Arranging a Family Photobook

For the Grandchildren

Now in the second half of the year thoughts turn to approaching birthdays and that inevitable end of the year Christmas celebration. What presents will I find? What can I hope will endure and not be lost in later years?

With this in mind I am preparing a photobook based on my husband's line to give to our children for them to share with their children. I want to use a variety of photos I have going back as far as their three times gt. grandparents. 

The only photo I have of  John Patrick Galvin, their 2 x gt grandfather is this rather grainy photo from a newspaper. It is dated October 1927 when he was 59 years old. I don't think this photo would have much appeal to four young boys.

John Patrick Galvin (1)

In order to clean it up I gave an extensive prompt to ChatGPT.  This prompt appeared in a Facebook group but the original author of it was unknown. 

Restore this vintage newspaper photo by removing visible halftone dots, scratches, and discoloration. Enhance facial features and fine details while preserving the original style and texture. Improve clarity, contrast, and definition without over-sharpening. If black and white, keep tonal balance natural; if faded color, revive tones subtly. Maintain authenticity while making the image clean and presentable. It shouldn't look like a digital rendition, but like a touched-up vintage photo.

I then uploaded the photo.

The first iteration was good but not suitable, the face is too wide

AI cleaned image by ChatGPT

I then added "His face should be slightly longer and thinner"

AI cleaned image by ChatGPT

This is a better rendition, better than I would be able to do in photo restoration software but not a true photo of J P Galvin.

I will add the newspaper version to the photobook and next to it the AI rendition labelling it carefully so that future generations know that this is not actually a picture of him but it is how he might have looked in 1927. 

What a pity the original photo did not survive as John Patrick Galvin himself was a photographer. I wonder what he would think of this?

1. 1927 'H.A.C.B.S.', Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954), 14 October, p. 11. ,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article167804044

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin