The frenchman who brings color to Boeing photos

23 January, 2022

10 min read

Airline News
Geoffrey Thomas

Geoffrey Thomas

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Geoffrey Thomas

Geoffrey Thomas

23 January, 2022

It is an art in itself – bringing aging black and white Boeing photos to life with brilliant color. And for 24-year old Frenchman Benoit Vienne who brings color to aviation, it is a passion that started years ago when playing historical video games. That passion was ignited when he discovered colorized photos on the internet.
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Jackson McGowan GM of the Douglas DC-6/7 aircraft programs with flight attendants from ailrine customers. Colorized By Benoit Vienne
SEE Spectacular video of Emirates A380 battling crosswinds SEE: Behind the scenes of the amazing Emirates advert SEE: Amazing AN225 landing in fog https://www.facebook.com/AirlineRatings/videos/112501143017220/ “I was so impressed by the feeling a colorized photo can bring. “A lot of young people feel a bit disconnected when they see a black and white photo but when it's colorized, the feeling is completely different. “When you see a colorized photo, you feel close to the people. You connect.” But it is far from a simple process taking hours of meticulous work. “Colorizing a black and white photo can take a lot of time and sometimes you have to repair it first, says Mr. Vienne. “The aim of the colorist is to bring back to life a moment that was captured through a photo. When you colorize, you bring back people to life, it’s a sort of second life for them.”
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Qantas and Boeing executives and their wives are about to board the airline's first 707 for its delivery flight to Australia. in 1959 Boeing photo colorized by Benoit Vienne.
“Of course, most of the colorists (including myself) are trying to respect the colors of the past. When you are colorizing a photo of a soldier or an aviator, you have to respect the colors of the time.“ But first Mr. Vienne had to master photoshop – an art in itself.
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Braniff flight attendants pose on the mockup of Lockheed's entry in the US SST competition. Lockheed Martin photo colorized by Benoit Vienne.
“I started to colorize in early 2015 but it was really hard to use photoshop because it was the first time that I was using the program. “ But months of practice had paid big dividends with Mr. Vienne colorizing hundreds of military photos of British, French American, and German soldiers as well as civilian portraits and weddings. For AirlineRatings.com Mr. Vienne has colorized hundreds of airline interior and aircraft pictures that have proved very popular with the website’s millions of followers.
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Boeing's then-President Bill Allen (center) puts his hand on the back of test pilot Tex Johnston as he walks out to take the prototype 707 for its first flight in 1954. Boeing photo colorized by Benoit Vienne.
Mr. Vienne has done work for Qantas and Boeing as well. Many of the Boeing and McDonnell Douglas colorized images have also been donated back to Boeing’s Historical Archives.
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Boeing's then-President Bill Allen (left) with test pilot Tex Johnston after the first flight of the prototype 707 in 1954. Boeing photo colorized by Benoit Vienne.
And it is one thing to colorize a photo the research into the right colors is another. One example is a wine bottle from 1955 in one image (below) that Mr. Vienne was able to research and get the correct color palette.
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Dinner service aboard a British Airways Stratocruiser in 1954. British Airways photo colorized by Benoit Vienne.
And the end result is many people do not believe that the photo has been colorized. “Sometimes, a colorized photo can look so real that people say it isn’t colorized.”
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Pan American World Airways President Juan Trippe with Douglas Aircraft Company founder Donald Douglas Snr. These two men were among the most influential in shaping commercial aviation in the last century. Boeing Historical Archive colorized by Benoit Vienne
AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas says that Mr. Vienne's work is extraordinary and he really does bring "color to aviation." "His work with skin tones is amazing. With so many colorized photos you know immediately that it is colorized but with Mr. Vienne's it's almost impossible to tell," said Mr. Thomas.
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Boeing's then-President Bill Allen with Pan Am's Juan Trippe with one of the first 747s. These two men drove the 747 project. Boeing Historical Archive colorized by Benoit Vienne.
"What thrills me is that great people and great moments in aviation are brought to life." "The photos are of Boeing heroes like Bill Allen, Tex Johnston, and Joe Sutter (below) father of the 747."
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Joe Sutter, chief designer of the 747. Boeing photo colorized by Benoit Vienne
"Each photo we now colorize of Boeing aircraft or people goes back to the Boeing Historical Archive," said Mr. Thomas
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The center two gentlemen in this photo are Joe Sutter (father of the 747) and Jack Steiner (father of the 727 and 737). This is a final design meeting on the 727 project. Mr. Steiner is holding the model of the final configuration. Boeing Historical Archives colorized by Benoit Vienne.
The photo above took lots of research and fortunately Mr. Thomas had been in the Boeing archives and photographed some of the historic models in the foreground so Mr. Vienne had the right colors.
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Sir Freddie Laker with his first Skytrain service across the North Atlantic. Picture colorized by Benoit Vienne.
The photo above is of Sir Freddie Laker who fought the British establishment to launch his Skytrain service across the North Atlantic which revolutionized low-cost travel.  

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