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Post by lachinatown on Jul 2, 2013 22:16:41 GMT -5
Good job Fay Chee. You are a real artist.
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Post by ngkokweng on Jul 2, 2013 23:41:37 GMT -5
Ngkokweng...........Did you take that picture of the Diaolou when you visited Kaiping? It's a good shot. Can you post more pictures of the inside of your house? I think I see a nice design on that wall.....something like a family crest? It has symmetry........... Fay Chee Hi Fay Chee, Yes, I took that picture of the Diaolou when I visited Kaiping. I don't have many more pictures showing the inside of the house. The lighting was poor inside the house. Many of the photographs turned out blurred. I will try to post them. I didn't realise that there could possibly be a design on the wall. Now that you mentioned it, I will need to find out more when I next visit it again. Thank you.
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Post by FayChee on Jul 3, 2013 1:40:58 GMT -5
Ngkokweng, this is what I see.....probably a decoration cemented there was removed. Fay Chee Thanks Lachinatown, I had alot of practice while putting together my family tree book over the years........... Laohuaqiao, that certainly is a different view of the Diaolou.
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Post by helen on Jul 3, 2013 2:57:44 GMT -5
This is a portrait of my great-grandmother. I had in my earlier post attached a similar portrait of my great-grandfather. Likewise, I don’t have more information about her. As I scrutinized the portrait, I also observed that she had matching earrings and hair pin. It seemed to me that the earring attached to her left ear (if there was one) was deliberately erased. As a result, a damage/hole was evident in the portrait. I would really like to know more about her from the look of this portrait. Can the experts here help to comment on this portrait? I am looking for answers like, which year/era was this portrait done, was this a photograph or drawing, was it common to have a self-portrait done and why... Any detective work you can contribute is greatly appreciated. Thank you. Can you try posting here for help on restoration? www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?board=298.0
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Post by FayChee on Jul 3, 2013 7:37:38 GMT -5
Hi Helen, Restoring old tattered photos requires having a good software program such as Adobe Photoshop and it is very expensive. There are other software products on the market that are much cheaper and probably just as good, and even free software that you can download, but I have been using this particular product for over 20 years and it is the only one that I am familiar with. Adobe also has a less expensive version called Photoshop Elements which is good.
YouTube has lots of tutorals on restoring old photos with Photoshop and other types of software. It is much easier to watch it being done and explained there, and you can probably get recommendations on other software as well.
The best thing for doing restorations, is having good 'tools' and being able to zoom in on a single pixel to work on.
Fay Chee.
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Post by lachinatown on Jul 3, 2013 9:33:36 GMT -5
Fay Chee, I think on the wall was either a decoration or the cooking area (burn marks?); Interesting to see the steel framing over head. Ngkokweng, yes, agree with Fay Chee that was a very good picture of the Diaolou, good composition. Love the photo on the village sign.
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Post by ngkokweng on Jul 3, 2013 15:03:10 GMT -5
This image shows an elevated structure inside the house – the altar place. My uncle told me that the dug-up remains of my grandparents were once stored in this location. The access up to the altar area is possible by means of a wooden ladder. The altar height is about one point seven metres high. Attachments:
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Post by ngkokweng on Jul 3, 2013 15:08:09 GMT -5
Fay Chee, I think on the wall was either a decoration or the cooking area (burn marks?); Interesting to see the steel framing over head. Ngkokweng, yes, agree with Fay Chee that was a very good picture of the Diaolou, good composition. Love the photo on the village sign. lachinatown, Credits should go to laohuaqiao. He photographed this picture of the Diaolou.
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Post by ngkokweng on Jul 3, 2013 15:20:50 GMT -5
This is a portrait of my great-grandmother. I had in my earlier post attached a similar portrait of my great-grandfather. Likewise, I don’t have more information about her. As I scrutinized the portrait, I also observed that she had matching earrings and hair pin. It seemed to me that the earring attached to her left ear (if there was one) was deliberately erased. As a result, a damage/hole was evident in the portrait. I would really like to know more about her from the look of this portrait. Can the experts here help to comment on this portrait? I am looking for answers like, which year/era was this portrait done, was this a photograph or drawing, was it common to have a self-portrait done and why... Any detective work you can contribute is greatly appreciated. Thank you. Can you try posting here for help on restoration? www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?board=298.0Hi Helen, Thank you for your help on restoration work. I have bookmarked the website and will certainly come back to it when I touch up these photographs. As for now, my main focus is to find out whether this image is a portrait or a photograph, which year/era was this portrait done, was it common to have self-portrait of this size and why etc..Thank you.
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Post by ngkokweng on Jul 3, 2013 16:05:23 GMT -5
Hi Ngkokweng, Although I cannot answer any of your questions..........I looked at the picture closely highly magnified, and did not see a hairpin.....the orangish color next to her head is an artifact like the color on the earring.....there was no design suggesting hair adornment. I tried to 'clean up' some of the holes and things, and fix the missing part of her mouth (left) and earring.....but could not get her mouth exactly as on the original.....probably a professional detailer can make it perfect.... Fay Chee View AttachmentHi Fay Chee, Thank you very much for restoring the portrait to its former glory. I like you. A nice present to receive. Tyty!
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Post by helen on Jul 4, 2013 2:18:55 GMT -5
As for now, my main focus is to find out whether this image is a portrait or a photograph, which year/era was this portrait done, was it common to have self-portrait of this size and why etc..Thank you.
Possibly it is a drawing, as photography would have been expensive. My husband recalls his Grandmother image on the wall, as a child. It was a hand drawn portrait. This would have been early 1950s.
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Post by Angela on Jul 12, 2013 8:51:17 GMT -5
Hi Ngkokweng,
You had very similar case as I did when at the village. I had also almost given up hope and suddenly an old man recognised picture of my dad when he was young! Persistent does pay off ! Congrats in your search and its soo amazing you have found relatives!! So soo happy for you!
Thanks for sharing photographs! The photos of your great grandparents are amazing! you are so lucky! I wish I had photos of my great-grandparents, but I cant even find my great-grandfather's "real" name!
=)
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Post by lachinatown on Jul 12, 2013 18:49:01 GMT -5
Fay Chee, you should look at that video at the "THE CANADA VILLAGE - SINCE 1923 KAIPING, GUANGDONG, CHINA" thread. Click here(Too bad in Chinese only, but look at the buildings and Kaiping Diaolou) At the end, it talked about the Fujian Kwan and the Seto families moving into 赤坎 Chikanzhen, Kaiping, during the late Song Dynasty.
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Post by FayChee on Jul 12, 2013 20:50:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the link to that video Lachinatown, I think my granddad was in Canada in 1923 working at a restaurant (according to my nephew), where he earned enough money to build our Ancestral home....Chikan is where the Seto Library is located and my home is not too far away....... Fay Chee PS-I thought it would be nice to put Ngkokwengs greatgrandparents side by side...........
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Post by FayChee on Jul 14, 2013 9:26:32 GMT -5
Hi Lachinatown, I just watched the video (Canada Village) and really enjoyed the scenery! What great architecture and decorations! I think the elderly man at the restaurant was Mr. Liang Seto, as the man with the bookshelves behind him looked too young to be him. The only word that I could understand was 'Chikan'.
Thanks again for the link.
Fay Chee
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