[THREAD]
Okay. How do I explain what happened yesterday?
Colorizing photos is a lonely process. Before I even begin the colorization itself, I spend hours – or even days – reading, researching, studying, and finding stories. /1
It is time-consuming, sometimes emotionally draining, but just as enjoyable.
My work gave me the opportunity to meet incredible people: teachers, renowned historians, authors; and some became close friends.
But... /2
... even though all these encounters mean a lot to me, none of them are or were able to prepare me for the moments when I have the opportunity to talk to relatives of people portrayed in the photos that I colorized. /3
It is as if those “historical personalities” – strangers who become so close to me, in a weird way, since I spend so many hours in “their company”, restoring and applying colors to their faded photos – jump off the screen and materialize in front of me. /4
I cannot describe the feeling. This is what happened when Frank Garahan, son of Captain Thomas H. Garahan – portrayed in one of the dozens of World War II photos that I restored over the years, and which soon became one of my favorites – got in touch via Twitter. /5
