The pass lives on...

[zafra52]

I wanted to get a digital image of an old photograph
of my friend's father (passed away in 1992), given to
him a few days ago. He wanted to keep it, but also
share it with his family.
The photograph is printed on a metal oval frame. The
slight curvature of the metal plate and its reflective
surface makes it impossible to get a good scan image.
So, I searched the internet and found the instructions
to build a light tent. I built a mini studio with a card box,
tracing paper and whiteboard. I used three desk lamps
to provide constant lighting on the object. This is the
result...

 PS I remove some dust and scratches from the face, but left
some marks in the border to keep it looking like the original.

[Mj]

An excellent job... you've kept the original character which is critical for this type of work... the only thought is you could PP out the shadow at the base, but that really depends on how you plan to use the image.

[zafra52]

Thanks for the comments Mj. I thought initially of
getting rid of the little shadow at he base, but then
I thought it might not look like a solid object and I
would have to PP the edges and the little kink at the
top of the metal plate. I decided instead to retouch
the face and remove the dust and scratches leaving
some of the imperfections in the outer edge and
keep it faithful to the original. At the end of the day,
the whole thing was an experiment on using a light
tent for I wanted to see the results, but I didn't want
to spend a $100+ just to take a few pictures so I
decided to give it a go and built one myself.

[surenj]

Love those window light (wall fill) portraits. The expression is perfect.

This won't be mistaken for anything other than an aged portrait. Great work in resisting the temptation to get rid of the color cast.

[biggerry]

An excellent job... you've kept the original character which is critical for this type of work.

Great work in resisting the temptation to get rid of the color cast.

all in all, nicely done. I like the shadow at the bottom too, adds a little something i reckon!

[zafra52]

Thank you very much for your kind comments.

[ozimax]

Excellent job. There's something about those old photos that can't be matched, even today.

[Ant]

As somebody who only has one photo of his father, I can say that you will have more than made the day for this gentleman's family. Excellently executed and a great memento!

[ozimax]

As somebody who only has one photo of his father

Ant, my dad died when I was 3yo, and I have 4 photos (I think) of him, which are treasured indeed.

[Ant]

As somebody who only has one photo of his father

Ant, my dad died when I was 3yo, and I have 4 photos (I think) of him, which are treasured indeed.

I was 8... And my dad was an avid photographer, which is why I am always nag in these threads for us to get out from behind the camera at least occasionally!...

Back on topic, I would love to see that photo from a more oblique angle, just to highlight the technology in the image (not as a replacement for this shot, just out of interest).

[zafra52]

Thank you all for your kind comments.