Tunbridge Wells | Photographs Forever

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 an enquiry from a professional photographer in Mexico recently. He sent a scan of the image and, after I’d responded, he replied:

“A friend tried to restore this photo before, but it was AWFUL, they looked like plastic figurines! Please go ahead with the restoration. I will be very happy if you could do it fast, only if you can and it doesn’t affect the quality of the restoration. Please don’t make them like Toy Story!”

9 hours later he had the restored image for approval and replied:

“WOW, that was waaay faster than I expected. I am very happy with the result!”

I was intrigued to know how he found Photographs Forever:

“I Googled photo restoration… I found a LOT, some in the US, some in India and a lot in the UK. And your site is the one I liked the most because your examples look natural, not as CGI as most.”

So in recent months I have carried out restoration work for customers in Canada, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Isle of Man, Germany, USA, Italy and now Mexico!

I recently was asked by Simon, accordianist with the folk/dance band Bof! to manipulate graffiti he had photographed to produce CD cover artwork for their forthcoming CD.

Here’s Simon’s story:

“I play traditional French and Breton dance music in a band called Bof! We have been going since 2000 and in that time have made three CDs. Earlierthis year we decided to make a fourth recording and, having recorded the music, we looked around for a suitable CD cover image. We looked at dozens of photos – some of idyllic scenes of the French countryside and others of people dancing. But then we came across a photograph I had taken while on a holiday in France some years ago. It was a picture of graffiti on a wall in the ancient, picturesque city of Quimper in western Brittany. The image expressed strong traditional Breton themes using the medium of spray painting favoured by graffiti artists the world over. The music Bof! plays is traditional but with a modern flavour, so this image seemed perfect for us.

Somehow, however, we needed to superimpose text on the image. How could we do this without spoiling the artist’s work? We came up with the idea of manipulating the image to include the name of the band, Bof! and the title of the recording, Bal (the French for dance).

So I sent my image to Photographs Forever to see if they could do what seemed like an impossible job. I have to admit I wasn’t very optimistic, but you can see the results for yourself. Needless to say we are delighted with how it’s turned out and this image will be the cover of our new CD which we hope to release in June.

You can hear samples of Bof! music at: http://www.myspace.com/bofanost

If you’re a regular user of Genes Reunited, you may already have investigated our Keepsafe feature, which allows you to upload treasured family photographs and documents. It’s a great way to ensure your digital legacy – a carefully curated and preserved archive that you can share with your family. But what about all those old photos that you keep meaning to scan in, but just haven’t had the chance? Photos, like any archive material, can degrade over the years – have you checked on those shoeboxes and old albums recently?

Richard Haines of Photographs Forever specialises in restoring old photographs, and says “Unfortunately photographs don’t age well and over time their quality deteriorates. Because photos are printed on paper, things such as handling, light, moisture, dust, and scratches often affect them. Regrettably, these factors can ruin our photos and prevent them from lasting through future generations. Poor storage, such as keeping photos in attics or basements or allowing photos to be exposed to sunlight, have all contributed to the poor condition of most of our photo collections.

“It is a very 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 you have digital copies you needn’t worry about further damage because digital images do not change at all.”

Faded photograph restored

You can even get enlargements made of restored photos – perhaps you’d like to present your parents with a framed version of their favourite photo on their first holiday, or give all the grandchildren a copy of an old (but badly scratched and folded) family photo. Richard comments “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 repairing other damage. 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.”

Tattered portrait photograph of soldier rescued

Once you can see the detail in those old photos more clearly, they may even hold valuable clues to aspects of your family history – who’s that woman standing on the edge of the family group? What’s that landmark in the background? Richard says “Deteriorating photos may provide important historical links in your family or possible clues about your ancestors. When rebuilding your family tree, it is possible to determine certain aspects of your ancestry, such as weddings, landmarks of geographical nature and important occasions. Enhancing your old photos may reveal details you had not noticed before.” Remember, when you upload your photos to Keepsafe, you can choose to make them public to other Genes Reunited users and invite others to help you investigate them further – someone else might have the answers you’ve been looking for.

Take some time this week to look over your old photographs and create safe digital copies of them – you may even find precious photos you’d like to see restored. And if you have any questions regarding preserving old photographs then Richard would be happy to help you.

Try Keepsafe now

by Richard Haines of Photographs Forever

Click HERE to see the Blog entry on Genes Reunited’s own website

People that have had their special photographs restored will have realised the value of having had this work done.

As well as restoring damaged and faded black and white photographs there are other types of restoration I thought you may be interested to know that I do.
I’ve recently restored a newspaper article dated January 1966 which was very fragile and about to fall apart. Here’s the before and after, having combined two parts of the newspaper:

Then there’s the terrific artwork that our children have done at school on awful quality paper that fades and tears so easily.
Still retaining all it’s original charm this painting is now saved forever, can be printed and framed, any size, and it won’t fade as the prints are on archive paper :

I can digitally restore and make huge improvements to all your:

Damaged photographs
Faded black & white/colour photographs
Photographs that contain unwanted articles, backgrounds or even people!
Newspaper cuttings and photographs
Drawings and paintings
Children’s artwork
Documents
Virtually any printed material!

So do make the time to dig out those important photographs, paintings or newspaper articles etc and get in touch with me so I can restore them to their former glory or, in many cases, give you results better than the original ever was!

If you’re still thinking about getting those special photographs of yours restored, see what recent customers have said about the results I produced for them.

“The restored photos arrived today and they are really excellent. They recall teenage and early twenties so well that I was, as Victoria Wood used to say, filling up! Thank you so much Richard.”
Tom G – Ambleside, Cumbria
“Hi Richard. You have produced another masterpiece! My mother and fathers wedding photograph is great.”
Frank A – Birmingham
“Hi Richard – photographs received this morning. They’ve surpassed my expectations and are truly lovely. Thank you so much for taking the time to readjust the colours. We have I think achieved a wonderful true to life result which my parents will be overjoyed with. I will recommend Photographs Forever to friends and family.”
Jane S – Aylesbury

SOME EXAMPLES OF BEFORE AND AFTER RESTORATION

For more examples click here

Remember, I can digitally restore and make huge improvements to all your:

Damaged photographs
Faded black & white/colour photographs
Photographs that contain unwanted articles, backgrounds or even people!
Newspaper cuttings and photographs
Drawings and paintings
Children’s artwork
Documents
Virtually any printed material!

So do make the time to dig out those important photographs etc and get in touch with me so I can restore them to their former glory or, in many cases, give you results better than the original ever was!

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..

For Christmas we gave our children their own 100 page Photobook of themselves growing up. They were all absolutely thrilled to bits with them..

Most importantly your photographs, once scanned, can be stored safely on a CD with no fear of them fading or deteriorating ever again.

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.

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:

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!

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.

Archive for Tunbridge Wells

9 Great Ways To Transform Your Photographs

My Fascination For Vintage Photographs by Kate Helen