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@StuartHumphryes • 184,648 subscribers

Stuart Humphryes, known as BabelColour since 2006. I clean, enhance & transform early colour photography.

Shorts

Today is Trooping the Colour in London. I thought you might like to see this very rare 12-second snippet of the Trooping filmed in colour 118 years ago. I've always had a fascination for early colour film, and this excerpt from 1906 has been on my hard-drive for some years. Today seems like the right day to share it!

Today is Trooping the Colour in London. I thought you might like to see this very rare 12-second snippet of the Trooping filmed in colour 118 years ago. I've always had a fascination for early colour film, and this excerpt from 1906 has been on my hard-drive for some years. Today seems like the right day to share it!

470,133 views

Trying to keep up with technology is always a struggle for an old fogey like me, but there's so much potential I find it all fascinating. I cleaned & enhanced the detail of this early colour Kodachrome photo from 1914 and then ran it through some motion-estimation software...

Trying to keep up with technology is always a struggle for an old fogey like me, but there's so much potential I find it all fascinating. I cleaned & enhanced the detail of this early colour Kodachrome photo from 1914 and then ran it through some motion-estimation software...

189,402 views

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Filmed 116 years ago, during ther Autumn harvest of 1908, this remarkable & rare kinemacolor film records the work of Edwardian farmers reaping their crops, with a little love-interest thrown in at the end. A remarkable window into the past, in real colour (not colourised).

Filmed 116 years ago, during ther Autumn harvest of 1908, this remarkable & rare kinemacolor film records the work of Edwardian farmers reaping their crops, with a little love-interest thrown in at the end. A remarkable window into the past, in real colour (not colourised).

322,744 views • 2 years ago

For the impending 80th Anniversary of Victory In Europe Day, I share this fascinating colour film of the VE Day celebrations held in London on 8th May 1945. I have edited it together for you using rare original colour cine footage. It is not colourised. The soundtrack is Irving Berlin's satirical song about Hitler entitled "When That Man Is Dead And Gone", sung by the wonderful Al Bowlly, who tragically never got to see the end of the war, as he was killed a few weeks after recording this song when a Luftwaffe parachute mine exploded outside his London flat.

For the impending 80th Anniversary of Victory In Europe Day, I share this fascinating colour film of the VE Day celebrations held in London on 8th May 1945. I have edited it together for you using rare original colour cine footage. It is not colourised. The soundtrack is Irving Berlin's satirical song about Hitler entitled "When That Man Is Dead And Gone", sung by the wonderful Al Bowlly, who tragically never got to see the end of the war, as he was killed a few weeks after recording this song when a Luftwaffe parachute mine exploded outside his London flat.

142,076 views • 1 year ago

To mark Armistice & Remembrance Sunday, I share powerful but harrowing footage from the Great War, which has been restored & colourised, along with a war poem which I've written & recited, called "The Ghosts of the Riven". Caution is advised as the imagery is strong #LestWeForget

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To mark Armistice & Remembrance Sunday, I share powerful but harrowing footage from the Great War, which has been restored & colourised, along with a war poem which I've written & recited, called "The Ghosts of the Riven". Caution is advised as the imagery is strong #LestWeForget

242,882 views • 2 years ago

It has always been a hobby of mine to collect colour film footage from the second world war and all of the film I have used in this video is original colour and not colourised. I've edited this little film for you using soundbites from WWII news broadcasts & speeches to represent the period of the Blitz, which began at 4pm on 7th September 1940 and continued every night until 11th May 1941. The music I chose is "The Lady Caliph" by Ennio Morricone. (Due to the scarcity of colour footage, a couple of shots are merely representative: It may not show the correct type of bombs being dropped, and it might not show the correct type of planes dropping them. I know some military experts will undoubedly point that out to me, but the purpose of the film is to show London’s devastation, rather than the technical specifications of the military hardware used).

It has always been a hobby of mine to collect colour film footage from the second world war and all of the film I have used in this video is original colour and not colourised. I've edited this little film for you using soundbites from WWII news broadcasts & speeches to represent the period of the Blitz, which began at 4pm on 7th September 1940 and continued every night until 11th May 1941. The music I chose is "The Lady Caliph" by Ennio Morricone. (Due to the scarcity of colour footage, a couple of shots are merely representative: It may not show the correct type of bombs being dropped, and it might not show the correct type of planes dropping them. I know some military experts will undoubedly point that out to me, but the purpose of the film is to show London’s devastation, rather than the technical specifications of the military hardware used).

55,897 views • 7 months ago

This extremely rare colour footage is 111 years old, filmed by Gaumont in colour, on hand-cranked cameras, all the way back in 1912. It is not colourised. What a truly amazing time-portal to another age!

This extremely rare colour footage is 111 years old, filmed by Gaumont in colour, on hand-cranked cameras, all the way back in 1912. It is not colourised. What a truly amazing time-portal to another age!

177,176 views • 3 years ago

Before enhancing photos on Twitter, my feed once focused entirely on London history. But always having an interest in old colour film, I made this edit of colour footage of the Fascists gatherings in the capital in 1939 under Oswald Mosely. It seems relevant to retweet it today. They never did go away.

Before enhancing photos on Twitter, my feed once focused entirely on London history. But always having an interest in old colour film, I made this edit of colour footage of the Fascists gatherings in the capital in 1939 under Oswald Mosely. It seems relevant to retweet it today. They never did go away.

118,529 views • 1 year ago

It's not just early colour photography which fascinates me, but early colour film too. I've edited for you this rare colour footage of London 86 years ago. It's Wednesday 12th May 1937 and Coronation Day for King George VI. (This isn't colourised). #Coronation

It's not just early colour photography which fascinates me, but early colour film too. I've edited for you this rare colour footage of London 86 years ago. It's Wednesday 12th May 1937 and Coronation Day for King George VI. (This isn't colourised). #Coronation

135,785 views • 3 years ago

Capturing the world with early colour technology is very much my thing, but this is something quite special: Views along the Nile in Egypt in 1911 filmed with a very early colour process called Kinemacolor. Amazingly this is genuine colour film from 112 years ago, not colourised!

Capturing the world with early colour technology is very much my thing, but this is something quite special: Views along the Nile in Egypt in 1911 filmed with a very early colour process called Kinemacolor. Amazingly this is genuine colour film from 112 years ago, not colourised!

95,029 views • 2 years ago

It's my birthday! An older & wiser BabelColour would like to extend a warm birthday hug to my lovely followers have have supported, encouraged & engaged with the work over the last year. Thank you all for being so nice and friendly x Here's a 1950s Cockney knees-up to celebrate!

It's my birthday! An older & wiser BabelColour would like to extend a warm birthday hug to my lovely followers have have supported, encouraged & engaged with the work over the last year. Thank you all for being so nice and friendly x Here's a 1950s Cockney knees-up to celebrate!

18,935 views • 6 months ago

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