just sharing

[Glenny Palmer]

...
....Maureen this is delightful. I can clearly see the little girl. She seems to be looking somewhat backwards over her shoulder. If it was a print on the screen I would have thought more portraits would have been apparent. Can you get hold of any pics of the deceased children, or description of them? Old medical/death records perhaps?
I do not think the lady has a doll on her lap. It looks more to me like it is decoration where her corsetted bodice laces up? I can't see how someone would lie a doll up against themselves & not be holding onto it. I dunno. Maybe your equipment gives a clearer view?
And Great Granny does seem to have something like a pipe (?) on her lap. Maybe she was a toker? (ooops...sorry..)

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Cheeers
Glenny

[Zondrae]

G'day Maureen,

Old photos are great aren't they. I always wonder if they had photos taken in their every day clothes or were these their Sunday best? Or in some cases were they the only clothes they had. (not very likely). There seem to be at least three generations in the photo.

I must dig out an old one I have of my mothers family and look at it one day. I know there were some of the 'kids' absent that day and the photographer 'slotted' them in later. Hence if you look carefully they have no legs. One of our (IBP) members is fairly good at doctoring photos digitally. We wanted a group photo but as not everyone was there that day she did the same by added their heads later. The result is almost seamless.

Well done those who have the patience and time to do this kind of thing. My admiration goes out to you.

[Maureen K Clifford]

You are right Glenny it wasn't a doll on her lap at all but ribbons flowing from the cummerbund so I am going to tart that up a bit - I have done the genealogy on the family back to 1722 but very few pictures are surfacing and none of any of the children.

Zondrae if you want me to I could have a go at adding the legs into the legless ones for you. Just flash the piccie over to me - I have done 8 restorations now and I am still learning but some have come up quite good and the owners have been pleased. My best one was the one I did of my Dad and little Harley - Dad had died two years before young Harley was born, this one I actually put in markings to make it look old and one from the war of a bomb disposal unit didn't turn out to bad either.

[Wendy Seddon]

Hi Maureen,

Absolutely love the photo...such history.
I am lucky enough to have a large photographic record of my ancestors. The resemblance of some of them to rellos living today is spooky (as Dame Edna would say)

I have recently been given a handmade lace collar which my grandmother used to sew onto her best dress, remove when the dress was discarded and then sew onto the next.

Do you have the bug to keep digging now? It can be addictive but such fun.

I don't think I would have made a very good pioneer!!

[Glenny Palmer]

OWLY! What a gorgeous avatar. I see that 'our' bub has arrived & is really happy to have done so. Congratulations to you & your lovely daughter.
Cheeers
Glenny

[Glenny Palmer]

Hey Maureen,
You do a lovely job on these pics. I really love mucking about with pics too, but I am a pure amateur. My Grandaughter is studying graphic art at present, the lucky duck.

Perhaps you can help me with a recent disaster? During the rush of moving, my treasured original pic of my Paternal Grandparents, (circa approx 1870) was damaged. Being the 'keeper of family archives' I have lovingly nursed it all of my adult life, but it had a thin cloth chucked over it & plonked on my front car seat. Thinking I was doing the right thing I placed it on top of the pile on the back seat & the only thing I can think of is it may have suffered condensation? Anyway, do you know where to start to have it professionally restored & back in its frame? BTW the damage is not so apparent as the pic shows, but it's still pretty crook....whaaaa!

Grandma & Pa Crofts circa app 1874 003.jpg

[Maureen K Clifford]

If you can get it out of the frame and photograph it at the highest resolution you can get I will have a go at it for you if you email me the piccie and you can then get the restored piccie redone on canvas or whatever and re insert it into the frame but if you want to get the original photo restored I can't do that and I don't really know where you would go to get that done up there. I'm willing to have a shot for you - you've lost nothing if I can't do it and saved a bob or two if I can - the damp has possibly effected the emulsion liquid they used in processing the old photos and caused the staining. I would be thinking that a professional restorer would do exactly what I am thinking and that isd copy and then clean the picture up and reprint it. I might be wrong I often am To do that shouldn't be too difficult as it actually doesn't look too bad and if you hate what I do well it's a bin job and you're back to square one


Make sure you scan your photograph in full colour, at AT LEAST 300 DPI/PPI. If your photograph is small, 600 DPI or even 1200 DPI will be better. Ensure the photo you are trying to attach is UNDER 500 KB in terms of file size. If you want a photo to be coloured, please indicate what colours people should use - hair, eyes, skin, flowers, clothing, cars...


This blokes work looks OK - I don't know him at all he is in Brisbane area

http://www.timelens.com.au/Pricing-List/

and there is a bloke down the Gold Coast that I do know slightly that I could ask for you who might be able to do it - he has just started up a business. Let me know and I will do what I can. It will be good practice for me

Cheers

Maureen

[Darren]

Hi Maureen,

It is a wonderful item for you to have found. I remember you saying that you didn't have any photos when we visited. I have a picture of my great grandfather and my fathers cousin is the spiting image of him. It is strange how the looks can skip a generation. We have been looking at the grand kids trying to figure out who they take after. Cassady looks a lot like David did as a baby and Sophie has Hayley's nose but a different face.

When it comes to scanning (a I am certainly no expert but work with clients that do it professionally) the higher the resolution the more you have to play with. When you use a cloning tool for example to fill in tears or marks and you have a huge original it is easier to find similar tones on other parts of the picture and you can almost replace pixel for pixel. I have never had much time to play but one of the guys that use to work for me loved this type of work. One Fathers day he "created" a photo with 4 generations of my family. My grand father, father, myself and David. At the time my grandfather was loosing it a bit (he was in his late 90s) and had an arguement with Dad and they weren't talking. The paper wanted a 4 generation picture so we took a 3 generation one and added the fourth through the magic of Photoshop. No one could tell and if my grandfather saw it I am sure he would be confused as to when it was taken.

Keep up the good work and good luck with future finds.

Darren

[Glenny Palmer]

Many thanks Maureen. The original (pic only) is app 48cm x 32cm so how would you go with getting it to that size, for the frame? I'd sure like to try what you suggest, & it is very kind of you. Thank you. Ideally I would like the original fixed up, but who knows if that's possible?
I also have 2 beautiful original 'Honour The Brave' certificates for 2 of my Uncles (their sons) & have long wished to get them successfully copied & transfer the originals into acid free paper storage. They are app 48cm x 30cm...??

Grandma & Pa Crofts circa app 1874 008.jpg

Onward & (hopefully) upward....ta muchly again love.
Cheeers
Glenny

[Maureen K Clifford]

Once the photo is restored and as Darren has said the bigger the size to start with the better result you will get - you should then be able to take a high quality resolution picture to eg Harvey Norman, Office works any of the places that can print out those canvas copies of photos and have it done to the size you wanted. I have had a small photo of Girlie and Midnight and also Khadizia transported onto large canvas that way and they came out perfect but the initial photos were good to start with.

Thanks for the encouragement Darren - I am enjoying it and it keeps the brain active - mightn't be doing the eyes much good though. I actually have a challenge for tomorrow - a lady is doing a memory book for her Mum who has early onset Alzheimers and she doesn't have a picture with all of her kids in. The challenge to superimpose 9 kids into a photo of Mum with a background of St James Park London - the pictures of the 'kids' all adults now are all shapes and sizes and condition so will have to be restored and then re sized first to try and get the proportions right so it is almost 5 challenges in one. I am going to give it a go - but not tonight - tomorrow.

Might try for more than 4 hours sleep tonight. Got Mum here and she thinks I don't go to bed at all