Family-Photo-Restorer

A Childhood Photo

I love what I do… emails like this make it even better…. ❤️ “My good friend recently sent you a very badly damaged photo of myself, brother and sister. I have just received it back from him and I have to say I was very tearful. It is an awesome piece of work, I am amazed at how it has turned out, truly amazed. Only myself and sister remain of our family and I intend to frame and send this to her.

Ben and his family did this as a surprise for me and I am so happy it is hard to put into words. Thank you so much for the great work you have done, couldn’t be more happy. – Robbie”

Old Jazz Photos Restored

A Jazz Great Restored!

Sarah got in touch with a surprise for her Dad… thats him next to Dizzy Gillespie with his Jazz crazy friends in the fifties. They travelled all over the country in an old banger over to watch jazz , seeing nearly all the greats including the legendary Charlie Parker, Miles Davies and Coltrane !! He’s 84 now and still jazz mad.

Thanks for your custom Sarah, it’s much appreciated! I hope your dad liked the surprise!

Creased Photo Restoration

Creased Photograph

I love a challenge! This creased photograph restoration is one of those! There is nothing better than seeing the difference made to an old photo like this one. The creases were rather widespread and things didn’t get any better with a high resolution scan. They spidered off into the most miniscule of lines – still they had to be fixed or they’d show through on the final prints. Once repaired it made the contrast and exposure adjustments a breeze. Another satisfied customer!

If you have a photo in a similar condition, get in touch for a free no obligation quote, you can upload images for an appraisal on the form!

Somerset Photo Restoration

Born 170 Years ago…

An amazing photo of people who experienced life so different to what we know nowadays. This couple are Edward Glover, born 1848 and his wife Sarah (nee Wheadon) born 1856 down the road from us in Aller, Somerset. Both born to Agricultural labourers, Edwards life would follow the same path. During their early life photography was in its infancy, with photographic images slowly making it into newspapers. It wasn’t until 1888 that George Eastman patented the Kodak roll film camera, 1900 before the 1st mass marketed “Brownie” camera went on sale and this photo would have been taken, albeit professionally sometime around 1920. It would be safe to say that photography never played a major part in their lives. Yet here we are in 2020, photography has shaped my life and I have cupboards full documenting several generations of family history.

These are my 2nd great grandparents… my grandfathers grandparents – that boggles my mind in terms of the scale of time. I was lucky enough to know my grandfather, and he knew his grandparents, and I have their photo – now in colour.

British Army Photo Restored

Creased Photo Fixed!

Lauren got in touch with her Grandfather in laws favourite photo. 15″ in length and showing a few signs of its age now, it was posted down to us to be scanned at a high resolution. We worked out way through the photo from end to end making sure all creases and marks were fixed. The dreaded fading had started to creep in so a level adjustment helped put things back where they should be. We even managed to add a little extra sharpening!

We chose a 300gsm Satin finish paper for the end result and it really helps keep a more timely look to the photo whilst preserving all that rich detail. Thanks again for your custom Lauren.

Curry Rivel Prisoner of War - JV FOSTER

April was a breeze…

For us anyway… despite how hard staying at home might seem, we’ve all found ways to manage our time. We can still contact our friends and families. We know this will come to an end. As mentioned in a previous post – my granddad spent 5 years as a prisoner of war. He wrote his memories down… Very little news traveled in and out of the camps and as each year passed the conditions worsened. I have since been researching his war and have managed to put some dates to his story. This is April 75 years ago for my granddad after nearly 5 years as a prisoner of war, He was 25.

5th April 1945 – A German officer informed us that the next day we would be leaving Stalag X1D.

6th April 1945 – It turned out that we were loaded with what kit we could carry, given a loaf of bread (no margarine), and marched out going eastwards. We did not cover many miles per day, as we were too weak to walk very fast. At night we slept mostly in farmyards. Some chaps ate their loaf of bread in next to no time! I made mine last as long as possible; Jerry never fed us again. We would raid potato dumps, bordering the roads, Тhe guards were old men who had seen service in World war 1. One night we slept in a large barn containing bales of straw; that was lovely. Another occasion, we found some leeks growing in a farmer’s garden. we started pulling them up, until fired on by a guard – probably over our heads.

17th April 1945 – We came to the River Elbe, which was very wide at this point. A large bridge spanned the river with a small village nestling on the Eastern bank. We had to wait some time before crossing, to let Jerry tanks over going west. Soldiers were riding on top taking up every available space.

