Past Colours: Bringing the Past Back to Life. Don't let anyone tell you that B & W photos are a snapshot of a bygone era that were intended by the artist or photographer, in essence this is far from the truth as nearly every person taking photographs in the bygone era wanted their loved ones and subjects captured in true natural colour. Unfortunately the era between the 1840's and the mid 1950's locked generations of our families, friends, places and lives into a colourless, morbid time warp. The eccentricity, laughter and happiness of generations, enslaved to a gray scale morbidity that left the world believing there was a Dark Ages again for over a century. Life is all about colour, imagine a Rosella with no reds and greens or blues and yellows, or a relative proudly showing their vivid coloured national dress that was captured in drab grays. The opening night of a Block buster Musical near New Yorks' Time Square Neon wonderland all in drab gray. Colorizing black and white comes with responsibilities and these include a number of understandings coupled with an extensive knowledge base. Being true to era, location and life, means that one must have resources and knowledge that allow the colorization to take on the effect of a natural reproduction and to bring the subjects to life. Not simply a random colour. pallete to cover gray tones, but an understanding of the tones of an era. It is important to be able to have a qualified understanding and resources one can draw on of colours from various eras, fashions, architectural and paint finishing techniques, sign trends,brand colours and popular lighting methods for various eras. Gas gives off a particular glow, neon and it's various shades were popular with different colours, prominent in different decades. Peter Vasic PastColours