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
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.
Photograph restoration is very popular, although you may be interested to know that I also scan and restore many other things
For example I restored a drawing that, over the years had become torn, dog eared and generally in very poor condition. I restored the artwork and made an enlargement on archive paper and mounted this in a plain black wooden frame.
Here’s the before and after:
Do you have precious unique documents such as Birth Certificates, School Reports, Qualification Certificates, Death Certificates, Wills or any other documents that should be digitally preserved and restored shared with other members of the family? If you are creating your family album or your family tree, you could add images of important documents.
What about the children’s artwork? Their wonderful creative drawings and paintings are nearly always done on the cheapest paper, the paint fades, they get crumpled up and torn. Save them now. I will scan them and then you’ll images you can print, put into photo books and share with the family
Do you have negatives of possibly precious photographs and lost the prints?
Do you have a collection of negatives and you’ve no idea what the images on them are of?
I can scan your negatives whether they are 35mm or 127, 126, 120 roll film or even the really old glass negatives and provide you with positive images as data files, which I can then restore if necessary or just print or enlarge your favourites.
You may have a large number of 35mm or 6cm slides from the 70’s and 80’s but no longer have a projector that works. Let me scan and improve them so you can enjoy them again. They are often really high quality and make great enlargements.
So don’t delay, wherever you are, whatever town, city or county, look out those precious documents, drawings, artwork, negatives, slides and of course those fantastic old family photographs and let me restore them, repair them, retouch them so you and your family and friends can enjoy them forever.
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.
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….
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.
I was recently interviewed on the Rich Tee Radio Show on Meridian 107 FM.
To listen to the interview where we discussed the merits of photograph restoration and why its so important Click Here: Photographs Forever Interview Meridian 28 Feb 2012
The all-new Photographs Forever website went live at the end of February with more simple navigation as well as the ability to download your own scanned images directly to me for restoration,evaluation or even just an opinion.
Thanks to Grant at Profitable Websites for his help to put it all together. (www.profitablewebsites.co.uk)
If you can’t find what you’re looking for or have any suggestions as to how this website could be improved, I’d love to hear from you.
Phone: 01825 740986
Email: info@photographsforever.co.uk
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm
Address: Fairlight, Chelwood Gate, Beaconsfield Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 7LF