This indoor flower market is was probably in London, UK and I wouldn’t be surprised if it still exists. I love the somber suits and bent heads as they make their trades. Flowers come into our homes to create cheer and yet here its all serious business. The final consumer who is largely female is of course nowhere in sight.
I’ll put two pics together in this post as they were taken by the same photographer in old parts of Jerusalem, in 1964. One shows a souk (market) in the Arab quarter, and the other a street in the Jewish quarter. Two sides of a society ever in conflict, but to a visitor in 1964, equally interesting.
Street in the Jewish quarter
Souk in the Arab quarter
These were great to work on as there was so much texture and detail to bring out. I love how old walls and stonework come back to life with sharpening and re-coloring.
Before and afters. Click for big:
A fresh goods market in Canada 1960, full of interesting details. The woman trader in the foreground is wearing her version of an old world country costume. Nowadays fresh goods markets can be quite consciously styled to look French or vintage – at least their own, local version of it. Confusing!
I am used to old slides being faded but this one was too dark. In fact it was so dark and deeply saturated I found it a little creepy. The solution lay in lightening and sharpening, and reducing the strong yellow tones.
Before and after. Click for big.
This bustling street scene in Damascus was photographed on someone’s holiday in 1964. No more a tourist destination, Syria is currently in strife with rebels trying to take the city from the old rulers. People are living in fear, bombs are falling. The world we see in this old pic is gone, gone, gone.
Before and after. Click for big.
Its 1965 and this elegant woman, comfortably dressed for sightseeing, is perusing the wares at a simple roadside market, where everything is laid on the ground.
An interesting example to restore as the original had a flat, deep blue filter. I liked the blue as it added interest to the image, but I wanted it to be more dynamic. First I removed the blue color and cleaned up the original then I added back a new, more dynamic blue filter. I also smoothed the grungy original texture.
Before and after. Click for big.