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Question

What are the strange vertical stripes in this old photo and how can I fix them?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 2, 2020
4 replies
1118 views

The attached photo from the late 1880s or early 1890s has strange vertical stripes running through much of the image. At first I thought that several of the people in the group pictured might be wearing clothing made from the same striped fabric, but that doesn't seem to be the case, because the stripes continue into the background. Then I thought the "stripes" might be folds of a drapery, but the picture was taken outdoors.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who can tell me what might have caused the stripes to appear or who has any suggestions for how to fix them. Is fixing them even possible?

Thanks in advance.

Digital Dabbler

How to

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Chuck Uebele

Community Expert

Not a curtain, it's the lady's dress.

Per Berntsen

Community Expert

Yes, I got a bit carried away by the details, and forgot to zoom out ...

Per Berntsen

Community Expert

I think this may be a double exposure, and that the other exposure could include a curtain.

There appears to be two pairs of shoes sticking out below the curtain, that could be taken for a fence or some other structure in the group shot.

So there aren't just vertical lines, as seen top left, but also the vertical structure of what could be a curtain.

D Fosse

Community Expert

Always good to see thinking outside the box 😉 Still, I think those feet look like they belong to the person directly above them...and in addition, the curtain - if that's what it is - also extends below the feet, right to the bottom of the image. I'd still put some money on a bad printout.

But I like the idea 🙂

Chuck Uebele

Community Expert

Unless that is an original photo, I would agree with Dag that it is from a bad printer, or ever a poor quality scan.

D Fosse

Community Expert

What's the source of this copy? That has to be a printout with the printer in draft mode. I can't think of anything else.

As long as there's information left it's fixable - but it'll be a lot of work, all manual.

D

Digital_DabblerAuthor

Participant

Thanks to everyone who's weighed in on this question. I should have said in my original post that the only image I have is a photocopy of the original photograph. I'm trying to track down the original but no luck so far. If I can get access to it or a decent digital image of it, I'll post it so we can compare the photocopy to it.

Best wishes to all,

Digital Dabbler

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