BabelColour
@babelcolour.bsky.social
I'm Stuart Humphryes (known online as BabelColour). I clean, repair, enhance and transform early colour photography.
The bow of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic exploration ship 'The Endurance', photographed in colour shortly before it sank in November 1915. The man with the camera is crew photographer Frank Hurley.
I've cleaned & enhanced the shot, but it is an original colour paget plate and not colourised.
I've cleaned & enhanced the shot, but it is an original colour paget plate and not colourised.
June 20, 2025 at 5:44 PM
The bow of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic exploration ship 'The Endurance', photographed in colour shortly before it sank in November 1915. The man with the camera is crew photographer Frank Hurley.
I've cleaned & enhanced the shot, but it is an original colour paget plate and not colourised.
I've cleaned & enhanced the shot, but it is an original colour paget plate and not colourised.
Travel back in time to the Central American country of Guatemala 99 years ago, with this stunningly vibrant autochrome of a lady in national dress, photographed in colour by Jacob J. Gayer in 1926.
It is original colour (not colourised)
It is original colour (not colourised)
June 18, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Travel back in time to the Central American country of Guatemala 99 years ago, with this stunningly vibrant autochrome of a lady in national dress, photographed in colour by Jacob J. Gayer in 1926.
It is original colour (not colourised)
It is original colour (not colourised)
The orange zing of 1910: I have cleaned-up this striking autochrome study by Thomas Shields Clarke, taken at his home Fernbrook in Lenox, Massachusetts, 115 years ago. It is original colour, not colourised.
June 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
The orange zing of 1910: I have cleaned-up this striking autochrome study by Thomas Shields Clarke, taken at his home Fernbrook in Lenox, Massachusetts, 115 years ago. It is original colour, not colourised.
No, this isn't an Ai image of Ukraine's President Zelensky as Emperor Nero - it's is a genuine autochrome of cosplayers recreating a Classical vignette in Belgium in 1912, taken in colour by Alfonse van Besten 113 years ago. I've cleaned-it up for you, but it is original colour, not colourised.
June 14, 2025 at 8:46 PM
No, this isn't an Ai image of Ukraine's President Zelensky as Emperor Nero - it's is a genuine autochrome of cosplayers recreating a Classical vignette in Belgium in 1912, taken in colour by Alfonse van Besten 113 years ago. I've cleaned-it up for you, but it is original colour, not colourised.
A comparison to demonstrate how I retrieve weak colour information from a faded autochrome: I never paint on new colour to digitally colourise a photo, I only ever work with & boost the colour information in the original plate. This photo shows WWI French war graves at Laffaux on Moday 14th May 1917
June 13, 2025 at 9:47 PM
A comparison to demonstrate how I retrieve weak colour information from a faded autochrome: I never paint on new colour to digitally colourise a photo, I only ever work with & boost the colour information in the original plate. This photo shows WWI French war graves at Laffaux on Moday 14th May 1917
"Farmers at Rest" - this autochrome by the brothers Auguste & Louis Lumière was taken around 120 years ago. I have cleaned & enhanced this beautiful study of farmers, resting by their cottage in France. It is original colour taken between 1904-7, and is not colourised.
June 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
"Farmers at Rest" - this autochrome by the brothers Auguste & Louis Lumière was taken around 120 years ago. I have cleaned & enhanced this beautiful study of farmers, resting by their cottage in France. It is original colour taken between 1904-7, and is not colourised.
Taken exactly 97 years ago this month - in June 1928 - this beautiful autochrome study of a German garden in Baden is a wondrous riot of colour. I just love the 'twenties outfit with cloche hat and aqua marine scarf! It is all original colour, not colourised. 😍
June 8, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Taken exactly 97 years ago this month - in June 1928 - this beautiful autochrome study of a German garden in Baden is a wondrous riot of colour. I just love the 'twenties outfit with cloche hat and aqua marine scarf! It is all original colour, not colourised. 😍
I have enhanced for you this lovely autochrome portrait of a young Hindu lady in the Indian city of Agra, photographed in colour 99 years ago by the visiting French photographer Jules Gervais Courtellemont. (It is original colour from 1926 and not colourised).
June 7, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I have enhanced for you this lovely autochrome portrait of a young Hindu lady in the Indian city of Agra, photographed in colour 99 years ago by the visiting French photographer Jules Gervais Courtellemont. (It is original colour from 1926 and not colourised).
I have cleaned-up this autochrome of a (possibly Cree) First Nation family, photographed in colour 111 years ago on the bank of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta. It was taken by the German photographer Hugo Viewegar in 1914. It is original colour, not colourised.
June 5, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I have cleaned-up this autochrome of a (possibly Cree) First Nation family, photographed in colour 111 years ago on the bank of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta. It was taken by the German photographer Hugo Viewegar in 1914. It is original colour, not colourised.
I've cleaned-up an amazing autochrome from 1920's Tibet. It depicts the Oracle of Nechung (the personal oracle of the 13th Dalai Lama) photographed by Joseph F Rock during his extensive Chinese Expedition in 1927. It is original colour, not colourised.
