Photograph Restoration

[geoff]

Hi all, I would appreciate any help! the only photograph I have of my father, in full field uniform, has been badly attached to an old album, his figure has been cut from a photograph and then fully covered with sticky-tape to attach it to the album page, I would like to know if there are specialists that can remove the tape and possibly superimpose the figure onto a new background! any ideas?

info: My father was a National Serviceman in the Army Air Corps, Palestine 1945-48.

Best regards

Geoff

[Guest Rick Research]

Can you scan it to save the image if not the original itself?

PS Scan it "as is" before trying anything that might even further ruin it.

[redcross]

you want a very good museum archivist

who specializes in paper

they can do incredible things,

a good museum can point you to one,

a good archivist will have credentials,

I would suggest you read a little on the

subject so you can ask proper questions,

there is good reading material online.

[Brian Wolfe]

I've had really good luck with a photo lab here in Ontario. They will take a photo in any condition scan it and do the "repairs" and new background all in the computer. Once it is the way you want it they can then print it on photographic paper and it looks like it was taken yesterday. The advantage of this is you don't actually do anything to the original photo itself thereby doing no further damage. In one case a photo we had was in pieces with a lot of background lost. The lab was able to produce a new photo with all of the restoration. The original is in an envelope still in pieces. They use a "photoshop-like program and a computer system to die for. I'm sure you can find such a photo lab in your area if you look.

Good luck with your project.

Cheers

Brian

[JimZ]

That's a tough one as I read it!

Sure enough - nothing hasty! Apart from scanning the photo as Rick suggests, you can actually take it to a photography shop where they can take a photo of it and I can assure you this will look just like the original photo with the tape and all as part of it. However, you are preserving actual photo quality there. I think that needs to be done in any case to preserve what you have and 'back it up' as it were!

What Brian suggests is another very viable option. Do not touch the photo itself, but scan it and send it to a photoshop artist who can touch it up and really work miracles. My brother in law is quite the expert on photoshop and he had managed to turn a very damaged photo of my grandmother into a more or less clean one which could then be printed by professionals on photographic paper. I would really recommend this course of action.

Of course you can also do what redcross suggests and I am sure that there are some conservation mavericks out there. But it all depends on how important to you it is to have the original photo itself repaired, or a copy of it to preserve the sentimental and historical aspects captured in your father's photo.

Regards

Jim

[geoff]

Thanks for the interest guys and yes Rick thanks, I will scan it first before I do anything else. The input has been very helpful, Redcross, Brian and Jimz, I have been on the internet since my post and was quiet amazed at the amount of companies carrying out computor based photograph restoration I have spoken with someone today who has had photograph restoration carried out recently and locally, the feedback was very positive, I am awaiting a contact number, watch this space.

Best regards

Geoff

[Brian Wolfe]

I would like to show you a photo of one of my wife's relations in uniform photographed around 1900. I was going to post this looking for help in identifying the uniform but I'll do that on another post.

Most of the wall above and around this soldier's head was missing and or in pieces. The bottom right hand (viewer's right) section was pretty well gone. We had the background repaired and I think there was an area with a crease in it that was removed. Check out the rocks to the soldier's left just even with his head. You will notice that the right half of each rock looks a lot the same. Of course that is a geological improbability. There is another one that was flipped and then repositioned. One must be careful not to go too far with this. We decided to leave the colour, or tint, of the original photo alone. The fellow doing the work said he could replace the dog as the one in the photo moved as the original was snapped. We thought we liked the dog just the way he is. It gives a sense of movement in what is otherwise a static picture.

I was so impressed with this that I went out and purchased Adobe Photoshop 7.0 for my wife. I say "for my wife" as I have the intellectual prowess of your below average chimpanzee when it comes to computer programs with my only appreciable advantage being opposable thumbs. The program is very expensive and unless you are doing a lot of resoration, or trying to impress your wife it would probably be better to take the photo to a professional. My wife does use the program and I use it to size my photos for my forum posts.

Cheers

Brian

[JimZ]

Thanks for the interest guys and yes Rick thanks, I will scan it first before I do anything else. The input has been very helpful, Redcross, Brian and Jimz, I have been on the internet since my post and was quiet amazed at the amount of companies carrying out computor based photograph restoration I have spoken with someone today who has had photograph restoration carried out recently and locally, the feedback was very positive, I am awaiting a contact number, watch this space.

Best regards

Geoff

Yes please Geoff! Do keep us updated on what these people come back to you with. Its good to know what and who is out there, what they do, how much it costs and whether you were happy with their service!

We are indeed watching this space!

