Gerard Nash brings N.L. history into colour including the Royal St. John's Regatta - Action News
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Gerard Nash brings N.L. history into colour including the Royal St. John's Regatta

Gerard Nash paints the past by restoring and colourizing archival photos.

Gerard Nash paints the past by restoring and colourizing archival photos

Meet Gerard Nash, photo mender. Hes giving black-and-white regatta photos new life and colour

2 months ago
Duration 1:47
What started as a family tree project for Gerard Nash ended up taking a turn around the pond, so to speak. The CBCs Julia Israel and Mark Cumby meet with Nash to see how decades-old photos of the Royal St.Johns Regatta are getting a modern touch-up.

Gerard Nash vividly remembers attending the Royal St. John's Regatta with his family as a child.

"I went to the regatta since my dad was carrying me down and carried me back," he told CBC News in a recent interview.

His memories of the festivities down at Quidi VidiLake remain so colourful because Nash has a knack for preserving them.

Also known as the "photo mender," Nash picked up the art of restoring and colourizing old photographs about 25 years ago. It began when he started a family tree project, gathering images from family, distant relatives and old photo albums. But many of the images that fell into his hands werequite damaged.The cracks and tears created holes in history.

"I guess years ago people didn't take care of pictures as well as they do today," Nash said.

Royal St. Johns Regatta, Quidi Vidi Lake,1890. Half black and white, half in colour. Source: Geography Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Restored and colourized by Gerard Nash.
The Royal St. Johns Regatta at Quidi Vidi Lake in 1890. Restored and colourized by Gerard Nash. (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador archives/Gerard Nash)

Nash's passion for photo restoration and colourization isn't limited to his own family history.

"I try to find good historical photos of the province and I restore them and then post them for people to see," he said.

Nash runs a Facebook page and X account where he shares some of his work. Sometimesusers will identify their family members and provide backstory and anecdotes.

Nash works with a variety of images sent to him by friends, familyand clients of his small business.He finds others inMemorial University's digital archives and the City of St. John's archival collections.

Gary, circa 1914. Restored and colourized by Gerard Nash.
Gary Nash, circa 1914, is a relative of Gerard Nash who restored and colourized the photograph. (Submitted by Gerard Nash)

Diving into the archives

"I've always been a big fan of the regatta and I also have a big love of the history of that area," Nash said.

Hecombs through online archives looking for regatta photos of the past, with enough quality left to work with.

"I try to get different time periods and also try to get the older ones because, you know, they're obviously rare. People haven't seen those," he said.

Crew rowing on Quidi Vidi Lake, year unknown.
A crew rowing on Quidi Vidi Lake, year unknown. (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador archives)

The first organized regatta in St. John's on record was in 1816. The earliest archived images date to the 1890s, around the time photography became popularized in North America. The photos show a barren Quidi Vidi landscape, seas of top hats and suited spectatorsand poised rowing team portraits.

View of crowd and tents at the Regatta, Quidi Vidi Lake, late 19th Century
A view of crowd and tents at the regatta on Quidi Vidi Lake in the late 19th Century. (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador archives)

Nash remarks on the more formal wear of regatta spectators and dapper rowing uniforms compared to today.

"They wore caps and pants. I mean it was a regalia, I guess, they would wear then, not just a T-shirt and a pair of shorts," he said.

Painting the past

Colour film only became popularly usedin the 1970s. But for photographs taken before then,true colours are lost to history.

Painting the past is a manual process that involves hours of research into every bit of detail in an image.

"The last one I did with the regatta, I was looking for rowing uniforms from the late 1800s," Nash said.

"I'll try to find some clothing from the period.For example, I put in 'men's pants 1895', you'll get all kinds of hits. So based on the picture itself and the colours I'm able to find through research, I can be pretty accurate."

The Academia Boat Club rowing team, 1889. Source: Geography Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Restored and colourized by Gerard Nash.
The Academia Boat Club rowing team in 1889. (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador archives/Gerard Nash)

Restoration the act of returning something to a former, original condition isn't exactly what colourization sets out to do.

"All of a sudden you start to colourize, and you start to find things thatI didn't know that was in the photo until you bring it out," Nash said.

Each chosen shade and hue contains information about who those people were in theblack and white film.Nash's colourized images are thoroughly-researched visualizations that connect him to his history.

"That's, I guess, what motivates me, in addition to the regatta really, is just a love of Newfoundland and Labrador."

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