Aloha All,
I’m finally back with a new addition to this blog. (Busy busy busy.) But today’s subject has been inspired by about 75-80% or my photo restoration work these days, as I will explain.
There seems to be an epidemic of photos coming in to my Photo Hospital with growths permanently attached. These growths are made up of nothing less than GLASS. What has happened is a common scenario. People have placed their much beloved photos in frames to hang on the wall for all to enjoy. Who can blame them? Who doesn’t have photos that are so special to us we want to view them ourselves on a regular basis and/or share them with others? And what better place to do that than hanging on a wall we pass several times a day? But here is where the problem lies (the subject line of this blog is a major hint)…Without a matte (or matboard – same thing) between the photo and the frame, the photo itself has nothing to prevent it from touching the glass in front of it. Unfortunately by the time it is made apparent that the photo is stuck to the glass it has been there so long, and is so completely stuck that it simply is not possible to remove it without doing more damage, such as creating major tears. The only thing to do with the existing photo in this case is to have someone like me scan it with the glass and then repair the damage digitally. You see, it is moisture that sticks the image to the glass, and that moisture, combined with the glass contact changes the emulsion of the original image. Example: (with permission - Mahalo Ira)
Stuck to glass.
The example above is a detail of a much larger family portrait, and in this particular case the damage presented itself as blue watermarks. It can present itself in numerous other forms as well, but the bottom line is it can take many hours to correct and repair this kind of damage, even for a professional like myself.
The Good News is that this entire scenario is easily prevented. If your photo is a standard size (5×7, 8×10, 11×14, etc.) simply go to your local frame shop or craft store and buy a ready made matte that compliments your image in color and texture and place the entire thing in a larger frame, usually just the next size up. Even if your image is not a standard size, frame shops make quick work of custom cutting a matte for your image and can assist in selecting a new frame to suit just about every budget. Not only will your photo look better (more “finished”), but it will prevent this kind of damage from happening in the future.
SO, if you currently have any photos behind glass that are not matted, please remove them. As in RIGHT NOW. Even if this is not a convenient time to have them re-framed and matted, if they are still in a state where they will come out of the frame easily that is your queue. Do it now, before the problem presents itself. The first thing to do is to place them someplace safe, stored flat and covered, even if with only a sheet to protect from dust. You will save yourself a lot of time and money in the long run, as you can see now. As with so many things associated with the human experience If you knew it, you’d do it! Well, now you do know. So take care of those precious memories today. As soon as you can, take them shopping for that new outfit while that’s all it takes. Otherwise you’ll be bringing them to be for cosmetic surgery somewhere down the line! This is an easy step to take.
Before I close for today, I just wanted to share a little composite I put together of photos from my friends at Paradise Helicopters here on the Big Island. You may have heard that Madame Pele (Goddess of our Kilauea Volcano) has stepped things up a bit in the past few days, so this should give you all a sense of what’s going on in the south-eastern portion of our island…
Kilauea Activity - July 6 & 7, 2008
FYI, the lava fountain, center right image, is 40 feet tall! Pretty impressive.
As always, please let me know what you think of this article. Add your own experiences and comments. Let’s talk.
A hui ho! (Until next time!)
Merrilee
