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Vikki Hansen | all galleries >> Galleries >> Curious About Color > "Migrant Mother", colorized
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"Migrant Mother", colorized

Photographer: Dorothea Lange


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Guest 29-Sep-2013 18:53
the baby has no color on its face
Guest 27-Aug-2011 15:03
@Jypsee everyone is entitle to their opinion but make you think life was in black and white. I too have a great love of seeing old black and white photos in colour I myself have colourize this very photo I believe seeing the photo in colour give the reality that life was actually in colour you know the grass green, sun yellow, sky blue just as they are now.

The colourized version gives a truer emotion.
Vikki Hansen30-Apr-2010 02:03
To Jypsee - This is merely an exercise in colorizing.
jypsee24-Apr-2010 18:57
Florence Thompson was a Cherokee; you've made her "white." And, while you may think that just because this photo is in the public domain and, therefore, fair game for your hideous reworking, you are sadly off the mark. Your colorization makes the photo ordinary, drains the impact from it, turns it into kitsch. Of course, you are just one of many who misuse this work. Sad.
Janet Paul11-May-2008 15:22
You have done an outstanding job on this colorization, Vikki. Others have commented that perhaps the photo should have been left "as is", and while the original photo is very moving and did bring about social change, the colorization hits home that this tragedy still happens today, not in a vague, distant past. I think there is room for both. Thanks for sharing this work with us.
Vikki Hansen11-Apr-2008 03:53
Thank you Carole. I am aware of the individual you've noted in your link. I believe that person is just practicing coloring. The original image does not belong to either of us.
Vikki
Guest 07-Apr-2007 22:34
Vikki you are the true sensei. I disagree with Richard on this one for me the color adds an extra touch of realism that in this case adds (for me) even more emotion to an already emotion packed image. I feel like I'm right there in the tent with them. I think sometimes black and white has more of an impact especially in high contrast shots but in this case I strongly prefer your modified image.
Guest 25-Mar-2007 21:26
The baby needs coloring! It looks like she or he is covered in concrete dust. Was that an oversight or something deliberate?
Vikki Hansen07-Oct-2006 03:12
In reply, regarding the color choices: Trying to research colors for this time period was difficult, as most resources reference popular fashions of the period. I based my choices after viewing color photographs (Library of Congress) taken during this time. Most farmers and factory workers in those photographs wore blue or gray-blue shirts. I also choose these colors because I felt it would reflect the hardships these people endured.
Jolene Bean06-Oct-2006 12:46
This is an interesting interpretation of this image. I teach history at the college level and I'm curious...did you randomly selected the colour "blue", or did you discover through your research that the subjects' garments were blue, or was blue a common colour during the depression era?
Guest 06-Oct-2006 12:15
You have a real talent for colorizations but I would leave the old shots alone. They are what they are. This is not meant as criticism, just a thought. Especailly this shot, which is not just a great photo, but also a photo that helped bring about social change in this country. It is really weird to see it in color. And it makes me wonder what I would think if the original were in color and then I saw it in B&W. Just food for thought and you really do have a talent for this type of work. Take care, Rick.
Richard Calmes01-Oct-2006 18:46
Color just does not convey the emotion that the B&W does!