One from the Attic !

[shamrock2008]

I have attached an important photo from a friends attic..
She asked me to get rid of the stain and turn it into black and white,
sounded like it was easy, not I am realising I dont have the skills,
any help, advice, or direction very much appreciated...

[shamrock2008]

50 views, anyone with any ideas about the stain on the left ?

[mistermonday]

I would first convert the image to black & white using the B&W adj layer (CS4) or one of 15 other methods if your PS is <CS4. The background does not seem to contain any key info or detail so I would probably extract the gentleman and replace the entire background with something similar or from the period. I would get rid of some of the stains with a combination of Dodge & Burn layer and the Clone / Patch tools.
Regards, Murray

[TommyO]

Shamrock2008,
Don't be confused by the views:comments ratio. They normally run about 100:1. So, that doesn't mean anything. Sometimes it just takes a while for us to chime in, especially on harder images. We have to think about it for a while.

I would agree with Murray. My first thought is to extract him and replace the background. Work as hard as you can to restore him, but it doesn't have to be like new. Just bring out the image as much as possible. Luckily, most of the damage is to one side and not much on his face.

Be sure to keep the lighting aspect correct. Sometimes, with a lot of repair, it gets off and makes it look unnatural.

Try the FFT filter on the paper/texture bleed through. If it doesn't do anything, I recall numerous threads by our senior members on removing the same. Do a search and look for them under the "restoration" or "image help" sections, look for contributions by "byRo" or by "Flora"... as I recall.

[shamrock2008]

Cheers Murray, I am OK with the idea of removing him from the background,
so Will get on that right away.. I expected to use the clone tool but not the dodge and burn..
So Will start and keep you posted..

Tommy, you are right about the numbers, I was just running away with myself a bit ...
I understand the light aspect, or direction of the light, not sure I know how to control it but will try lol

and as long as we know I wont be producing any miracles first time out we are all good.

I am using CS4*

[aartist]

If you want to retain the background.
Select the right side, mirror it, move to left side.
Select all background, then Gaussian blur and add noise.

Good luck on his uniform. That will be hard.

[byRo]

Originally Posted by TommyO

... look for contributions by "byRo" or by "Flora"... as I recall.

Did somebody call?
This one is right up my street, just couldn't resist...

1) Level individual channels (Whitepoint / Blackpoint). Adjust midpoint so avervage is 127.
2) Inspect channels and decide which are best (Green & Blue)
3) Make monochrome (50% G / 50% B), increase image size 300%
4) Add 50px 50% grey border
5) FFT / Paint stars (blobs, actually) / IFFT
6) Inital D&B to even out the worst defects (1)
7) Initial Smudge on the easy bits and to start blocking out the harder bits (2)
8) Second D&B to remove most of the defects (3)
9) Smudge painting
10) Levels and smudge sharpening (4)

The original may look pretty awful, but the eyes are intact and that's the emost important part. The rest you can just make up what's missing.

(Sorry to be away so long, I'm hoping to spend more time here after the New Year)

Rô

[mistermonday]

Ro, Jedi Master of Retouching has returned!! Welcome back. Your have been greatly missed. As ususal, an except job on the image.
Best Wishes for a happy holiday and a wonderful New Year,
Murray

[Kraellin]

welcome back, Ro

[MiningArt]

Rô, I like how you showed each step with examples, thanks.

[shamrock2008]

Fantastic Job, really great skills shown...

Big thank you for all the help..