Colourizing Qantas's first 707 delivery flight

Colourizing Qantas's first delivery flight is an art in itself – bringing ageing black and white aviation photos to life with brilliant colour. And for 21-year-old Frenchman Benoit Vienne who brings colour to aviation, it is a passion that started years ago when playing historical video games. That passion was ignited when he discovered colourized photos on the internet. READ: Qantas - 60 years of jet travel  “I was so impressed by the feeling a colourized photo can bring. “A lot of young people feel a bit disconnected when they see a black and white photo but when its colourized, the feeling is completely different. “When you see a colourized photo, like Qantas's delivery photo, you feel close to the people. You connect.” But it is far from a simple process taking hours of meticulous work. “Colourizing a black and white photo, like Qantas's 707 delivery shot, can take a lot of time and sometimes you have to repair it first, says Mr Vienne. “The aim of the colourist is to bring back to life a moment that was captured through a photo. When you colourize, you bring back people to life, it’s a sort of second life for them.” “Of course, most of the colourist (including myself) are trying to respect the colours of the past. When you are colourizing a photo of a soldier or an aviator, you have to respect the colours of the time.“ But first Mr Vienne had to master photoshop – another art in itself.