For some, an old photograph loses its charm when "restored" to modern day clarity with all the age spots removed. Some photographs however, benefit greatly from just a nudge of enhancement. An improved contrast or the reversal of the yellowing brings out details that otherwise would have been missed and lost forever.
To please both camps of those of us who rescue old photographs, here are both the originals and the enhanced of just a few of the latest additions to Lost Gallery.
In large group shots like this one, the details are lost because of size. It was enlarged, in relation to the mounting board.
An extra bit of repair was warranted for this one as the original was broken in half. It was also enlarged, in relation to the mounting board.
As you can see, this one was almost gone.
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Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! 
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THE KIDS 
It is always a mystery
how a photograph of any
of these precious children
could end up lost
or abandoned.
Here are a few.
You will probably say
"Ooh..." at least once.
Dee and the Business School 
The beautiful Dee. A curious story; What do you see?
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
"What are they doing?"
These are grand and I agree. I was thinking about this today after watching a tv show about out of control collectors. They seemed to want quantity instead of quality. Which got me thinking about the quality of some of my collection. Some of it is horribly ragged and faded, but I know the image is there, an image worth saving. So then I ask myself, since I talk to myself a lot, how is it collectors often fall into two camps: those that prize the object, especially if it's pristine; and those who value the image and wish to see what the photographer saw. Now, some of my stuff I love simply because it is so worn with time, others it's purely the image. And seriously, what's wrong with putting the old photos best foot forward? The original is not damaged. It comes down to which is more valuable, the object or the image. I say the image because that is where the story starts.
ReplyDeleteI’m with you. I really prefer the original to the “fixed” ones. To me, the state that it is in tells of its journey to my time, my eyes. The scratches and flaws tell me how it was honored or not, how it struggled to stay intact; if someone cared, if someone didn’t.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I often digitally remove the yellow and bump the fading contrast a bit is to discover otherwise hidden details that also tell me something about how it got here. And sometimes, where it really belongs.
And yes indeed, the original is untouched, archived in a plastic pocket, filed carefully for that hopeful day when someone says “Hey, that’s my great-grandma!”