June 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
I've cleaned-up an amazing autochrome from 1920's Tibet. It depicts the Oracle of Nechung (the personal oracle of the 13th Dalai Lama) photographed by Joseph F Rock during his extensive Chinese Expedition in 1927. It is original colour, not colourised.
Photographed in colour 116 years ago, I have enhanced this shot of Andrée & Suzanne Lumière in 1909. They were the daughters of the The Lumière brothers, Auguste & Louis, who had commercially released their autochrome colour photo process 2 years previously.
It is original colour, not colourised.
It is original colour, not colourised.
June 3, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Photographed in colour 116 years ago, I have enhanced this shot of Andrée & Suzanne Lumière in 1909. They were the daughters of the The Lumière brothers, Auguste & Louis, who had commercially released their autochrome colour photo process 2 years previously.
It is original colour, not colourised.
It is original colour, not colourised.
I've cleaned-up this lovely autochrome which was taken in colour 108 years ago by Fernand Cuville, depicting soldiers from the 143rd Infantry Division of the French Army making hay in Soissons, Aisne, France, in 1917. The colour is original - it's not colourised.
June 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I've cleaned-up this lovely autochrome which was taken in colour 108 years ago by Fernand Cuville, depicting soldiers from the 143rd Infantry Division of the French Army making hay in Soissons, Aisne, France, in 1917. The colour is original - it's not colourised.
Photographed in colour by Auguste Léon 111 years ago, on Monday 19th January 1914, I have cleaned-up & enhanced for you this wonderful autochrome portrait of a young girl from the village of Aswan in Egypt. It is original colour, not colourised.
June 1, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Photographed in colour by Auguste Léon 111 years ago, on Monday 19th January 1914, I have cleaned-up & enhanced for you this wonderful autochrome portrait of a young girl from the village of Aswan in Egypt. It is original colour, not colourised.
Photographed in Dunkirk in 1917: I have cleaned-up this autochrome portrait of two French marines - heroes of Drie Grachten in Flanders, Belgium - which was taken in colour 108 years ago by Paul Castelnau. It is original colour (not colourised).
June 1, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Photographed in Dunkirk in 1917: I have cleaned-up this autochrome portrait of two French marines - heroes of Drie Grachten in Flanders, Belgium - which was taken in colour 108 years ago by Paul Castelnau. It is original colour (not colourised).
Photographed in colour 115 years ago, I have cleaned-up this gorgeous autochrome plate by Julien Gérardin, photographed in France in 1910. It is original colour, not colourised.
May 30, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Photographed in colour 115 years ago, I have cleaned-up this gorgeous autochrome plate by Julien Gérardin, photographed in France in 1910. It is original colour, not colourised.
Sunset on Friday 18th December 1908. I have cleaned-up this astounding autochrome photograph of twilight 117 years ago, taken in colour by Julien Gérardin. It is an original colour plate, not colourised.
May 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Sunset on Friday 18th December 1908. I have cleaned-up this astounding autochrome photograph of twilight 117 years ago, taken in colour by Julien Gérardin. It is an original colour plate, not colourised.
Travel back 116 years to the summer of 1909. I have enhanced this wonderful autochrome of an artist at work - it is a self-portrait by the Belgian painter and early autochrome enthusiast Alfonse Van Besten (1865-1926). It is original colour, not colourised
May 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Travel back 116 years to the summer of 1909. I have enhanced this wonderful autochrome of an artist at work - it is a self-portrait by the Belgian painter and early autochrome enthusiast Alfonse Van Besten (1865-1926). It is original colour, not colourised
Photographed in colour 118 years ago, I have cleaned & enhanced this lovely Edwardian autochrome portrait of a little girl named Joan, which was taken in England in 1907 by John Cimon Warburg. It is original colour, not colourised.
May 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Photographed in colour 118 years ago, I have cleaned & enhanced this lovely Edwardian autochrome portrait of a little girl named Joan, which was taken in England in 1907 by John Cimon Warburg. It is original colour, not colourised.
I have cleaned & enhanced for you this charming anonymous autochrome from 1910. So vivid and vibrant! It is original colour from 115 years ago and not colourised.
May 16, 2025 at 8:28 PM
I have cleaned & enhanced for you this charming anonymous autochrome from 1910. So vivid and vibrant! It is original colour from 115 years ago and not colourised.
Here is the original I worked on -
April 9, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Here is the original I worked on -
This is the view today -
March 19, 2025 at 9:37 PM
This is the view today -
Sometimes an image really transports us through time - the clarity of this enhanced paget plate acts as a portal to another era. It was taken 112 years ago, before the onset of the Great War. It is the Oxfordshire village of Whitchurch-on-Thames in 1913.
It is original colour and not colourised.
It is original colour and not colourised.
March 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Sometimes an image really transports us through time - the clarity of this enhanced paget plate acts as a portal to another era. It was taken 112 years ago, before the onset of the Great War. It is the Oxfordshire village of Whitchurch-on-Thames in 1913.
It is original colour and not colourised.
It is original colour and not colourised.