Bringing your treasured memories into the digital age!
Vintage 2 Digital
Athens, GA 30605
ph: 706-355-3218
The Vintage 2 Digital
Image Gallery
Welcome to the Vintage 2 Digital gallery of image restorations and retouching. Feel free to click on each image as this will bring up a larger version of the images that allow you to take a closer look at the details.
A Venerable Pair
This is a pair of images that were in a brass frame and were scanned BEHIND GLASS. This is the origional scan with no restorations.
These images were worked with individually and were kept in the frame at all times. Both images have had the detail inherent to the photographs brought back to life.
This image pair is from the early 1900s and was beautifully framed in a wood frame with gold accents and brass matting. To preserve the character of the original format I scanned both the frame and the photos together. The next step was to individually enhance each photo while leaving the frame unchanged. The final product is displayed in the image on the right.
These photos together took about 2.5 to 3 hours. Restorations are scanned at 1200 ppi in a TIFF format, to capture as much detail as possible and to allow for enlargements.
Up, Up and Away
This is the before slide that was darkened by age and was beginning to get the bluish tint that is common among old slides. This slide dates between 1974 and 1976.
The bluish tint and darkening have been removed and the balloons appear more translucent and details are crisper.
The slide on the left is beginning to show some bluish tint and darkening due to age. The balloons in the left slide (which is the before image) appear to be matte in color and rather dense. Also on the left image the man's face in the forefront is difficult to see, with the baskets fading into the shadows.
In the second slide example, the above flaws have been corrected. Specifically the balloons take on a more translucent appearance, and there is a significant improvement in detail.
In It's Own Corner
This photograph was very special to the client and has significant damage from being well loved (carried in a wallet for many years).
The significant cracks and folds have been removed. Yet the character of this photo has been preserved via leaving a little clue, a missing corner, to how much it was loved.
This particular client was mainly concerned with having the cracks and folds digitally removed, rather than absolute perfection. Many artists will sign their perfect works with their name. Vintage 2 Digital's signature is finding some aspect of the photograph that adds character and perhaps could even be easily repaired. However instead of removing it via Photoshop we leave the evidence of the character there to remind people that we aren't merely dealing with paper and ink, but with treasured memories that have a history and a story.
A photo in this condition would fall under the restoration category and would take between 4 to 5+ hours to restore.
In A Fog
This image from a 35mm slide is the victim of "light fog" and was taken by a film based camera. This situation typically occurred when "checking" on the number of exposures left in a roll of film when getting towards the end and an important picture was taken. In the days before digital cameras you never knew if you had gotten that important shot and trying to figure that out could sometimes "destroy" the image.
Reducing the impact of light fogging can be difficult as each image is unique. Careful attention is given to the image details that are important when minimizing the impact of light fog. In most cases your precious memories do not have to be trapped in the FOG of time gone by. Instead we can work with the image bring clarity and help a future generation enjoy those special moments.
For much of photography's history you never could be certain that you had captured that "special moment" on film exactly as your envisioned. There was that eager anticipation with an element of surprise when you would receive your film from the developer. Some of your images were great and others weren't but never knowing exactly what you had captured was part of the fun.
In the days of film based cameras rolls of film only had 24 to 36 exposures and both the film and the processing was expensive. People would frequently nurse an entire roll for a week's vacation capturing only the most meaningful moments on film. It was not uncommon to try and squeeze that "bonus frame" out of a roll before it started rewinding. It was sometimes too much of a temptation to "peak" and see if your bonus frame was a full or half frame. That peak could risk disaster. The above picture was from a bonus frame on a role and the temptation "peak" before rewinding was irresistible.
The days of film based photography had a unique mystique that is lost with digital cameras. However, modern digital techniques are perfect for uncovering the treasure in the midst of the fog.
Vintage 2 Digital
Athens, GA 30605
ph: 706-355-3218