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[OM] Restoration of pebble finish prints, was: on returning to film

Subject: [OM] Restoration of pebble finish prints, was: on returning to film
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:55:55 -0500
Funny you should mention that.  Just yesterday the mailman brought my 
copy of Ctein's just released "Digital Restoration from Start to 
Finish".  I haven't read much of it yet but enough to know that removal 
of textured paper grain is something he specifically addresses.
<http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Restoration-Start-Finish-photographs/dp/0240808142/sr=8-1/qid=1167910013/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3192476-2323027?ie=UTF8&s=books>
At $26.37 it's a good deal from Amazon and the price is just high enough 
that it qualifies for free shipping.

I just now skimmed the several pages he devotes to the problem.  Your 
problem may be in the extreme given the small size of the print and the 
size of the pebbling since you obviously can't extract what's not there 
to begin with.  But he has some very interesting ideas for improving the 
look of what's there.

His first suggestion is to try re-photography on a copy stand instead of 
scanning.  He says the very directional light source of the scanner will 
emphasize the pebble finish.  But, once you have the digital image, 
whether by re-photography or scanning, you can use noise reduction 
techniques to get rid of the pebbling.  He describes how to use Neat 
Image to recognize the pebbling as "noise" and remove it while at the 
same time adjusting the neat image low, mid and high frequency sliders 
to minimize loss of detail from the "noise" removal.  He then uses the 
"Focus Magic" plug-in to help restore any lost sharpness.  He goes on 
further to show how Picture Window Pro can do much of the same using 
just the noise removal and spec removal stages of the advanced sharpen 
transformation.

So far, I've been very happily using Katrin Eismann's "PhotoShop 
Restoration and Retouching" as my reference guide (later version here)
<http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Restoration-Retouching-Voices-Matter/dp/0321316274/sr=8-3/qid=1167910013/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-3192476-2323027?ie=UTF8&s=books>
and I think Ctein's book will be a great addition.

Chuck Norcutt


Moose wrote:
  When my younger son was a kid, my
> late wife got matte finish prints to avoid fingerprints. They are 3.5x5 
> inches with a sort of pebble finish. You can't see any detail in them at 
> all!

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