Blog | PhotograFix

Jun 13, 2020

Black Britain in Colour

As a White Englishman, I have power and privilege simply due to the colour of my skin, and I won't pretend to know what it must be like growing up in a world of institutional racism. I equally don't know how I should best respond to the current situation. There have been major protests across the world following the killing of George Floyd, a Black American man at the hands of the police. The UK isn't innocent, and Black people in Britain continue to suffer inequality and u

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Tom Marshall

Jan 27, 2020

The Horror of the Holocaust in Colour

"Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky" - Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor. Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, marking 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviets, and to mark this anniversary I have colourised a selection of photos taken throughout the first few months of 1945, as the wider world became fully aware of the horrors of the Nazi holocaust. This is the most harrowing p

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100 Colourised Photos of WW1 for the 1918-2018 Centenary

Tom Marshall

Nov 2, 2018

100 Colourised Photos of WW1 for the 1918-2018 Centenary

I began colourising black and white photos professionally in 2014, coinciding with the centenary of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914. Around the world there was a renewed interest in a war that had not been fresh in the public memory for many years. Since 2014 I have been very fortunate to have been able to work with some high profile clients around the world on exhibitions, press articles and books commemorating significant WW1 anniversaries, but I have also been honoured to wor

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Those Magnificent Men: Everyday Heroes of the RAF in Colour

Tom Marshall

Mar 29, 2018

Those Magnificent Men: Everyday Heroes of the RAF in Colour

April 1st 2018 marks 100 years since the formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF). On previous significant anniversaries I have colourised sets of official photographs to mark the occasions, such as my Somme and Passchendaele projects. This time I’ve decided to do something slightly different and have collated personal family photographs I’ve colourised for various clients over the past few years, to show the ordinary airmen of the RAF in colour for the first time. Women have

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100 Years on: Women's Suffrage in Colour

Tom Marshall

Feb 4, 2018

100 Years on: Women's Suffrage in Colour

"We are here, not because we are law breakers; We are here in our efforts to become law makers" Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) Tuesday 6th February 2018 marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which granted voting rights to women over the age of 30. As a photo colouriser and lover of history, I wanted to mark this anniversary by bringing some life into the photos of the women who helped to break down society divisions. I have always been a feminist,

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Tom Marshall

Apr 25, 2017

'Hard Labour' Child Criminals in Colour

These remarkable photographs from the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection give a glimpse into the lives of Victorian child criminals, convicted between 1871 and 1873, in the Newcastle area. I always love working with photos from police archives as they have a realness to them that's often missing from other 'staged' portraits of the time. My 'Bad Characters' project focused on adult criminals from the 1930s, and these photos give an insight into people from similar liv

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Tom Marshall

Apr 24, 2017

The Easter Rising in Colour

Monday 24th April is an important date in the history of Ireland and Britain. 101 years ago, Ireland saw most significant uprising since the rebellion of 1798, and the first armed action of the Irish revolutionary period. These photographs were lost for decades, hidden in an album within the offices of the Irish Independent, and were discovered in 2015 almost a century after they were taken. Only 18 photographs of the Easter Rising of 1916 were taken by the Irish Independent

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Tom Marshall

Mar 10, 2017

America Dry: Prohibition in Colour

I was asked by the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington DC to colourise these images of Prohibition, perfectly capturing both the fashion and atmosphere of this fascinating chapter in American history. In January 1919, American Congress passed the Eighth Amendment, outlawing alcohol and ushering in the infamous Prohibition era. Throughout the 1920s, the government worked to enforce Prohibition, although those who opposed the law found ever-creative ways to enjoy a drink. Bootl

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Tom Marshall

Jun 19, 2016

100 Years On: The Somme in Colour

The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles in human history and symbolised the horrors of warfare in the First World War. July 1st 1916, the first day of the battle, saw almost 60,000 British casualties. After months of fighting over one million men had been wounded or killed across all sides. By the end of the battle, the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000. Of the thousands of photos taken d

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Tom Marshall

May 20, 2016

The Lost Tommies in Colour

In 2011 a team of researchers, led by Australian journalist Ross Coulthart made an incredible discovery, when they uncovered a collection of hundreds of photographs from World War One. The photographs were taken by a French couple, Louis and Antoinette Thuillier during the First World War and are a fantastic and very natural collection of portraits of Allied soldiers who were billeted in the village when they were away from the trenches. The collection of images lay undiscove

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Tom Marshall

Feb 10, 2016

The Welsh Guards in Colour

in 2014 I was asked by the Welsh Guards to colourise a series of photos for Trevor Royle's book 'Bearskins, Bayonets and Body Armour: Welsh Guards, 1915-2015'. The project was a massive undertaking and required hours of research into the colours of uniforms and equipment. I was lucky enough to have the help of ex-Guards officer and writer Nicholas Drummond to get the colours as authentic as possible. The text accompanying the following photos includes information taken from

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Tom Marshall

Oct 29, 2015

Nottingham's Past in Colour

This series of photos shows Nottingham's past throughout the past 150 years. The first image shows the Teesdale Garage, Hucknall Road, Nottingham. The garage has since moved premises and this building has been knocked down, but the same family runs it, and they now have a copy of my colourised photo up on their office wall. The next image shows West Bridgford UDC double decker bus passing down Carrington Street, Nottingham in the early 1960s. This entire section of the stree

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Tom Marshall B.A. (Hons)

Professional Photo Colouriser

Black Britain in Colour

The Horror of the Holocaust in Colour

100 Colourised Photos of WW1 for the 1918-2018 Centenary

Those Magnificent Men: Everyday Heroes of the RAF in Colour

100 Years on: Women's Suffrage in Colour

'Hard Labour' Child Criminals in Colour

The Easter Rising in Colour

America Dry: Prohibition in Colour

100 Years On: The Somme in Colour

The Lost Tommies in Colour

The Welsh Guards in Colour

Nottingham's Past in Colour