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Archive for UNCATEGORISED – Page 14

January – The Ideal Time For a Photograph Rummage!

Do you have loads of your precious photographs safely tucked away somewhere?
With the promise of snow and cold January days and nights what better time is there for you to locate and rummage through your old family photographs?
Although we all have photographs we feel are really precious, how often do we actually look at them?  I know from personal experience that once you sit down and start looking through your photographs it’s a really enjoyable experience!
Maybe you’ll find that some of them are very small that you may like enlarged or framed so you can keep them on view to be continually enjoyed.  Others may be looking faded or tatty and would benefit from being digitally restored.
If you find you have a quantity of photographs that you would like to create into a Photobook the cost for a high quality scan and basic image optimisation is as little as £2.50 per picture.
This means you’ll be able print copies and enlargements as well as email your photos to others.
So make an appointment with yourself for this weekend and check those photographs out. You’ll be glad you did! 
Let me know how it goes..
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For Christmas we gave our children their own 100 page Photobook of themselves growing up. They were all absolutely thrilled to bits with them..
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Most importantly your photographs, once scanned, can be stored safely on a CD with no fear of them fading or deteriorating ever again.
 
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RECENT RESTORATIONS
Below is a photograph in a newspaper where my customer’s son was cycling with Bradley Wiggins. Newspaper articles are usually relatively poor print quality with the ‘dots’ being very visible when enlarged. This restored photograph was printed 15″ x 10″ and looked really impressive.
The photograph below was an interesting challenge. The original photograph had been badly damaged by water. Not only that but the original frame glass was also smashed and the photograph was stuck to the broken glass! As the photograph had great sentimental value, the customer had framed the stained original complete with the broken glass in a new glazed frame!  It was not possible to scan so I photographed it and restored from that image.
Mounted in a new frame with mount finished the transformation.
So if you need any help or advice in relation to storing, cataloging, scanning or restoring your photographs, don’t hesitate to Richard a call on 01825 740986 any time, I’ll always be happy to help.

Informal Photograph Session With Artist Roger Dean

Roger Dean  is an English artist, designer, architect, and publisher. He is best known for his work on posters and album covers for musicians, which he began painting in the late 1960s. The covers often feature exotic,fantasy landscapes. His work has sold more than sixty million copies world-wide.

He is possibly best known for his Yes band album covers. Here are some examples of his work:

Roger kindly agreed to an informal photo session in his studio in Lewes and here are some of the results….

Roger Dean - Studio 3

Roger Dean – Studio 3

Roger Dean - Studio 2

Roger Dean – Studio 2

Roger Dean - Studio 1

Roger Dean – Studio 1

Photo Session with Steve Hackett of Genesis in His Studio

When I put on an exhibition of the Genesis photographs at Trading Boundaries last year to coincide with the Steve Hackett unplugged concert being held there, I got the opportunity to meet Steve again – after 37 years!

I asked Steve if I could take some candid photographs of him at work in his studio, either recording or rehearsing. Steve kindly agreed despite having a really hectic schedule of writing his own music, recording and producing Genesis Revisited II, an excellent double album, as well as guesting on other musicians recordings and extra live gigs.

So just before Christmas I visited Steve and his wife Jo at Steve’s studio in Twickenham and took some photographs of Steve – here are some of them….

Steve Hackett - Studio 1

Steve Hackett – Studio 1

Steve Hackett - Studio 2

Steve Hackett – Studio 2

Steve Hackett - Studio 3

Steve Hackett – Studio 3

More of the photographs from this session will be added to www.GenesisPictures.co.uk website soon

Photographs Forever – Guest Blogger on Ancestry.co.uk and also Your Family Tree Magazine

Photographs Forever was given the opportunity to add a blog entry on the Ancestry.co.uk website.

To see the blog written about Saving Your Precious Photographs click on the Guest Blogger logo below:

 

 

 

 

 

We also wrote an blog article for Your Family Tree Magazine which has some important points on the Benefits of Restoring Your Photographs.

