Digital Image Comparisons for Investigating Aging Effects and Artificial Modifications Using Image Analysis Software

Abstract

In the digital era, large archives of information and Internet accessibility make information search, including image search, easier and affordable, even from remote locations. Information transmission and sharing can be performed instantly, at any moment. In the case of images, there are risks of transmitting and recklessly sharing intentionally modified images. Such modified images can also be transmitted and used as an additional source of information by followers. In this study, historical portraits of Yu Kil-Chun are shown, who was the first Korean student to study in both Japan and the United States. He was an intellectual, writer, politician, and independence activist of Korea’s late Joseon Dynasty. Using image processing software, the portrait images were compared to investigate aging effects and artificial modifications. Statistics of red (R), green (G), blue (B), and L*, a*, and b* values of every pixel in the selected identical areas of the portraits were compared to identify possible causes of variations, including aging effects and artificial modifications. Sepia toning, used in black and white photographs until the 1930s, and modern digital sepia toning can be very confusing owing to their aging effects. The importance of preservation of physical copies and preservation of context (interconnections between data and between documents) is discussed from archiving and conservation science perspectives.