Specific Faded and damaged photo needs restoration

[reted]

My Dad's birthday is coming up this week, and a few months ago we found this old photo of him in the attic playing his favorite arcade game, Robotron, from his teenage years. I'd just like to have enough of it looking good to get printed and framed for his birthday. I was hoping somebody would be able to clean it up and fix the coloring as much as possible. The right side has been water-damaged, so any restoration possible there would be a miracle I know. I can crop out whatever can't be salvaged, but I would like to keep as much of the Robotron cabinet as possible since that was his favorite game. Thanks in advance for any attempts.

 

[thebestcpu]

I don't have time to work on this one right now, yet here is an image of the original arcade game that gives good clues of how the colors need to be shifted/changed to get closer to the original image.
John Wheeler

 

[JeffK]

With @thebestcpu suggestion, went on a hunt for the video parlor game. Added part to the image so you could have the semblance of a complete machine. Just unsure if this is the correct one although I seemed to only find one version. Didn't know what the machine to the right was so just basically blacked it out.
Hit it with a recovery action and then Denoise and a bit of sharpening. Few bits of repair.
Centipede was my game back in the '70's. Me and close friend used to go once a week with a bag of quarters. Good times to remember...
Image was too large to upload here - below is downsized version with a link to a larger version:

Downsized


Larger version:

Dad Robotron edited.jpg

1 file sent via WeTransfer, the simplest way to send your files around the world

we.tl

 

[[ iLLuSioN ]]

Could it be possible that the picture was only photographed and not scanned? Or at least already processed by software?

 

[reted]

Could it be possible that the picture was only photographed and not scanned? Or at least already processed by software?

I'm not sure what you mean exactly, but I scanned the photo itself. This is as good as it gets, unfortunately.

 

[reted]

With @thebestcpu suggestion, went on a hunt for the video parlor game. Added part to the image so you could have the semblance of a complete machine. Just unsure if this is the correct one although I seemed to only find one version. Didn't know what the machine to the right was so just basically blacked it out.
Hit it with a recovery action and then Denoise and a bit of sharpening. Few bits of repair.
Centipede was my game back in the '70's. Me and close friend used to go once a week with a bag of quarters. Good times to remember...
Image was too large to upload here - below is downsized version with a link to a larger version:

Downsized
View attachment 125405

Larger version:

Dad Robotron edited.jpg

1 file sent via WeTransfer, the simplest way to send your files around the world

we.tl

Thanks. I couldn't tell what the other machine was either, so no worry there.

 

[[ iLLuSioN ]]

Only basic color corrections...

 

[JeffK]

[ iLLuSioN ] always pushes me to think a bit harder about my edits. One thing I noticed on my first edit was that it had a lot of noise especially in the facial area and the game screen. So fixed that.
Color is my weakness but did some adjustments to get it as close to accurate as possible. Still needs a bit more balancing I think.
Here's my 2nd attempt - downsized version:



Here's original size:

Dad Robotron REV.jpg

1 file sent via WeTransfer, the simplest way to send your files around the world

we.tl

 

[JeffK]

Additional correction with warming filter... @ex_teacher isn't the only one obsessed here...

 

[IamSam]

I have been working on this edit. It's proving to be rather difficult!

Here is WIP screenshot. I need to take a break.


@JeffK - where did you find the graphic that you placed on the side of the machine in your edit?

 

[JeffK]

@JeffK - where did you find the graphic that you placed on the side of the machine in your edit?

Hi Sam - I did a Google image search for "Robotron Arcade Game" and looked for the closest match to the position in the OP's image.
This is the image I used - note that I had do do some warping to get it to fit...



I managed to relocate it on this site:

https://offerup.com/item/detail/539017210

 

[IamSam]

Thanks!

 

[chrisdesign]

Here is my version.
I saw Jeffs video game image too late. Would have been a bit easier and better in quality.

 

[IamSam]

This will have to do until I find a suitable machine for the foreground (far right). Will update this post if and when I find a good photo.

 

[JeffK]

This will have to do until I find a suitable machine for the foreground (far right). Will update this post if and when I find a good photo.

The Best '80s Arcade Games

The Best '80s Arcade Games

Nothing beats a little nostalgia, and ranking the best '80s arcade games is a great way to bring back such fond memories. It may also remind us how many quarters and tokens we've lost trying to beat a game. Nonetheless, some of the greatest arcade games to date came out in the 1980s and, whether...

bit.ly

 

[chrisdesign]

Here is my final version of this image.

 

[reted]

Thank you all so much! These all look great! I enjoyed seeing you work together and bounce ideas around to keep improving it. I am going to get it printed today. I think he will love it. Thanks again.