Category: cracks

Disaster to Masterpiece!

The Disaster to Masterpiece

This is a disaster to masterpiece I have seen more than once and restored many times. This original photo is a dye sublimation print made on a 'Kodak Picture Maker'. These were perhaps the one of the first useful tools of the early digital photo labs. You could copy printed photos even if you didn't have the negative. Back in the day when film photography was a big thing. This technology was a revelation for millions of people. This enabled them to get copies of their cherished photos.  Without having to search for those pesky strips of film that no one could ever find.

Unfortunately this technology was flawed. In the next few decades the prints would dry and the lamination that secured the printed image to the sub-strait paper layer would de-laminate. This leads to small strips flaking off and the image literally falls apart before your eyes.

Below is the time-lapse video of more than 5 hours of delicate photo restoration work using Photoshop. The results are fantastic and the new photo has been printed out as a Ultrachrome Archival Photo print that can now be enjoyed for many years to come.

Before and After

Disaster to Masterpiece Colour Photo Restoration before and after example of old and damaged dye sublimination print restored
Disaster to master piece

YouTube Video Time Lapse

Covid-19 Level 1

Covid-19 Level 1 Update

As of Tuesday the 9th of June, we are now at Covid-19 Level 1. This means life is back to normal with the exception of international travel. You are welcome to drop off your photo for restoration during normal business hours. Which I have listed below. We no longer have to wear masks or sanitise our hands every 2 minutes.   Which is all great news. Lets hope we can get New Zealand moving again in the right direction. Please support your local businesses as they are the backbone of the New Zealand economy.

Time-lapse

To celebrate the end of the severe lock down measures. I have put together my latest time-lapse movie for you. This was a restoration of a nice family portrait that had definitely seen better days. With a few hours work though, we had the photo looking very nice and it is going to be framed and displayed again. If you would like to learn more about our photo restoration services please click here. Please enjoy and let me know what you think of this latest time-lapse video. Also please 'subscribe', 'like' and share the video please.

 

Christmas Time Again

It's Christmas Again!

Christmas is a time for giving. Why not give something a little bit special. Give someone a memory of time gone by. Or turn a memory into something new and fantastic. Such as colourizing an old black and white photo of a loved one for Christmis. Like the example below.

Frame it and wrap it, put it under the tree and wait for the smiles! These gifts are special for everyone. We can offer the full package from restoration to colourizing, printing  and framing. Now is the time to get your orders in because time is limited and Christmis is coming!!

 

Old Soldiers Should Never Fade Away

Amy sent me this very badly faded old photo by Courier Post. When it arrived it was virtually gone, it was barley visible. But I did a scan and using a variety of Multiple Layers and some heavy burn and dodging I was able to bring this old soldier back. But when the image became visible again.

Old Soldiers Should Never Fade Away

So did the hundreds of small cracks that covered the surface of the photo paper. You see this was not the original photo it was a copy that had been made at some time using a 'dye sublimation printer'. They are very commonplace and will most likely find them in your local pharmacy where they use them for passport photos or to provide prints from a Kodak kiosk. the problem is they don't last!! and this is how they end up... faded and cracked!

A few hours of extra work was needed to remove the cracks and finish off the restoration. To the delight of Amy who was over the moon. So much so she gave us a 5 star review on Google.

We had a photo which had almost disappeared due to sun damage and had been told it was not possible to save. Luckily I decided to have 1 last try and Richard did an amazing job giving a beautifully clear photo. Thanks.

Amy - Dunedin

Before and After Old Soldiers Should Never Fade Away

Faded Photo Restoration
Medium Restoration $150 Plus Prints

Close Up Example

Old Soldiers Should Never Fade Away
Photo restoration close up

How Do You Restore This?

Removing surface damage, including cracks and creases is an everyday occurrence in photo restoration. This is the most common damage to old photos. The damage is most often because of people folding the photographs. This cracks the photographic emulsion surface and reveals the paper underside of the photo.

How Do You Restore This?

To repair this kind of damage we must use the magic of Photoshop. A few different  tools are used for this kind of restoration. but to restore the cracked areas and surface damage I use the 'healing brush' and the 'spot healing brush'. With the healing brush you can select which area you want to copy the pixels from and then select where to paste them.

As you paste the copied pixels, Photoshop analysis the surrounding pixels and adjusts the colour of pasted pixels to closely match those of the surrounding area. The Spot Healing Brush automatically selects the best area to copy from and matches to the surround pixels. This is a much quicker one step process as apposed to the Healing Brush 2 steps. But it can be less useful in very detailed areas.

Before and After

photo restoration
Light - Medium Restoration $80
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