It's a memorable photograph and was taken in July of 1940 by Arthur Fellig aka 'Weegee'.
It documents hundreds upon hundreds of beach goers on Coney Island and has featured in numerous corners over the years, some of you will be be familiar with it having graced the front of the George Michael album 'Listen without prejudice' from September 1990.
The clarity of the original is stunning, as a colorization opportunity it would prove incredibly complex. Ultimately it took 51 hours to realize in accurate color over a number of days. Zooming in and out for hours on end has you feeling as if you are there as the resolution is so high. It occurred to me many times that the majority of faces I was working on are long departed from this world, it's quite hard to get your head around that thought.
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Arthur Fellig's Original ©1940
"Whatever it took to get the shot, he did it. That was part of his genius, the boss climbed up on a lifeguard station and screamed and danced until everybody started to look., when they did he took the photograph. It was that simple"
- Louie Liotta, Arthur Fellig's assistant.
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Look Closely And You'll See Everything Begins At The Beginning
There are a wealth of skin types and materials throughout the image, it takes a few minutes to realize each individual faithfully. The method used ensures there is minimal guess work. Accuracy is 90% plus on a high resolution image file. The original here measured 47cm across at 100% view.
Realized In Accurate Color For The First Time
Original ©1940 by Arthur Fellig. Colorized by My Colorful Past.
Coney Island bathers. A sea of faces one hot July day in 1940.
Color time 51 hours.
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