186 years ago, a guy in Philadelpha named Robert Cornelius sat still for 15 minutes and took the worlds first selfie. Over time, we've had technology and human technique to colorize old photos. Many of them very "watercolor" saturated and most of them not really unlocking the person in the photo as being a fellow human we can relate to. UNTIL now. We've all seen "AI slop" and the lazy commentary about how everything is getting ruined. But I'd argue that yet again humans have created another time travel device that allows us to better understand our own history. So, below is Mr. Cornelius' original photo, and my AI powered color upgrade that cost me $0.03 and a few minutes of a super powered computers time.

Robert Cornelius 1839

Robert Cornelius 2025

Robert Cornelius Forever

Here is a classic Lincoln photograph. We only have like 5 or 6 of them. And the middle step where someone used a computer 20 years ago to paint color him in. Glaring and kind of clownish coloring. The third photo I did for $0.03 this afternoon. Better than any photo we've seen in a text book in 150 years.

Abraham Lincoln Tryptch

Old black and white photographs feel distant. Using AI colorization, I've transformed iconic portraits into full-color images that make history feel immediate and real. Tell me that Bill Hurley photo isn't a bad ass dude you'd want to hang out with. Amazing portrait.

And if you really want to bake your noodle, I changed up every pixel in each of these photos from the originals. Are they derivative enough? Do I own the copyright on the Basquiat that Richard Avedon took 40 years ago now? The idea of art and originality and remixing is turned on its head. I would think that Basquiat would love this uncertain time, and Avedon would hate it.

John Quincy Adams 1840

Abraham Lincoln 1863

Charles Darwin 1874

Mark Twain 1907

Pablo Picasso 1908

William Hurley 1909

Charlie Chaplin 1921

Al Capone 1932

Frances Owens Thompson 1936

Dwight Eisenhower 1946

Ella Fitzgerald 1946

Marlene Dietrich 1951

Albert Einstein 1951

Martin Luther King Jr. 1962

Dolly Parton 1977

Jean-Michel Basquiat 1984

And before you say, "wasn't the Wizard of Oz in color back in 1939?". Yeah, but not everyone uses color for their photos. Both for budget and artistic reasons. My whole goal was to show how easy it is to take all of those old black and white photos, you've got in the attic, and give them a little more life, connection and resonance.

The Prompt

Ultra-realistic recreation of an old vintage photo, keeping the same original face (100% likeness). Transform into a modern high-quality digital portrait with vibrant updated colors, smooth realistic skin textures, and natural lighting. The background should be blurred and not in focus while preserving the authenticity of the original pose and expression. Very clear and focused lens.

History wasn't black and white. It was always in color.

Portrait of the Blogger As A Young Man