To see this article – click on the image below:

New Led Zeppelin Book by Barney Hoskyns – Including Headley Grange Photograph

A brand new book called Trampled Under Foot by Barney Hoskyns has just been published by Faber and Faber on 6th September.

Barney contacted me as he wanted to use the photograph I took of Headley Grange in 1973 as this was the building that Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven was conceived.

You can see all the photographs I took of Genesis at Headley Grange in 1974 at www.GenesisPictures.co.uk 

Barney Hoskyns, founder of Rock’s Backpages , Trampled Under Foot is an essential music book for 2012.

 

 The book is a unique look at the history, adventures, myths and realities of this most legendary and powerful of bands, it is a labour of love based on hours of first-hand and original interviews. What emerges is a compelling portrait of the four musicians themselves, as well as a fresh insight into the close-knit entourage that protected them, from Peter Grant to Richard Cole to Ahmet Ertegun, giant figures from the long-vanished world of 1970s rock. Featuring many rare and never before seen photographs, it is also the first book on Led Zeppelin to cover such recent events as their triumphant 2007 O2 Arena gig and Robert Plant’s Grammy-winning resurgence of recent years.

 

My Fascination For Vintage Photographs by Kate Helen

The following article was written for Photographs Forever by long-standing customer Kate Helen – I think you’ll find it fascinating.
Kate’s passion for the subject makes a great read!

 

 

Benefits of Restoring Your Photographs

Restore Your Favourite Photographs Now!

There are many benefits to restoring you old photos. With advances in technology, it’s possible to edit, enhance and save your images in digital files and you can share them with other family members or friends, electronically. Photographs Forever can take a torn or faded photograph and transform it into a beautifully-restored photo, suitable for framing.

Here are just some of the benefits of restoring your favourite photographs.

Preservation of your original images
Perhaps the primary benefit of restoring old photos is the preservation of your original images. In the case of deteriorating photographs, time may be of the essence. Since the oldest photographs are not on archival paper or finished to protect them from fading, professional restoration, editing or preservation will prevent further deterioration. It’s possible you have stored an old box of photos in your attic or basement, away from sunlight or moisture. You should be aware that degradation and fading can occur, even without any direct exposure to daylight.

Enlargements are possible
Many precious old photographs, often the last copy in existence, are good quality but too small to see the detail. Restoration not only captures the image electronically but then allows the restored photograph to be enlarged so prints and enlargements can be made or framed so they can be truly enjoyed in all their glory.

Eliminate scratches, folds, tears and fading
Since old photographs have a tendency to degrade over time, professional photo restorers have developed digital techniques for restoring your old photographs and they can eliminate scratches, cracks, tears, and fading as well as repair other damage. There are ways you can restore your photographs for yourself using programs such as Picasa by Google. For the best outcome though, expert advice should be considered.

Genealogical benefits
For those building their family trees photographs can be an integral part of finding out more details about ancestors. There are many details in photographs many of which cannot be seen until the photograph has been restored.

Electronic storage and ease of sharing
Restoring your old photos allows them to be converted to digital images, which are easy to store and share with friends or family. With advances in technology, it’s possible to take an entire photo collection and store it on CD or DVD. This can be a convenient way to retrieve a particular group of photographs or safely secure an additional copy, which will last into the next century. You can share digital copies through email or print as many copies as you need. You can even duplicate on archive paper entire photo albums that will last long into the future with no deterioration due to the archive paper used.

These are just some of the benefits of restoring your old photos. So check your own favourite family photographs now. Select the most important ones and get them scanned and restored so that you, your family and future generations will have the pleasure of enjoying them.

Win Your Own Biography And Restored Photographs – Mature Times Competition

Win your own biography, and restored photographs – courtesy of Autodotbiography and Photographs Forever

Friday, 13 July 2012

Autodot biography_2

Autodot biography_1

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just imagine holding a beautiful book written by your great grandfather telling you all about his life, his hopes, his dreams, his triumphs and disasters. Now imagine your great grandchildren holding just such a book of your life. It would be their most precious possession. Now it is possible for everyone to write a beautiful book about their life for their family.

