This fantastic photograph of a Victor V Bomber refueling English Electric Lightnings over the Niagara Falls is one that I had the pleasure to restore and colourise recently. I found the correct colouring of all the aircraft from technical drawings I found on Google Images.
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Archive for Photo Retouching – Page 5
I received this photograph as four photographs stuck together and folded as that was the best way with the technology of the time. When it was restored I printed a 40inch wide print.
Here’s the story….
“The Cuillins is a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye, we spent many happy family holidays on Skye when I was a child and my Dad, George Smith who was a very talented amateur photographer, spent years perfecting his panorama of “the Cuillins” as we used to call them, he unfortunately passed away in 2015 and we recently went through some of the many images he had painstakingly crafted over the years, including this one which was in fairly bad condition having been folded up & stored in a box in a damp sitting room in a French Farmhouse for the last 10 years; I love this image as it brings back so many wonderful memories of my Dad and the fun we used to have on Skye in the shadow of the Cuillin, I am so grateful to Richard for the amazing restoration and for enabling such a precious memory to be recovered and displayed once again in its full glory.”
My customer Karen E tells the story of this (now restored) photograph
“This photograph was taken on a day when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Poplar during the Blitz. My father as a boy is standing in the right upper window with his mum on his right and his best friend beside him.
My father remained in Poplar throughout the war with his father who was a stevedore in the docks and his mother who was a seamstress. Their house suffered damage in the war when an incendiary device came through the roof and landed on his parent’s bed, luckily it did not ignite and they managed to wrap it in the bedding and throw it out of the window!”
Here’s the original photograph I received:
I recently received this photograph which had been kept in a photo frame and the entire top surface of the photo had come away from its paper backing and so the image consisted of a large number of very frail flakes that would have blown away in the slightest draught!
It was an important photo and so I was able to digitally painstakingly put it back together and with the help of two other photographs from the same customer I as able to use the persons eyes and add a complete dog!
Here’s the finished photo:
Merry Christmas to everyone – before and after! Here’s looking forward to 2017 being a great year.
I recently received an order from Iain Anderson from Renfrewshire as he wanted me to produce a montage on canvas of some his photographs taken when he was in various dramatic stage roles.
During our conversations I found that Iain has his own radio show on BBC Scotland and he plays some really great music, much of which you may not have heard before and is well worth hearing, which you can hear again on the BBC iPlayer.
Click on his photograph below for the link to listen
Iain Anderson – BBC Radio Scotland
With Christmas now on the horizon here are some ideas for a unique gift that’s ideal for those who can be tricky to find something a bit different.
Here just a few examples of the many ways I can transform your photographs….
If you have a photograph that has faded in its frame, it can be restored and re-coloured.
Two or more photographs can be combined and you can choose the people you want in the finished photo
Family groups can be ‘adjusted’ to include or exclude people!
Couples can finally be together in the same photograph.
Snapshots of pets can be made into portraits or montages
Treasured photographs that have suffered years of damage can be restored to their original state.
Combine a favourite photograph with a more interesting background.
Create a family montage from a selection of favourite photographs
Not sure which photos to use but can see the potential?
A Photographs Forever Gift Voucher of any value could be the answer.
I received this message from Irene after I has restored her photograph and I was quite touched –
“Thank you so much for your recent work which was excellent as usual. The photograph you restored fits beautifully into the frame and looks wonderful surrounded by a verse from one of my favourite songs. No apologies for the sentimental nature of the words! I’ve sent you a copy so you can see the end result.
There were some lovely surprises with the negatives. Some photographs I have never seen before and others have not been seen by the family for years. I have no idea who the people playing football are! I have included several of the photographs in my writing – which is nearly finished by the way.”
Always very gratifying to receive this kind of message.
We all have old photographs that we treasure, whether they are old family photographs passed on from previous generations, or historic photographs of the homes and towns we live in.
Photographs are the best tool we have to relive our cherished memories and remember loved ones who are no longer with us. Unfortunately photographs don’t age well and over time their quality diminishes.
Because photos are printed on paper things such as handling, light, moisture, dust, and scratches often affect them. Regrettably, these things can ruin our photos and prevent them from lasting through the generations.
Most of the photo 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.
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 realize there is a problem until they take a look at their photo collection after many years of storage. Our precious photo collections are in fact fading away and in time many will be beyond recovery. There is also the possibility of their demise in the case of fire or flood.
It is a good idea to restore your special photographs or even entire photo collection in order to stop the unavoidable destruction that will take place no matter how carefully the photos are stored. Once restored, the photos can be copied to CD or DVD for long-term storage and safekeeping. Once you have digital copies you needn’t worry about further damage because digital images do not change at all. You can use these digital images to make a set of prints on archival paper, which will last over 100 years in an album with no signs of degradation or twenty years exposed to daylight for framed prints. Additional prints can be made at any time in the future should disaster strike. You can also share the images with other members of your family and friends.
During the restoration process it is also possible 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.
Here is an interesting order I completed recently. Not only to combine two photographs that were in very poor condition but also to add the woman from the first photograph – minus baby! – to the second photograph while turning her around so she was facing the right way rather than turning her back on her husband!
This was the email I received from my customer…
“Well you’ve done it again, this time with knobs on and I am not referring to the door knob in one the photos! What an absolutely fantastic result. I appreciate the time and effort you must have put in to get the images of individuals in one photo transferred and included in another. The results to include the clean up and restoration are really brilliant, my great grandmother has literally “rejoined” her family – Fantastic. I can’t wait to present the final prints to members of my family.” John P
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