Francis Henry Duval is my great-grandfather. He lived a nice long life—nearly ninety-five years. He died when I was in college so I had many years of visits with him during my childhood and teen years. My memory holds a treasured collection of lovely memories of him. I don’t have to rely on others to tell me what he was like—I knew him.
My memories of Grandpa Duval are good. I smile when I see photos of him. One hangs in my office:
I recently scanned an album of old family photos and came across this lovely snapshot:
This is how I remember Grandpa Duval. So the date surprised me. I was born in 1976. Either he didn’t age much after this, or my memory of his face goes back to my toddler years.
It’s a nice photo of him, but the color has shifted. This is a common problem for color photos from this period. I dropped it into Photoshop and with one click I adjusted the colors:
Photoshop “auto tone” was all I needed to improve the color of this photo. I also used the new AI powered “remove” tool to clean up a few bits of dust.
Photoshop’s “auto tone” has improved over the years. Using it to restore this photo made me smile instantly. It felt like I was seeing Grandpa Duval well. As if the discolored version was obscuring my ability to connect with the image. After adjusting the color I knew this photo was taken in his yard. Before I adjusted it, I didn’t consider or recognize the yard.
My minimal use of AI to remove damage to the original print got me thinking about the many AI enhanced images I’m seeing on Facebook from other genealogists. Some are dramatically altered. Dramatically may even be a mild term for some of the images I’ve seen. As a photo purist, I worry those photos will become accepted as “original” images by future generations. So here’s a gentle reminder that as genealogists we have a responsibility to carefully consider how we use AI tools. As AI use is rapidly increasing in every industry, wisdom is needed as we navigate how and when to use it.
How do you feel about AI enhanced images?
How do you navigate using AI ethically and responsibly?