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Photo Restoration · 2024
1990s East Sea solo portrait restoration — mold stains lifted away
A solo portrait of a young man taken on a rock at the East Sea in January 1990, restored. The mold marks and chemical stains spread across the entire surface were lifted one by one, and the original colors of the denim jacket, brown boots, sky, and sea were re-set.
Story2 min read
How this work was made
Long-stored photos develop mold and chemical stains in spots across the surface. They start where light and humidity reached and spread across the whole photo. When those spots land on important places like a face, the sky, or the background, they stand out at a glance.
This work is a solo portrait of a young man on a rock at the East Sea, dated January 21, 1990 (printed lower-right). Glasses, a denim jacket with a shearling collar, jeans, and brown boots. Behind him, winter East Sea waves and a single boat far off. Mold marks had spread in rings across the surface, and the left corner was still deteriorating.
The order of work: damage assessment (mold areas, stain distribution, corner damage) → separating and removing the stains one spot at a time → reconstructing detail in the damaged areas based on natural color data (sky, sea, sand) → bringing back the figure's outline and fabric texture → vertical crop centered on the figure → preview review. The printed 1990 date was kept on purpose as a record of the memory.
Covering mold and stain spots with an app's pixels makes it a different photo. With 32 years of clarity restoration technique, Davinci lifts only the stains and keeps the original photo intact.
A face made by AI is a stranger; a face refined by Davinci is one the family recognizes. Since 1994, for 32 years, the original photo has been protected by hand.
Standard turnaround is 1–2 days. Output is usually finished at 4R–6R, but any size the family wants is possible.
Solo portrait restoration1990s photo restorationMold mark restorationStain removalEast Sea keepsake photoOld color photo restorationFigure cropClarity restoration techniqueFree preview before payment4R–6R outputIncheon photo restoration
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