Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
Those that made up their minds up to attend the Coffee & Conversation session with Neil Headrick on Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Prince Albert Historical Museum had no idea of what was waiting in store for them.
Headrick, the 77-year-old presenter, colourized old black and white Prince Albert photos and used AI Tools to turn them into short videos.
“It really made some come alive but it was almost confusing sometimes,” Connie Gerwing, one of the attendees said. “It felt really modern … except when you look at somethings like the cars, then you will realized that they are really old.
“Like Neil said, it makes you see the people as real as opposed to just a picture or somebody from long ago. When they have an expression or they move their head or they smile. It turns into a whole different experience with that person.”
Gerwing said it was an interesting presentation to be a part of.
“We are really happy that he’s doing this with,” she said. “It really brings a lot of interest from people.”
Hedrick’s videos not only surprised guests, it inspired them. Some even started downloading the app and getting into the plan immediately.
“I have attended every Coffee and Conversation Session because they are interesting but I absolutely loved this presentation and Neil is awesome,” said Sandy Sutton, another attendee. “It’s amazing to see people far older than me and whom we knew were long gone come life like that. I enjoyed it so much, just the history only is amazing for Prince Albert.”
The man at the centre of all this had his own side to observe.
A cross section of Attendees at the Coffee & Conversation at the Prince Albert Historical Society on Sunday, Feb 22.
“It really does bring history to life,” Headrick said. “It makes them more real people when they are in colours.”
So far, Headrick has colourized more than 800 old photos stating with his family photos, some of which were taken by in the 19th century.
“I started doing it with my own family photos of my parents,” he explained. “It was really interesting. I used to do it with photo shop. It was very difficult and time consuming but with AI tools it allows you to do it almost instantly and its a lot of fun.
“To the people that are old enough it really brings back memories and shows them that there were real people and we can be really proud of our history. A hundred years from now we all will be gone and some other will look back at us. Everybody here, none of us was born when all these was happening and now we can see it in colours. It makes a little bit more real.
“It’s remarkable because when it is a black and white photo sitting in a box you don’t really pay much attention to it and now modern society want things to be bright and colourful and quick.”
Neil had also posted these colourized photos on his Facebook page and in some of the groups on the internet space that he is a member of, like Historic Saskatchewan and old Saskatchewan. He said the photos have accumulated 4.2 million views since October.
“All of your old family photos are not doing anybody any good sitting in your attic, so get them digitally transferred and share them with your relatives across the country.”
The attendees were all excited with the information they got from the Coffee and Conversation session
“A lot of the photos were from before I was born, but I do remember a lot of the places that he talked about and the picture went into the era that I am aware of,” Historical Society President Michael Gange said. “I think his adding colour and motion to these photos will be something that younger people will connect with. When you just see black and white photos, its looks like something from a textbook, something very old. Suddenly its moving and it feels more real.
“Beyond that, I can see lots of people going home taking old photos of their family and using the animation to make them move again and make you feel like you are back. You can take photos of your grandparents and make them move and it will feel like history come alive.”
During the presentation, the attendees were able to identify some of the old locations and it brought back fond memories with Headrick providing personal memories of his time as a young man to lighten the moments.
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
