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.

Before

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.

Before

After

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.

Rhonda Nerdin

Original

Restored Article

Up-Close view of the restored photo

Vicky Amdal

Vicky Amdal

Todd Fernandez

Jessie Dean

People often tell me that their photo is irreparable because their child got a hold of it or the paper became brittle and the photo was now in pieces.  They are always surprised to learn that "in pieces" doesn't mean ruined.  The pieces can be scanned in an played with like a jigsaw puzzle.  Once all of the pieces and in their correct place, the tears can then be removed and missing pieces of the photograph can be rebuilt.

Check out this photograph that had been loved for many years.  It had been torn and then taped back together.  There are also quite a few cracks that I am willing to bet were very close to breaking apart, as well.  Luckily, this photo was repairable and now the family can have a nice copy to enjoy.

Melissa Martin

I think it is so sad how much damage time can do to a photo.  This photo was inside a frame, behind glass and it still suffered a lot of fading.  It also got a little water behind the glass which caused the photo to stick. 

While this photo did not have the water damage, you can see how badly time can fade a photograph.  The edge of the picture is where the frame was covering it.  Although it has more color, the colors have still changed and are not the same as the photo originally was.

Helen, James & Woody Butterfield

Before

After

Back again

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since I posted anything.  It's not that I quit, or even took some time off, I've just been extremely busy.  Since last October I've restored all of my Dad & Mom's childhood photos & created each other them an album.  I've also been restoring other photos like crazy.

I want to expand my business so I've branched out into wedding album design.  These albums are amazing & so fun to be able to create.  I've been working with the very talented Carrie Butler of Carrie Butler Photography as her album designer & now I've started designing the wedding invitations for some of her clients.  Can I just say that I love what I do.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to find the time to start posting again.

Adriana Eldred

Isn't this a cute picture.  So sad that, for whatever reason, it was damaged past the point of being able to be enjoyed.  These are the photographs that I really like to work on.  To be able to give someone back a priceless memory is very rewarding to me.

The Downs Kids

This photo is of Bessie (age 2), Reva (age 7) & Ray (age 5) Downs.  It was taken by Menlove Studios in Provo.  There isn't a date on the photo so I'll have to look up the kids birthdays to find when this photo was taken.  The original photo was a 3x5 & on first examination it seemed that the only damage was to the edges of the photo.  Once I looked closer, though, I noticed that the whole picture is severely scratched from years of movement against another object.  I also noticed that all 3 kids faces were damaged in the development process.

I'm happy to say that I was able to repair all the damage plus correct the damage that was done during development & that this picture is now "better" that the original.

Original Photo

(restored photo)

Bessie (original photo)

(restored photo)

Ray (original photo)

(restored photo)

Reva (Original Photo)

(restored photo)

Who knew a wet glass could be so damaging?

All this damage was caused by a cold glass, covered in condensation, being sat on the photograph.  This photograph was also a reproduction, which made the quality tougher to work with.

Sincerely, Eliza Hopkins

A New View

I found a second photo of the same little girl from the previous post.  It's a different pose but from the same photo shoot.  What I realized is that the "mold" on the curtain in the 1st photo is actually a flower print.  I've looked over & over at the 1st photo & I still can't tell it's flowers, but it's definitely flowers in the 2nd photo.  This is why I always save a copy of the original photo whenever I do a restoration.  That way, I can go back to the original photo, someday, if I want it to look different or if technology changes.

What a Transformation

I'm not sure who this picture is, the back says "Mrs Butterfield, 1469 Coronado, Long Beach CA".  I'm thinking it might be Mary Indiann Butterfield.

The original photograph was bent, torn & covered in mold.  After I restored it, I decided I wanted to color it as well.  I think it's such a cute photo.

Original

Restored Black & White

Restored & Colored

Nice Recognition

In October I submitted the restored photo of my Grandpa Lender & my dad (as a baby) to Adobe Photoshop.  They had asked for people to submit examples using Photoshop & were going to choose 10 of those submissions to display in their office in San Jose.  Six Hundred & Fifty-Six people submitted projects, some submitted more than one.

Last week I received an email telling me that my photo had been chosen.  While I don't receive any "prize" for being chosen,  it's really nice to know that a huge company like Adobe likes my work.

Turning a black & white photo into a color photo

Earlier I posted this photo after I had repaired the damage.  Since then, I have added color to it.  Here I am posting the original photograph & the colored photograph.

Original 

Repaired & Colored

Ephraim Stockwell (Mark, Jack & Rick)