Photo colourist Emily Ellery later in life. Several of her works have become heirlooms in the hands of her daughter, former Palmerston North music teacher Yvonne Rae. How Emily got started on what she modestly called her “hobby” was, in a way, accidental. “She wanted to have a picture of her mother coloured, but couldn’t find anyone who could do it,” says Rae this week. “So she did it herself.” Another of her mother’s first works featured Yvonne as a one year old, with a soft peach complexion and a white outfit. Rae recalls that skin tones were the hardest to get right on the matte photo paper.