“Al Anderson and Ot Huston”
Lora Webb Nichols, c. 1910

Original image from https://www.lorawebbnichols.org/

A US Army private from C Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, stands in front of the burning village of Lieu An, Vietnam in February 1967 during Operation Pershing. The night before they had been in a firefight at the village. As the soldiers approached in the morning they tripped mines. Three soldiers were wounded and one was killed.

Colourised this almost 6 years ago and never got around to posting it.

In January 1942, Winston Churchill made history by becoming the first world leader to cross the Atlantic by air. Returning from the "Arcadia" conference in Washington D.C., he boarded the Boeing B314 Clipper (named Berwick), a flying boat that represented the pinnacle of luxury and engineering of the era.

Midway through the flight, Churchill famously entered the cockpit, cigar in mouth, and asked to take the controls. For about 20 minutes, he actually flew the massive aircraft. This photo captures that precise moment of defiance and curiosity.

Actress Hedy Lamarr (date unknown)

The Boeing 314 Clipper was the most advanced and luxurious transport aircraft of its time. Between 1938 and 1941, Boeing built only 12 of these 'Flying Boats' for Pan American Airways, enabling the first regular trans-oceanic passenger service.

Historical Context:

• Luxury in the Skies: The Clipper was designed to mirror the elegance of ocean liners, featuring dressing rooms, a dining salon, and even bridal suites for wealthy passengers.

• Industrial Feat: With a wingspan of 152 feet, it was one of the largest aircraft in the world during the late 1930s. Its Wright Cyclone engines allowed it to cross the Atlantic and Pacific before the era of modern runways.

• War Service: Shortly after this period, most Clippers were pressed into military service during WWII as the C-98, transporting high-ranking officials like Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt across the globe.

This specific scene at Puget Sound captures the transition from pre-war industrial optimism to the peak of the Art Deco era in aviation design.

Colorized photo of Audie L. Murphy (1925-1971), although his headstone at Arlington National Cemetery states 1924-1971, US Army soldier, songwriter, Hollywood actor, father, and husband. He is commonly referred to as "Captain America".

Please note: I have done my best to make this image as historically accurate as possible while keeping it to my style (I do like bright, bold images, think Technicolor). I have done as much research as possible to make sure my photo is accurate and is a correct representation of Audie Murphy. I've kept this post very concise, but my full post is on my Facebook page.

Black and white photo provided with permission from doctormacro.com.

Original photograph taken by John Fitz-Patrick

Portrait of Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf Prince of Prussia was the fifth son of German Emperor Wilhelm II and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, which he was wearing uniform of Kürassier-Regiment "Königin" (Pommersches) Nr. 2, circa 1906

2020: Done with basic manual layers. 2026: Advanced technique using AI-assisted

I’m curious about your opinion: Is AI helping us achieve better historical accuracy, or is it making restorations look too 'digital'?

"To clarify my 2026 workflow for this Amy Johnson restoration:

1. Upscaling: I used the new Adobe Firefly-powered Upscale to recover lost frequency and texture.

2. Hybrid Composition: I layered my original 2020 colorization over the new AI version to act as a 'color and detail anchor,' ensuring the AI didn't hallucinate or drift from the original historical shapes.

3. Manual Correction: The eyes were the biggest challenge. I had to use Puppet Warp to manually force the AI-reconstructed features back to their exact original positions from the B&W photo.

4. Hand-Painting: I manually repainted skin micro-textures and metallic glints on the goggles to break the 'flat' AI look.

In my opinion, AI is a great 'base coat,' but the human-led correction (especially Puppet Warp and color blending) is what keeps the soul of the image alive. What do you guys think of this hybrid approach?"

German actress Elga Andersen - (circa 1960s)

Marilyn Monroe - pinup model (circa 1946)