And now for something a little bit different :)

DeVore

carcrash by devoresphotos, on Flickr


44 years ago my father survived being in the passenger seat of that car. To put that in context, I'm 41.

The driver, rather miraculously, walked away with some cuts and bruises.

So, now I've got my hands on this photo and scanned it in, what can I use to try and clean it up?

I remember there being something called Soap for this sort of thing but that was a long time ago...

Any suggestions?

DeV.

Tallon

Jaysus, that's some crash!

Usually people here would have a go at cleaning it for you if you are okay with it?

DeVore

Sure, go nuts if you fancy a shot!

DeV

NapoleonInRags

I would leave it as it is.

The crumpled photo suits the crumpled car. Unreal to think they both survived that.

Hugh_C

NapoleonInRags wrote: »

I would leave it as it is.

The crumpled photo suits the crumpled car. Unreal to think they both survived that.

+1

aquarian_fire

I agree, keeping it looking as it is would be best. It adds to the picture I think.
What a miracle! I would print it out and frame it. It's a really unique reminder of your father.

magicbastarder

DeVore wrote: »

what can I use to try and clean it up?

a world class mechanic and a genius panel-beater, i suspect.

DeVore

Dad suffered a bunch of pretty horrific injuries, smashed most of his left leg and his right foot went through the floor and was bent back by the road, broken ribs, punctured internals and a bunch of other bits and pieces. He's about the toughest nut I've met heheh...

I will always keep the photo as it is (thats a scan from today) but I was curious to learn how to go about a repair job like that... (the photo, not the car itself wiseguys )

DeV.

twowheelsonly

I just spent 5 minutes at it in PS. I wouldn't even post it!!

Clone stamp, despeckle & scratch filters etc..

I'm with the others. Leave well alone.

Even with a very quick clean up the impact of the photo is lost. I had the two alongside each other and there's just no comparison. As I say, that was just a very quick clean up, to do it 'Picture Perfect' would absolutely destroy it and turn it into a very run of the mill photo IMO.

abyss

For "quick job" you can use just a clone tool (or similar) in graphic packages (for example in Photo Shop, but not only) and some patience. Photography (the original one, not a scan!) has not very too resolution, so probably it will be best way to "fix holes" and remove small bends. You can preserve "good areas" by using mask and do "retouch" on new layer to easy remove changes.

P.S. Original looks cool, after will be boring.

Certainly not my area of expertise, but this is the best I can come up with after 5-10 minutes:

tfitzgerald

I like the job KKV has done cleaning it up .for anyone to have survived that they had to have someone looking after them that day

magicbastarder

you'd think whoever was looking after them might have gone a small step further and prevented the accident...

colblimp

This accident happened in 1967, the year I was born. It's interesting to note how bad your Dad's injuries were, and yet the medical staff managed to patch him up when medicine wasn't as advanced as it is today. Pretty cool.

To get back on topic, I love KKV's clean-up - you should just go with that! I suppose the other route you could go down would be a pro. picture restorer, but I'd imagine that would cost an arm and a leg (see what I did there?! ).

BTW, I'm with the 'clean it up' crowd.

Whatever you decide, it's a great pic and a fascinating story - thanks for posting.

magicbastarder

i'm not surprised the driver crashed, btw.
that car looks *seriously* unroadworthy.

OldGoat

colblimp wrote: »

... and yet the medical staff managed to patch him up when medicine wasn't as advanced as it is today.

'tis amazing what we could do with a few leeches, some vinegar and brown paper.

I have a few old family pics that I try to repair myself from time to time. It's a learning exercise and each time I try I learn something new. At my rate of learning I should have a finished repaired reproduction in about 15 years. I'm in no hurry.
I suggest you frame the original and play around with the scanned copy yourself, learning a bit more about cleaning up.
Another learning opportunity beckons.

Tallon

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm not surprised the driver crashed, btw.
that car looks *seriously* unroadworthy.

I'm pretty sure that's a picture if the car AFTER the crash