Since the beginning of January 2017, "Creative" Jake Weien @cr8vj8k, the VP of 1350 Distilling, has developed a process for recreating low quality photographs into printable, large format digital portraits with an artistic twist. Using low resolution and often times smartphone pics of old printed photographs, he has created a wide assortment of military portraits using primarily mobile device technology.
"The greatest part about these images is that often the original image could never be printed at a poster size without looking horrific," states Weien. "The process allows me to break down the distinctive parts of the picture and recreate them with additional color and painterly effects, making more expressive images than the originating photo."
What started as a personal project experimenting using a handful of Adobe Software Creative Cloud Mobile Apps, turned into a collection of sometimes haunting depictions of men and women in military uniform. "The soul of the subjects seems to come to life to me during the process. I know it is coming together when the piece takes on a sense of respect and honor of the individual, whether alive or not."
After creating portraits of Weien's brother and father, he decided to make several more of friends and family for 1350 Distilling's taste room. He will professionally print a few dozen pieces onto metal to adorn the walls of the upcoming facility.
"So much of 1350 Distilling's philosophy incorporates our relationships with others in and out of the military. Even if we have not served, we all are connected one way or another to it. These photographs are instances in time, that sometimes become treasured crinkled pieces of paper in our wallets, but at other times become family heirlooms hanging in our homes reminding us of our loved ones."