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Archive for restoration – Page 4

Here’s a Different Photograph Idea

I recently restored and manipulated an image of Cookie the Pekingese at Crufts so that he could continue to have a presence. 

Here’s the original photograph and the finished version

Pekingese-web-2Pekingese-web

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s owner Pauline’s story:

Back in January of this year, the day I feared most came along and I had to say goodbye to Cookie after the most amazing 14 years.  Although small in actual size, his presence was huge and the kitchen, despite having other Pekingese around, felt so empty.  I wanted a picture of my boy in his prime, here he is in the show ring at Crufts in 2009 where he was awarded a 2nd place in a very strong class. 

The original photograph had to be cropped a great deal and did not have the resolution I needed for the splash-back project, but with Richard’s magic, he got us there. 

Splashback-web

Now Cookie (or Corges Mr Cocky – his KC Show name) is back in the kitchen, with the vantage point he always wanted, he can see what is cooking!!

 

Fascinating Photograph During the Blitz – London 1940

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:

KE

Merry Christmas To All

 

christmas-2016-before-after

Merry Christmas to everyone – before and after! Here’s looking forward to 2017 being a great year.

9 Great Ways To Transform Your Photographs

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.

Sentimental Framed Photograph After Restoration

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.

irene-photo-framedr-web

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.

8 Great Tips to Help You Make The Most of Your Photographs

There is no better way to remember all the great times in life than through the photographs you have from the past, present and future. Previous generations have very few photographs compared with the number we have today. Photographs are so important yet they often remain locked inside our phones or packed away in a box.

So make the most of your photographs.  Here are 8 tips….

8 TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR PHOTOS

  1. Download the photos from your phone – either onto your computer or a cloud-based storage site such as MyKnowHowCloud.com where you can store all your photographs and any other important files.
  2. Make prints and enlargements of the best photographs, frame them and get them out on display so you can enjoy them.
  3. Photographs are a great way to remind you of good times that you’ve had and important events in your life.
  4. Photographs are the best way to remember parents, grandparents and past generations. In many really old photographs the people in them often look very serious in formal poses in studios. These were sometimes the only photographs that existed and they have a special charm and look great when enlarged and framed.
  5. Create a photo book of your favourite memories. Your photos are the record of your life so far. A photo book of your family life in pictures is a wonderful thing to have and will give you and others a huge amount of pleasure.
  6. Taking photographs today is a fantastic way of spending time that costs virtually nothing. It’s creative, social and rewarding. We take as many photos each day now as in the first 74 years of photography. It’s important to remember to do something positive with the photos you take.
  7. If they’re not right, fix them! With the fantastic technology available today virtually any photo that is is in some way not as good as you’d like it to be can be resolved with digital software. You can fix lots of elements yourself with free programs such as Google Picasa.
  8. Use Photographs Forever as a resource for any advice you may need with your photographs. You can call me any time. It is my passion that you make the most of your photographs. Get them on display, and get them scanned so you have digital copies in case the original prints get lost or damaged.  If they need improving either do it yourself or let me do it for you. Let there be photographs!

An Example of Colourising an Old Photograph

Here is the original photograph, then the restored and colourised version. I knew what colour the Union Jacks were – all the rest were my best guess!

Photograph Before Restoration

Photograph Before Restoration

 

Photograph After Restoration and Colourising

Photograph After Restoration and Colourising

Pet Portraits From Snapshots

Here is an example of a good gift idea – portraits of the family pets.

This example of the history of the family cats, the portraits were made as a gift for the owner from existing snapshots. The scale of the cats’ heads were matched and the busy backgrounds eliminated so that their faces could be seen clearly.

Restored Cat Portraits

Restored Cat Portraits

 

Happiness Is a Photograph of Mum

A few days ago I received this touching story from Jane H following my restoring this photograph

Photographs Forever photograph restoration

Photographs Forever photograph restoration

“Our daughter said that as soon as my husband saw the photo of his mother that you managed to create from the old somewhat dilapidated little old photo, he would probably cry. I wondered if I ought to give it to him on some other day rather than his 86th birthday if it would upset him. However I did eventually give it to him yesterday on his birthday.

With my help he unwrapped it as he only has the use of one hand. He said nothing at all just kept staring at it. At last I realized he had tears in his eyes as he hadn’t realized there was any kind of photo of his mother who died many years ago.  He put it on the table next to his chair and just kept picking it up and putting it down still unable to say anything. However as soon as other people begun to arrive to celebrate his birthday he insisted they come and look at the photo he is so proud of.

As he is disabled in a wheelchair he has carers twice a day to help. The first thing he did was to hand them the framed photo explaining in his own way that it is his mother. Our daughter was also quite emotional when she saw it remembering her old cockney grandma. I told her she was right her father had cried but only with emotion and happiness.
He is amazed that you were able to restore such a small,  damaged picture into a perfect photo of his mother who he was so close to as she brought him up alone. He now has the picture on a table where he can see it at all times. We have numerous framed photos of family but until now he had nothing. I just wanted to thank you so much for the trouble you took in restoring the photo and giving him such pleasure.

Thank you again. I have told everyone who has seen it who restored the photo so don’t be surprised if you hear from a few next year!!”

What To Do When Your Favourite Photograph Is Lost or Damaged

This is Jennifer and Frank’s Story as told by Jennifer

“I first contacted Richard at Photographs Forever to see if there was anything he could do with a photograph that had huge sentimental value to my partner Frank as it was the only one he had of his two daughters at that age. The photograph had accidentally been very badly damaged by falling from a car window in the rain and being repeatedly run over by several cars, here’s the photograph in question.

Richard said that unfortunately there was nothing he could do as the photograph was too badly damaged to restore.
I knew there was one other photograph of the two girls that was one of those tiny photographs in a key ring fob.

So I sent this to Richard to restore and also to ask if there was anything he could do to recreate the original photograph of the two girls with hi-vis waistcoats and hard hats. This is the resulting photograph that Richard created and sent to me

Richard sent this photo of the girls, to be signed for, and as I am at work, I missed the postie, got a card through the door to pick it up from the sorting office in West Bromwich. I did not know where it was so I asked Frank to take me. (I have not lived in West Bromwich very long). When I collected it he could see it was photos by the packaging, I told him that I had got you to do “something” to the picture of his girls but I would not tell him what because it was to be a surprise for his birthday, he seemed quite uninterested.  He has since told me that he thought you had just made the photo bigger and made it oval, why he thought that I will never know! ANYWAY, when we got back home I opened it, I got goose pimples!
I said “You have got to see this, I cannot wait for your birthday”
He replied “No, put it away somewhere and I will have it for my birthday”.
I pulled it out the envelope again and said “No I cannot do it, you have to see this”.
When he saw it, well……………….. He is SO HAPPY, his bottom lip started to quiver and I have never seen him like that, he was astounded.  I was afraid that he may not like it as it has been manipulated, it is not actually a memory, as photos normally are but no  – he LOVES IT! We cannot believe the attention to detail, I thought that the girls were wearing hi-vis COATS on the original photo but they were not, they were actually waistcoat hi-vis’s, and the hard hats -on the original  – the oldest girl has a blue hat and the youngest a white one, Richard is SO GOOD. AND the pen in the hi-vis on the youngest, AMAZING. WHAT MORE CAN I SAY……….. WE ARE SPEECHLESS, totally, I cannot thank Richard enough, he has made Frank’s day, his year, his birthday! I told Frank I would buy him a frame for it for his birthday, he said “No way, we are getting a frame on Saturday”.

Any ideas what I can get him for his birthday now please Richard??????????????????”