19th April 1945 – We were informed that a convoy of Lorries had left Switzerland with Red cross parcels looking for POWs who were being marched East. We were going to get one parcel between two and would collect them from the next village we came to. This was marvelous news and we paired up to collect, then marched some two miles and stopped alongside the road to open them. The chap I paired with, who I did not know, said he hoped we would get chocolate in ours because that was something we could eat right away.
We had not got it completely open, when a cry went up that aircraft flying overhead were coming down in a dive. They were English RAF Typhoon bombers. In the first dive, they dropped a bomb and fired cannon shells. The instinct is to run, which I did – out across this arable field, together with most of the party. On the second dive, they fired cannon shells, so we suffered eight attacks from the four aircraft, killing lots of men. Two chaps I knew very well came over to see how I was. I had some shrapnel in one hand, but not bleeding much. One of the chaps who came over was limping; he took his trousers down to see an unexploded shell which had traveled up under his skin almost to his groin. When I got back to where had left my beloved satchel, I found a hole through it, no sign of the parcel or chap I was sharing with. I went to a dressing station where they were collecting the badly wounded.

My mate with the cannon shell near his groin told me after it had been taken out, that he stuffed a blanket up between his legs hoping that might help if it went off. Two horses and carts picked up the wounded and started off across country to a small town which had cobbled streets. We were placed in a corridor with seats down one side. An airman who played football in Stalag Luft 1 and was called Twinkle Toes, was lying on the floor moaning and saying that he was dying. My hand stopped bleeding and at that moment I felt a bit of a fraud for being there, but of course it could so easily have become infected. After it was bandaged I was sent upstairs to a ward and shared a two-tiered bunk with a New Zealander who was also slightly wounded. We were the only two able to walk. I well remember being given a large bowl of macaroni.

April 20th 1945 – a German officer told us to follow him. We went outside the building to a door where an oldish woman, dressed in black, was waiting. We went inside to find several coffins and German soldiers lying dead. The woman took us to a coffin beside which lay Twinkle Toes. We lifted him in and put the lid on; there was also a Sergeant Brown who had died. We returned to the ward slightly shaken.

April 21st 1945 – We were again told to “Follow me”. This time to a courtyard where a horse and cart lay stacked with several coffins. When we moved off across the uneven cobbles, I remembered being afraid that some would fall off, as they were not tied down. We reached the cemetery where they were unloaded. A German civilian was directing where each coffin should go. Unfortunately our two had to go up a slope, and it was a struggle for us; we were as weak as kittens. Then began the job of digging the graves. An odd shell would come screaming over; the ones you hear have already passed, it’s the ones you don’t hear that get you. The Guard said we were going back for something to eat. I sized it up in my mind and decided that I would not be coming back to dig graves.

Later, after eating some more macaroni, I looked around for somewhere to go. I found some stairs leading up to an uninhabited floor and found a row of toilets which made me think it was formerly a school. I went in one, sat down and went to sleep. It was dark when I woke up. I went down to the ward and no-one said where have you been? That night, the shelling became heavy; those who could, went down into the cellar, nurses, German soldiers, myself and the New Zealander lay on the stone floor and went fast asleep.

April 22nd 1945 – I was woken by a Welshman with a rifle over his shoulder, I jumped up a free man after four years and eleven months. I went up into the ward where there were several soldiers highly amused at the state we were in, different uniforms, etc. One asked how long I had been a POW; when I said five years he said he was still going to school then.

I went out the front to see the troops going by. A German woman, who was crying, came running by saying that Russki Kommt ambulances had arrived to take the wounded away. We came to the bridge which we had crossed some days before. It was now lying in the river, and the houses on the east bank were flattened. We crossed over in an amphibious tank, then on again to a large former German barrack block. We stayed the night here.

April 23rd 1945 – We traveled on to an airfield where we saw the first jet fighters and later that day, we boarded a Dakota which had been adapted to carry stretchers. It was wonderful when we crossed the English coast and saw the green fields.

“Oh to be in England now that April’s there”

We landed at a small airfield near Swindon, and sat down to egg and chips, then headed to an R.A.F. Hospital, called Wroughton, where a nurse took our names and addresses to send to our parents by telegram. My mother later told me that the local postman had told the postmistress that he was going to be the one to deliver it, and that he did.

April 24th 1945 – I was put back into an ambulance to travel up into the Birmingham area, to another R.A.F. hospital. The nursing sister ordered me to bed as she said the shrapnel would be taken out the next day. I did not get into bed, but went for a walk instead, out into the countryside. This I really enjoyed; not having been able to do this for a very long time. When I got back the sister was waiting. I received a dressing down which affected me not one little bit. I had no time for authority at that period of my life. I wish it had stayed with me.

