There is something very satisfying in restoring a photograph; at looking at a picture that is over 100 years old and wondering about the people in the picture.

My grandmother is the baby on the lady’s lap on the left in this first picture.  The lady who is holding her is her grandmother, my great great grandmother.  I had to do quite a bit of repair to the picture as it had gotten folded at one point and was quite damaged. Some of the faces were hard to bring back as there wasn’t enough information in the original, but I’m happy with what I ended up with.

When I look at this picture, I can’t help but wonder about the people’s lives. These are my ancestors. Why did they dress in black? Was that comfortable? What were their personalities like? What were their wishes and dreams? Was life easier than today?

Restoring an old Photograph

My husband, John, has been going through a lot of his “stuff” and we found some old albums that his grandfather, Norman Black,  put together. The picture above is a 5×7 but the pictures in the albums are all 3x2s, so they are quite a bit smaller than the one above. Since, they are smaller, it’s harder to bring out the detail. Here are some of the ones from 2 albums that I did work on.

This first one is a man looking at a river. It’s unclear where this is taken but it says April, 1904. Amazing how this image has come back to life! The man looks like his head is not attached, but on closer inspection it looks like he was wearing a white shirt with a white-collar.

Restored Old Photograph

This image says St. Norbert, 1906. I love how this picture tells a story. The woman on the right is enjoying a glass of what is probably wine and the lady directly behind her is almost glaring at her. I wonder why? And I wonder what the occasion is and who they are. Too bad Norman Black didn’t put their names. He did put names for some of the picture but a lot of his print has faded.

Restored Photo of a picnic in the park in 1906!

This image made me laugh out loud. What is this man looking at? Why does he have 16 on his shoes? Where is he and why does he have strange ladies in the pictures right behind him. I think Norman Black had a great sense of humor (as does John) and also a great eye for photography. I would love to have had a conversation with him about his photography.

Restored Photo of a man sleeping upright!

Do you have pictures from long ago that you would like restored? Are their pictures that you would like to save before they are completely faded?

If you do, give me a call. I can give you a quote for restoring your precious photographs. My number is 204.962.3424.

Christina