A new article on Apple’s Web site profiles the restoration work of Joshua Greene, whose father, Milton Greene, is the legendary fashion photographer. Milton Greene’s work includes pictures of some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Greene explained that a Power Mac, Mac OS X and Photoshop 7, he’s able to work with high-res scans of negatives and transparencies. Each image is then hand-worked pixel-by-pixel to be restored to its original glory.
Greene said that his efforts are consistent with other restoration and preservation products. Film, alas, is a temporary medium that doesn’t age well. “Film fades and gets damaged. The emulsion degrades,” he said.
As the head of Milton Greene Archives, Joshua Greene works with five dual-processor Power Macs, four iMacs, two assistants, some freelancers and myriad equipment to help him in his restoration efforts. What once took 60 hours now takes 20 — a great reduction, but still time-consuming, considering that Greene’s archives include almost a quarter million images.
Apple’s article details some of the methods Greene’s crew uses to touch up and restore images to their former glory, and profiles some of the third party equipment he’s using too. Check it out for more details.