Eventually we were issued with new uniforms and given the all clear to go home, traveled to Paddington, then to Taunton and caught the bus to my home, fourteen miles away. My younger brother met me off the bus, my parents had arranged some decoration for my homecoming.

We’ve had it good really.

Photo Restoration Gifts

A Photo Restoration Gift

A great way to celebrate your mum’s birthday is with a photo restoration gift. Niamh got in touch with us again with a new photo. This time for her Mum’s birthday she’s had this lovely old photograph restored and coloured using her mum’s advice on clothing colours. The longer I worked on this photo the harder I chuckled. It features her Grandfather with her very young Mum posing… with a monkey… just look at that monkeys face! This photo was printed on our 300gsm Museum rough paper.

The rips and creases in this photo were no issue to us and with her mum’s help the colour advise was a real help… we don’t need to know as we enjoy a little artistic license from time to time.

Thanks Again Niamh!

Family Portrait Coloured and Restored

WW2 Family Portrait

Steve got in touch with a fantastic old image of his mother with her parents taken during WW2. This was originally a large photo framed and hung over his grandparents fireplace for decades until his grandmother passed away. Steve’s mum, now 85, was very close to her father and often talks about the time when the photo was taken and how sad she is that the larger, colour tinted one, had been lost.

Steve posted the photo down with a letter containing all the details his mum can remember of the colours. We set to work tidying a couple small areas before hand colouring the photo and producing a set of prints.

We are so happy to have been able to help Steve restore and colour this photo for his mum. Thank you for your custom Steve – It was a real pleasure to work on your photo.

WW1 Photo Repaired

1916 – Photo Repair

Gavin emailed over a couple of photos for some work. This first image is of his Grandfather in 1916. Lacking an original Gavin was forced to find out the best copy that he could. The repair initially looked quite simple, on closer inspection the creases were surrounded with smaller white marks. Once these had been removed and the creases repaired the image got treated to a light sharpening.

Photo Restoration Co - NEWS

Six Whole Months

Six. They say that time flies when you are having fun and boy I must have been having fun. It was 6 months ago that the Photo Restoration Co was born. The website was launched in May as I was slowly working my way through a couple of personal restoration projects. The slow trickle of business I expected didn’t happen, instead on day three I woke to find an inbox full of lovely people looking to have photos restored or coloured (I think you’d call it a torrent). In the first month of business I received a letter from a lady who doesn’t have the internet but had heard about “the amazing things I do to photographs”. She enclosed the only copy of a very old photograph with specific instructions to “get on with it!”

The Photo Restoration Co at Family Tree Live

Other than spending time working on all of your lovely photos, The Photo Restoration Co is now booked to attend Family Tree Live in April next year at Alexandra Palace. I know a few of you are attending already. For those that weren’t aware I will have the high resolution scanner on the stand so if you bring your photos along you can receive a free no obligation quote to have your photos restored or coloured and you get to take a look at the ever growing book of before and after comparisons.

We also got the nod this month that The Photo Restoration Co. was selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 35 Photo Editing Blogs on the web. Ok… so I don’t write much, I don’t consider myself a wordsmith… but my business is visual images – so that’s what you get. Thank you Feedspot!

Our Facebook page is self propelling itself and has surpassed 1000 followers and is home to a community that aren’t necessarily looking to have their images restored or coloured they simply enjoy the photos. Instagram has just over 300 and is growing daily.

There we are… I have had the opportunity to work on some truly amazing photos from all over the world, the satisfaction of knowing I have made sure they last for future generations, the lovely feedback received from clients, the amazing backstories I get to hear, they all make this a very enjoyable process. So THANK YOU too all my customers… for your custom and for the trust with your precious photos. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the next 6 months.

Nick.

Family Portrait Restoration

Family Portrait Restoration

Stephen got in touch via Facebook Messenger – He posted down a very sorry looking photo that was urgently in need of repair. The creases and marks took a while to sort out and the large missing area towards to the bottom left of the image required some reconstruction. There were concentrated areas of fading which required rebuilding and blending also. Quite a varied job for such a small photo. The deep sepia tones really suit this image so they just had to stay.

The quality of the scan means we can enlarge this image – it will double in size when printed. Thanks for your custom Stephen, your prints will be with you soon.

Photo Colourisation Service

Photo Colourisation

Kerry is looking to create a collage from a few old family photos. She supplied us with a selection of black and white photos. This one is of her Grandfather. We’ve spent a while spicing up those old images with a splash of colour. Since these are going to be displayed together colours have been selected that might not be true to life but will really stand out when viewed as a collection.

Stay tuned for more posts on this! If you have a project you’d like us to get involved in don’t hesitate to get in touch using the Request a Quote button!