Titanic Brought to Life: Colorized Images of the Iconic Vessel

To this day, the tragic story of the RMS Titanic continues to captivate, sadden, and mesmerize people. Among them is Thomas Schmid, an artist who chose to express his fascination with the ill-fated vessel by presenting it in a new, colorful light with stunning colorized photos.

“Titanic in Color” is a project that brings the monochromatic photographs of the luxurious liner to life with vibrant colors.

Contents

• History of The Titanic
• The Process
• About
• Tragic Fate
• The Aftermath of The Titanic
• The Titanic Wreck

History of The Titanic

The RMS Titanic, a British passenger liner, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of April 15, 1912, after it hit an iceberg on its first journey from Southampton, UK, to New York City, US. This disaster led to the loss of over 1,500 passengers and crew members, marking it as one of the most severe peacetime maritime tragedies in modern history.

At the time of its launch, the Titanic was the largest ship in service and was the second of the three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line. It was constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, with Thomas Andrews as the naval architect, who also perished in the disaster. During its maiden voyage, the Titanic had 2,224 passengers and crew on board.

The Process

“Beside the colorization and some dust or scratch removal the original black & white photographs are left untouched. We have not added anything like clouds or other items to make the photo look more dramatic or spectacular.

We show each color photo side-by-side with the original black and white image. The pictures seen on this website are down scaled versions from up to 6000 pixels wide original scans.” explains Shcmid.

Read more: Three Million Shipwrecks yet to be Found

About

“My interest about the Titanic began in my early childhood. I believe I built the first 3D model of Titanic at the age of 6 out of Lego bricks.  Ever since I was fascinated of the ship and her tragedy. Approaching the 100th commemoration of her sinking, requests about color footage came in. Of course there was none! But thanks to the computer we could help out. ” writes Schmid.

You can view more of Thomas Schmid’s colorizations here.

The Tragic Fate

The RMS Titanic met a tragic fate when it sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, due to a collision with an iceberg on its first journey from Southampton, UK, to New York City, US.

This catastrophic event led to the loss of over 1,500 passengers and crew members, ranking it among the most devastating commercial maritime disasters during peacetime in modern history. At its launch, the Titanic was the largest vessel afloat and was the second in a series of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line.

Constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast with Thomas Andrews as its naval architect, Andrews himself was among the victims of the disaster. The Titanic was carrying 2,224 passengers and crew members on her maiden voyage.

The Aftermath of The Titanic

The catastrophe was met with global shock and indignation due to the tremendous loss of life and the regulatory and operational shortcomings that contributed to it. Public investigations in Britain and the United States resulted in significant advancements in maritime safety.

One of the most crucial outcomes was the formation of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1914, which continues to regulate maritime safety today. Furthermore, in response to the numerous errors in wireless communications that could have saved more lives, several new wireless regulations were implemented worldwide.

The Titanic Wreck

The Titanic wreck still lies on the ocean floor, broken in two and slowly deteriorating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 meters). Since its discovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been retrieved and are now exhibited in museums worldwide.

The Titanic has become one of the most well-known ships in history, with its legacy preserved through a wide array of books, folk songs, movies, exhibitions, and memorials.