Jim

[Danny70]

Hi Geoff,

This is a major part of what I do for a living (graphic designer). If you are interested, I would be happy to have a go at restoring your picture for you (I cannot promise on the result until I see what condition the picture is in at the moment). All I would need from you is a high resolution scan of the image as it is at the moment - scan the picture at 200% and at 600dpi in RGB format. I can return you a jpeg of the finished work which you can have printed at any of your local photographic shops.

If you are not happy with the result you can go elsewhere and it will not have cost you anything!

Send me a PM if you are interested.

Regards - Danny

[JimZ]

Kudos......and a pint of guinness. To Danny!!!

Jolly nice to see your offer. This is part of the stuff that makes GMIC a true gentleman's club!

Well done!

Jim

[geoff]

Hi Geoff,

This is a major part of what I do for a living (graphic designer). If you are interested, I would be happy to have a go at restoring your picture for you (I cannot promise on the result until I see what condition the picture is in at the moment). All I would need from you is a high resolution scan of the image as it is at the moment - scan the picture at 200% and at 600dpi in RGB format. I can return you a jpeg of the finished work which you can have printed at any of your local photographic shops.

If you are not happy with the result you can go elsewhere and it will not have cost you anything!

Send me a PM if you are interested.

Regards - Danny

That's brilliant Danny and very generous I will PM you shortly with the info. you have requested.

Many thanks and Best regards

Geoff.

[JimZ]

It will be great if we'll get to see some before and after pics in due course, particularly to show members what can and cannot be done with today's technology.

Jim

[geoff]

Would just like to pass comment on GMIC about Danny's excellent job with my fathers photograph restoration, Danny has also obtained copyright clearance for use of the image on this site, the image owner's permission is awaited out of respect, as soon as this comes I will post a before and after picture.

Many thanks Danny and Best regards

Geoff

[Henry 24th]

This will end up being a new photograph -(most likely) Digitally output. What will become of the original sticky taped photograph? I have been a professional scanner operator for many years in the graphic design field, and we often received originals in various states of decay...tape included. In most cases we were able to remove the tape and clean the image to some degree - thus preserving the original. Would you consider going that route as well?

Kind regards...Henry

[geoff]

This will end up being a new photograph -(most likely) Digitally output. What will become of the original sticky taped photograph? I have been a professional scanner operator for many years in the graphic design field, and we often received originals in various states of decay...tape included. In most cases we were able to remove the tape and clean the image to some degree - thus preserving the original. Would you consider going that route as well?

Kind regards...Henry

Hi Henry, I am quite happy with the original photograph, sticky tape and all, now that I have the restored image and scanned the original for posterity, I don't believe I will do any more with original. All of the photographs from my fathers time in Palestine were taken with a Box Brownie, I can still remember the camera, alas no more, the images themselves are quite poor and are small, I believe I will have these remastered at some point now that I have seen what can be acheived.

The photographs are attached in an album brought back from palestine, it's really touristy and has a camel and Arab engraved in to the wooden covers, all contemporary! the photographs are in various stages of detachment from the album leaves but I have managed to get some corners, as close to the originals as possible, and will be putting the album back together, thats my next project. I have no doubt I will be showing some of the images on the GMIC in the near future to try and idenitify the various ships and the port/s where the photographs were taken.

Thanks for your interest and best regards

Geoff

[redcross]

If I could second the idea of preservation

of historic photographs -

it is fine to save the images,

but it is worth saving historic paper

these are often lost

so few survive

[geoff]

At last I have time to sit down and show the before and after photograph restoration that Danny carried out, the actual restored photograph shows a Dodge 15cwt truck, I would like to give a Special thankyou to Mr. John Searby for permission to use his image.

Hope you all agree Danny has done a fantastic job

Before:

[geoff]

And after

Sorry, just need to add this final note, all my family, that's Mam, brothers and sister and my son's now appreciate their father and grandfather was also a young man once, we all tend to lose sight of this with the passage of time, sadly he passed away in 1995 and with this restored photograph, he is 18 years of age, has given us all an image of the young, fit man he so obviously was.

Edited January 5, 2008 by geoff

[Chris Boonzaier]

All I can say is...... WOW!!!

If I send a pic of me and one of Claudia Schiffer in a bikini on the beach.... do you think you could make us a happy couple :-)

[Danny70]

Geoff -

I'm glad I could be of assistance!

Chris -

What? Let's see if I got that right, You want a picture of you wearing Claudia Schiffer's bikini on the beach??

[Guest Rick Research]

TERRIFIC photo repair!

[Chris Boonzaier]

Geoff -

I'm glad I could be of assistance!

Chris -

What? Let's see if I got that right, You want a picture of you wearing Claudia Schiffer's bikini on the beach??

thats an option I had not thought of.... but now that you mention it......