to communicate animage's history. The Brazilian artist puts hours of research into her colorizations,contacting historians to get their expert opinions on the original colors of the subjectmaterial. Her projects often reflect significant historical moments like the coronationof Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, or the self-immolation of Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhistmonk Thích Quang Duc in 1963, bringing a sense of modernity and immediacy to familiar

9/6/16, 2:53 PMBrazilian artist makes history feel like the present with beautiful colorized photos - The Verge

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images.

Amaral was studying International Relations in college when she was introduced tocolorization through a history forum. A year and a half ago, she began to create her own.Gradually the projects became a bigger part of her life, so she left school to dedicateherself full-time to her craft. She now spends her days doing commission requests (themost common being family photos and portraits, as one might guess) and working onbigger projects, like a partnership with a Swedish museum in the restoration of photos oflocomotives.

"I wake up at 7am, grab a cup of coffee, and work nonstop until 10 or 11pm," Amaral toldThe Verge. "At the end of the day I'm exhausted, but also very, very glad for thisopportunity to work doing something I love to do. On weekends I spend at least 3 hours aday practicing new techniques."

Her practice involves developing new ways to make an image look as realistic as possible.Amaral studies traditional painting techniques and observes photographs to understandhow light interacts with specific materials like skin, metal, wood, and grass. Her goal is toend up with a finished product in which you can't tell the original photo was once blackand white.

9/6/16, 2:53 PMBrazilian artist makes history feel like the present with beautiful colorized photos - The Verge

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Photo Colorization: Warsaw Uprising (speed process)

Amaral has always had an interest in history, and shares her process and detailedbackground on the stories behind the images on her blog. "I remember getting blownaway by history classes in school since I was very young, about 6 or 7," she said. Seeinghow her colorized photos have the transcendent power to take the viewer to a moment intime, hopefully her work will resonate with a new class of young minds curious about

9/6/16, 2:53 PMBrazilian artist makes history feel like the present with beautiful colorized photos - The Verge

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history.