September 9, 2026 Gemini -- Old Photo Colorized and Stylized
Below is an old photo taken around 1910. It shows a newly built church with a few buildings in the background. It is of great interest to me because the house where I grew up is pictured on the left in the distance. There were no other structures erected at this time that blocked its view. Also, one of my childhood friends grew up in the house on the right. I am very familiar with the neighborhood.
Gemini was first prompted to colorize the old photo. Next, Gemini took the liberty of embellishing the background when it was prompted to stylize it with a sunset theme. Of course, it is not historically accurate, but it generated nice to look at eye candy. Here are the transformed images:
Click here for enlargements, Colorized and Stylized Photos, (PDF file, 536 KB, 4 pages).
September 8, 2026 Gemini -- Selfie Portrait
I very seldom use the cellphone camera, and when I do, I usually flub. Today's post is typical of my photographic expertise with the phone. I was trying to take a picture outside the passengerr's side window. This wasn't the picture I was hoping for.
Rather than discard the image, I held onto it. Today, it was used to do some experimenting with Gemini's phtographic and artistic capabilities. Here is the before and after based on the following prompt.
I asked:
“Use the following attached photo to create a portrait similar to Thomas Jefferson's but place it in a rectangular frame. This should be a head and shoulders shot posed at an angle. Remove the glasses, open the eyes slightly (blue eyes), and improve the down turned mouth with a more pleasing disposition. Also, the individual should be wearing a powdered wig with an appropriate bow that can be seen from an angle. The person is wearing a dark blue velvet coat with a shirt and tie appropriate for the late 18th Century. Frame the picture in an ornate gilded frame. Emulate an oil painting with delicate brush strokes. Provide an appropriate background that does not distract from the person.”
Click here for enlargements, Self Portrait, (PDF file, 382 KB, 2 pages).
Portrait and Selfie:
July 30, 2026 Photo Enhancement with GIMP and Gemini
Last year I downloaded a few dismal images of our hometown theater and how it has fallen into disrepair during the past 50 years. It is a landmark in our community having served both Canadian and American movie goers throughout its long life. The Border Theater once again shines in this series of photo enhancements.
In addition, there are some exterior views located in the SketchUp Projects VI folder (see left sidebar) that were created from a SketchUp model and were also enhanced with GIMP and Gemini.
Here are the GIMP and Gemini renderings with a variety of lighting effects applied:
July 15, 2026 Backyard Photos
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