Autodotbiography is a unique online system that makes it possible for anyone, no matter how skilled or unskilled at writing, to create their own life story in a beautifully written, lavishly illustrated hardback book.

It is incredibly easy to do, all you have to do is gather up your favourite photographs and important documents; then take a trip down memory lane and answer simple questions about your life andAutodotbiography will take the words and pictures and turn them into a beautiful book that becomes a family heirloom.

All you would need to do is collect together your favourite photos to scan into your computer.

Photographs are a vital part in telling any life story and all too often the most precious ones are faded or damaged. Most of the photograph papers and inks used up until recently have not been archival quality, and as a result, many photo prints show signs of fading and colour shifts after only a few years.

Photograph restoration1

That’s where Photographs Forever come in. Photographs Forever are a photograph restoration company offering a reliable photo restoration and photo retouching service and quality photo editing service that is reasonably priced and a service that you can trust.

Poor storage practices such as keeping photos in attics or basements or allowing photos to be exposed to sunlight, have also contributed to the poor condition of most photo collections.  People don’t realise there is a problem until they take a look at their photo collection after many years of storage. Once restored, the photos can be copied to CD or DVD for long-term storage and safekeeping.

Photograph restoration3

During the restoration process it is also possible for Photographs Forever to improve the quality of the original photograph – for example removal of spots, stains, marks, tears as well as improving contrast, brightness, colour balance and enhance detail, focus and sharpness. It is also possible to add colour to black and white photographs, as well as being able to make quality enlargements for framing. Photo retouching makes all the difference.

Mature Times is extremely lucky to be able to give one lucky reader the chance to have all of their memories restored and collected together into a fantastic Autodotbiography – courtesy of Autodotbiography and Photographs Forever.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply click here, enter your full name and address and tell us why you think you should win.

This competition closes on 16th August 2012

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Make The Most of Your Restored Photograph – With a Framed Enlargement

People often think that when they have a photograph restored, the finished restored print will only be the same size as the original. It’s true that it can be, but what is often overlooked is that after a photograph has been digitally restored, the finished image can be printed virtually any size.  It can be printed smaller for a locket or a special frame and, more importantly, it can be enlarged to a size at which you can see the detail of the original photo.

Here’s an example…
Below is the print that I was given to work from, originally a good quality studio portrait and the only remaining print was this deteriorated one, which was about 4 inches x 3inches.
Compare the “before” print to the finished enlargement after I had restored the image and you can now see the original detail in all its glory….

If this was your grandma, what a great picture to frame and put on the wall for all to enjoy

 

Steve Hackett Acoustic Concert and Genesis Pictures Exhibition – Together at Trading Boundaries

The exhibition of the Genesis Pictures I took in the 70s were on show at Trading Boundaries last week culminating in it coinciding with the Steve Hackett concert on the evening of Saturday 30th June.

Trading Boundaries was packed with Steve Hackett (and Genesis) fans who all enjoyed a brilliant evening of music. Steve had his nylon strung classical guitar for the evening, not his more usual famous Les Paul electric guitar.

Steve was accompanied by the hugely talented Rob Townsend on flute and saxophone as well as his brilliant jazz solo on a penny-whistle!

Roger King supplied great keyboards and the trio played a wide selection of music from Steve’s albums as well as some of the gorgeous melodic compositions he co-wrote with Genesis.

After almost two hours of music,Steve stayed afterwards and spent almost an hour talking to people from the audience, many of whom had travelled considerable distances to see the concert.

I met lots of people from the audience before and after the concert who were fascinated with the Genesis pictures that they’d never seen before and shared Genesis stories and my experience of taking the photographs of Steve Hackett and the other members of Genesis while they were rehearsing and recording The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in July 1974      – a mere 38 years ago!
For lots more exclusive Genesis Pictures see www.GenesisPictures.co.uk 
For more information about Steve Hackett see www.HackettSongs.com

One of the areas of Trading Boundaries where the Genesis Pictures exhibition was held

All photographs on this post taken by Richard Haines