Learning photo editing has been and continues to be an adventure. As you know, I decided to learn GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) so I could design my own eBook and paperback book covers.
My two latest projects are learning to wrap text around a circle and colorizing black and white photographs. Text around a circle could make for an interesting effect on a cover. And I have several black and white photos from the Library of Congress that I am considering using as book covers.
Prior to the mid-1940s, photos were black and white. Color was hand painted on a print of the photograph. This was an involved and time-consuming process. Now, of course, with computers and programs such as Photoshop and GIMP, colorizing has become computerized.
I designed this book cover using a photograph from Pixabay and text that wrapped around a circle.

I practiced colorization with a photo from The Library of Congress. This is the black and white photo.

This is my colorized version.

Next, I colorized my grandparents’ wedding photograph. These are my mother’s parents. The first photo is the “before” picture (in sepia). The second is my colorized photograph.


When I decided to learn photo editing, never in my wildest dreams did I envision myself learning photo colorization.
The information on colorization is from The History of Photo Colorization.
The source for the photo from the Library of Congress is Digital ID: (digital file from original) bellcm 20124 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/bellcm.20124, Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-bellcm-20124 (digital file from original), Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print. This is the link.