How AI technology can save historical photos

AI is undoubtedly becoming a bigger part of all of our lives, with new tools and ways to use AI emerging every day. Whether you’re an industry professional or a hobbyist, popular creative applications have incorporated AI technologies into their software, offering a breakthrough for preserving our visual history without breaking the bank.

Through AI-powered photo restoration and upscaling, accelerated by NVIDIA RTX 40-Series graphics cards, anyone from creative novice to industry expert can help ensure our shared cultural memory endures, keeping historic photos detailed and vibrant for future generations.

The technology behind AI-powered photo upscaling

So, how does it all work?

In simple terms, upscaling is the process of taking a low-resolution image and converting it to a higher resolution. This isn’t a new concept, as the television industry has long used basic upscaling methods to allow all image resolutions to display in the same size (this is how standard HD images appear at the same size as 4K, for example).

These traditional upscaling methods work by using simple algorithms to duplicate pixels, effectively “filling out” the lower-resolution image to fit a higher-resolution screen. However, this brute-force approach risks leaving the image blurry or muted, as it doesn’t truly analyse the image. Every image receives the same parameters, regardless of type.

Top creative applications have revolutionised this process with AI upscaling methods that perform real analysis of image textures, patterns, and missing details. By using a neural network trained on thousands of images, these new AI models can predict a high-resolution version of the image, then refine it to meet the user’s needs. Available to hobbyist consumers and industry professionals, these technologies are easily accessible to users at all levels, allowing images to be enhanced with just a few simple clicks.

Having worked in collaboration with many of these applications, NVIDIA’s RTX graphics cards, or GPUs, feature dedicated Tensor Cores that optimise AI processing and accelerate performance in upscaling applications like Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Gigapixel AI, and ON1 Resize AI. NVIDIA’s latest RTX 40-Series GPUs accelerate this performance further, reducing the processing time in AI tasks like this. These features are essential for balancing enhanced image quality with authenticity, improving clarity and resolution without sacrificing elements of the original image. 

By enabling real-time upscaling with minimal lag, NVIDIA’s dedicated Tensor Cores transform workflow efficiency for professionals and hobbyists alike, by drastically reducing the processing time. Plus, with hardware acceleration available on RTX 20-Series GPUs and higher, creatives can incorporate these upscaling technologies into their workflow at both entry-level and high-end budgets.

Reviving iconic images: The befores-and-afters 

To highlight the advantages of upscaling in creative workflows, we’ve chosen a number of historical photographs taken across the United Kingdom to enhance. Specifically, these images were upscaled using the aforementioned apps and some then colourised in Adobe Photoshop with just a few clicks, demonstrating the potential of AI in historical preservation. Below, you can see the step-by-step improvements between the original, upscaled, and even some colourised versions:

Cardiff High Street, 1880

Before.
Credit: NVIDIA

After being upscaled using Topaz Gigapixel AI.
Credit: NVIDIA

This image, of Cardiff High Street, was taken in 1880. After being upscaled using Topaz Gigapixel AI, the image is now 400 percent the size of the original resolution, with improved image clarity, such as the details of the tower in the background and its window frames being much more clear. With this huge resolution increase, it’s difficult to really do it justice as an embedded image, but this enhancement could be used to turn older photographs held in your hand into something you could frame and hang on the wall.

Bank of England, 1885-1895

Left:
Before.
Credit: NVIDIA

Right:
After being upscaled with Super Resolution in Photoshop.
Credit: NVIDIA

Credit: NVIDIA

After being upscaled using Super Resolution.
Credit: NVIDIA

Taken sometime between 1885 and 1895, this image of the Bank of England has been upscaled using the Super Resolution feature of Adobe Photoshop, and as a result is much clearer, notably the text on the right which reads United Kingdom Tea Company.

Castle Place, Belfast, 1907

Left:
Before.
Credit: NVIDIA

Right:
After being upscaled in Photoshop.
Credit: NVIDIA

This image of Castle Place in Belfast has also been upscaled in Photoshop, and now boasts a 20% improvement in resolution whilst maintaining a crisp image clarity. This took under a minute to setup and export on our RTX-powered system by following Adobe’s online guide.

Edinburgh Castle, 1865

Left:
Before.
Credit: NVIDIA

Right:
After being upscaled with Super Resolution in Photoshop.
Credit: NVIDIA

Left:
Before.
Credit: NVIDIA

Right:
After being upscaled with Super Resolution in Photoshop.
Credit: NVIDIA

Super Resolution in Photoshop has also been used on this image of Edinburgh Castle, with image noise being drastically reduced, resulting in a much less grainy image — this improvement is especially noticeable when focusing on the townhouses in the centre of the image. In the colourised version, the brickwork in the enhanced image really pops, thanks to Photoshop’s Colourise neural filter. It’s worth noting this is the result with no fine-tuning — it really is that easy to use.

London Underground Escalator, 1930-1940

Left:
Before.
Credit: NVIDIA

Right:
After being upscaled using ON1 Resize AI.
Credit: NVIDIA

Left:
Credit: NVIDIA

Right:
After being upscaled using ON1 Resize AI.
Credit: NVIDIA

London Underground Escalator, 1930-1940, before and after being upscaled.
Credit: NVIDIA

This image of an escalator in the London Underground, taken at some point between 1930 and 1940, has been upscaled using ON1 Resize AI, significantly reducing background blur, allowing the lights near the top of the escalator to stand out much more. The lighting is really brought to life by the Colourise feature even just with the default settings — with a bit more time and editing, this could perfectly resemble the true original scene.

The broader impact of AI on historical preservation

The scope for these tools and the benefits they provide is vast. By breathing new life into old images, AI-powered upscaling can impact numerous industries, from museums and archives to private collections.

For example, galleries and museums can now display historical images and vintage footage in much higher resolution, allowing for larger displays, deeper analysis, and improved overall quality. Historical archives can better restore old and damaged photos and documents, preserving crucial pieces of history—some even thought lost—for many years to come.

This technology isn’t just for businesses and institutions. AI upscaling also allows us to enhance personal archives, like family photos, documents, records, and home videos. Not only does it preserve our shared history, but it also helps us safeguard personal memories for future generations. This development truly celebrates history in ways previously thought impossible.

Getting started with AI photo upscaling

Applications like Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Gigapixel AI, and ON1 Resize AI are transforming historical preservation through their advanced AI-powered upscaling, accelerated by GeForce RTX GPUs, to keep memories alive for future generations. 

Whether you’re working within the industry, or just want to preserve your family photos as a hobbyist, you can check out these new tools at their best with NVIDIA’s range of RTX 40-Series GPUs available here. Enhance your own photo editing projects regardless of your experience, preserve your history, and make low resolution, fading, and damage a thing of the past.