Inspired by the colourised photos trend, we decided to join the fun and see what our favourite archive photos look like in colour. We have run our photos through open source software deOldify and are loving the results especially on our ESB branded vehicles. It feels like we are meeting our old friends again.

If you would like to join our experiment why not chose your favourite photo from our website and share on our social channels? Remember to tag @esbarchives #whenoldmeetsnew #deoldify #stayathome

Click any photo to enlarge

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In our short experiment we found that some photos came out better than others and that the deOldify colouring program seemed to favour reproducing tones in navy or dark blue. The colour photos above were produced using the deOldify’s default automatic process without any manual intervention or subsequent enhancements or adjustments.

The deOldify software is open source and free to use.

A helpful short video tutorial on how to colourise your old photos is available on the Old Ireland in Colour Youtube channel.