Restoring "smoky" black and white photos

[baheidtheba]

Hi

I am pretty new here and a newbie in terms of photo restoration and repair.
Currently I am working on a relative's black and white photo of an old couple.

The challenge I have is how to remove or alter the appearance of what seems like swirling smoke on the original emulsion of the photo. Please see attached - the horizontal band of "smoke" or haze is mainly around the lower half of the old man, especially around his trousers and his right hand.

I have tried clone stamping and patching, none of which seem to work very well. Any ideas? Thanks for your help!

[Wolly55]

Re: Restoring "smoky" black and white photos

you could try dodging and burning to adjust the tone to match the rest. Use layers set to soft light and brush setting on low opacity, use a layer of black to darken and a layer of white to lighten if need be and just start to brush over the area until it matches the tones of the rest of the photo. Another way would be to make a selection around the area and duplicate it, then using a curves adjustment layer start with small adjustment to match the tones. You still might have to clone or clean up some areas just not as many.

[skoobey]

Re: Restoring "smoky" black and white photos

Another way would be to make a selection around the area and duplicate it(NO NEED TO DUPLICATE IT, just make a curve with that selection, then refine the mask, this is basically dodge and burn), then using a curves adjustment layer start with small adjustment to match the tones. You still might have to clone or clean up some areas just not as many.

Soft light is a solid suggestion and start brushing until it's even.

[baheidtheba]

Re: Restoring "smoky" black and white photos

Thank you very much for your help and advice. I will try the methods you recommended and get back to you.

Regards,