By Geoffrey Thomas
Published Sun Jul 28 2019
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.
