Restoring Old Photos!

[Janaki Jambunathan]

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This is no 'Photoshop' job . Old photos restored - Great skill meticulously executed by Karthik!

Karthik is married into to our family.

Remember கேசவர்தினி ? He is one the G son of the founder.

Few of his restored photos were exhibited in his studio in Neelangarai recently.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10219865321087731&id=1361804175&notif_t=nf_share_story&notif_id=1571195187474079&ref=m_notif

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10218312607550863&id=1361804175&set=a.4915099519608

 

[Brahmanyan]

Thanks for the information. Karthik is known to me. But I am unable to open the Facebook weblinks given in your message.
Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

 

[Janaki Jambunathan]

Inauguration by Belgium diplomats.

One of the photos restored

heavy coat of bitumen on this rare 5"x 7" photographic plate from the mid twenties. Carefully removed by the use of Kerosene, petrol, acetone, iso propyl alcohol and minimal distilled water. No Photoshop.
Another Eureka moment !

 

[Brahmanyan]

Excellent job by Karthik.
Thanks for your immediate response.
Regards
Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

 

[Janaki Jambunathan]

This message you will see if you open the first link.

Last Thursday our Consul General opened the "Wiele&Klein Time Capsule" exhibition organized by Inspire Madras. The evening was conducted by Filiep De Zutter - Resident Manager South Asia of Belgium's ??dredging group DEME Group.

Wiele&Klein were two Madras-based photographers ? from Europe ?? and their studio was mentioned in Baedeker's 1914 travel guide on India as "The most famous late 19th and early 20th century photographic studio in the South of India".

The impressive collection by Wiele&Klein has been restaurated by the Director of Inspire Madras, V. Karthik. It is an impressive display of high quality pictures ? of a kind of nature and detail that is truly unimaginable.

There are still a lot of unknowns about these two European photographers of back then. For sure Klein had the German nationality, but Wiele's nationality has not yet been determined. Specialists claim Wiele could have been Dutch, Polish or...Belgian ?? because there can indeed be a link between "Wiele" and Flanders / Belgium.

This could be because, during the early 18th century the colonial trading company "Compagnie d'Ostende" (Ostend Company), operating from Ostend in the current ?? and headquartered in Antwerp in the current ?? also reached the Coromandel Coast near Tranquebar and Cabelon (the current Kovalam).

In fact, between 1715 and 1723, 34 ships sailed from Ostend to China, the Malabar or Coromandel Coasts, Surat, Bengal or Mocha. And in 1726 the Ostend Company received permission to build a factory and a fort in Banquibazar and Hydsiapour (Bengal).

Was Mr. Wiele then maybe Belgian ??? We don't know but we will further try to reveal his nationality. Meanwhile it is an absolute must for art lovers to visit the exhibition in Madras Square (2/520, Sandeep Salai, Neelankarai, Chennai -41)!

And soon a restobar ? under the name "Wiele&Klein" will open there as well

Excellent job by Karthik.
Thanks for your immediate response.
Regards
Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

More on his work on conservation.

Capture, conserve and carry forward

CHENNAI: Photo printing machines, enlargers archival materials, camera lens, preserved glass plate negatives and restored images boxed in safe containers. These

www.newindianexpress.com

 

[Brahmanyan]

Thanks again, I am able to open the Facebook link now and see the work of Karthik.
After seeing your post in Tamil Brahmins forum, I sent a message to Karthik. He was very happy to see the same and acknowledged immediately.
Brahmanyan
Bangalore.

 

[Janaki Jambunathan]

Restoration of any old art work is far more difficult than creating a new one ! This is my experience when tried to restore a Tanjore Painting in my cousin's house ! Not a very old painting (about 10 years old) but had to redo gold foil work as the original had substandard gold foil! Had to scrape out the old foil with out damaging picture and replace with genuine gold foils.( கருத்து போகாது )Will not age - will look new for generations!

Gajalakshmi restored about 20 years ago . Meenakshi a new painting - done one month ago I made this for the new flat of my son in Bangalore . Both looks fresh or the same age!

 

[Janaki Jambunathan]

This again a restored art. The original was done by my mother when she was 10 . It was with me for about 30 years Now is in Banglore - passed on to my D in L.

This is basically needle work with கோதுமை மணி (glass beads of the size of a grain) These beads I could not find in market and hence reused the fallen beads refixed with fevicol without threading - and reframed !