Mick Strather, Wallace Steward & Harry Nehmr - Hugo, OK - 3 of Hugo's Raunders

I'm not sure who these 3 men are or who Hugo's Raunder's are but I really like this photo.  It reminds me of some of my favorite movies like Newsies.  I don't know the story behind how the photograph got pen all over it but I'm sure a toddler was involved.  Luckily they didn't color in entire areas of the photo so I was able to remove the pen along with a lot of scratch marks.  I could have removed a lot more damage on this photo but I decided that the "worn look" gave the photograph character and honestly I like when old photos still look old.

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Francis Marion and Mary Elizabeth Hopkins

I am always amazed at how much damage can occur to a photo just by time.  This photograph is of Francis Marion and Mary Elizabeth Hopkins.  It was taken in the early 1900s and has become severly faded.  Luckily, I was able to pull the details out of this photo but often old photos become so faded that it is impossible to fix it.  That is why it is so important to get your photos archived and digitally restored now, before it is too late.

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After

This is the backside of the above photograph.  I love how Mary Elizabeth wrote a note on it and we can get a feel for the way she spoke.  

"They kept call us to come out and have our picture made and we just stepped out on the porch like we was and(?) they a sight (right?) "

-Papa and Mamma

Aunt Clyda

I don't know about you but I love old photographs.  Throughout my life I've heard little bits about distant relatives but without putting a face to the name, it doesn't mean a lot to me.  Photographs really bring a person to life and makes me feel connected to them.


This photograph is of Clyda Lou Hopkins.  It was taken in the early 1900s, although I don't know the exact date.

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The perfect gift

Now that Labor Day is over it looks like it's time to start thinking about Christmas; or at least that is what the retail world tells us.  Even though I hate that we think about Christmas before we have even had Halloween or Thanksgiving, sometimes you do need that extra bit of time to come up with gifts for those friends and family that have everything.

I have a few of those people in my life and gift giving events can be so stressful but a few years ago I realized that photographs are something that they are always happy to receive.  Of course Grandma and Grandpa love your children's school photos but what about giving them a restored photo from when they were a kid or of a parent who has passed on?  Or maybe they have a lot of photographs of their childhood or ancestors but they are just sitting in a box, aging.  Digitizing and archiving those photos would be such a precious keepsake for them and you can then give copies to anyone else who might enjoy them.

So start looking through those old photos and you are sure to find that perfect photo.  And as soon as you do, you and I can start creating that perfect Christmas present.