bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

Having researched and tried a few of the free online colorization programs, I find that they deliver a less-than-desirable result. A few weeks ago, I bought the software “Codijy Colorizer Pro” for Windows for $50. Been having a lot of fun with this app. The attached pictures range from 1900s – 1975 of Joan’s (my wife) side of the family. All were original Black & White scanned from the paper print, as digital didn’t exist then.

What I learned about Codijy is that it takes a good deal of time to get a good colorized version of a print, but in the end it’s worth the effort. For photos which are very complicated, with say a lot of people in them, or a lot of different scenery elements, those colorizations take quite a bit more time. You have to select which colors to use, and then outline each area with that color. My wife, Joan, says that I screwed up in making the wedding dress white, that during that era, wedding dresses were typically ivory. Oh, well, that’s Artistic License in play. In doing the colorization, the more areas you define, the better the result, but the longer it takes. I estimate that the easy ones take about 20 minutes per, and the more complicated ones take anywhere from 30 minutes – 1 hour.

I also got to better understand the axiom: “Garbage IN, Garbage OUT.” I had several scanned images (not shown) from the early 1900s which were highly degraded to start, and not a lot of focus … more like a big blob. I tried colorizing these, and as expected got “Garbage Out.”

Here are some of the Codijy Colorizer Pro results, with the B&W and Colorized versions:

1. Joan's Maternal Grandparents - wedding day 1918

(Download)

2. Joan's Paternal Grandparents (on the Left) - wedding day 1919

(Download)

3. Joan's Mother at age 8 - 1st Holy Communion - 1935

(Download)

4. Joan's Mother - circa 1945

(Download)

5. Joan's Mother was a Nurse for her entire life - 1948

(Download)

6. The Courtship of Joan's Parents - 1950

(Download)

7. Joan's Parents on their Wedding Day - 1950

(Download)

8. Joan is the youngest of 5 siblings - 1963

(Download)

9. Joan's Father - circa 1975

(Download)

10. Joan at age 12 washing the car - 1975

(Download)

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I’d say these are pretty darn good!

sennamonster Loc: fort wayne, IN

I am impressed.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

You did a great job!

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

That's a lot of work!

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Although I have few B&W photos and wouldn't try to colorize any of those I have, it seems you have found an excellent way to accomplish this.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

Nice work on the colorization. I sure it takes a lot of detail and concentration.

The software is pretty cool.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Fabulous results ⭐💞⭐💞⭐

Barn Owl

bobbyjohn, Looks like you took photo colorization to the next level with “Codijy Colorizer Pro”. It shows some boldness to try something new with your vantage photos.

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

I'd say the colorations are quite acceptable.

Stephan G

Impressive results. Well done.

There is a difference between Artistic License and Artist's License. Your results are definitely of the latter.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Very cool - nicely done!!

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

The results are very good, the only thing that I noticed is some of the whites have a blue tint. Example: the whites of the eyes Joan's Father - circa 1975 and some of the white clothing. All in all, very good process, not nitpicking just telling you what I see.
Charles

redfordl Loc: Carver,Ma.

Bobby, a fantastic job! WOW!!!

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Bobby.....I have never been a fan of this ,but you have managed to change my opinion towards the possibilities.

I think you did extremely well and managed to keep a lot of the details in those restorations and that's hard to maintain while trying to balance colors and keep them separate and not bleeding-over on one another.

Thank you for showing us this very useful tool.