I have been entrusted with many family heirloom photographs and negatives. Both age, poor storage habits, and bad exposure and initial developing let to negatives and photos that were crying to be restored and reprinted.
In choosing the images to restore, I was influenced by the emotional connection I felt. While many of the pictures are of “time documentation,” those shots taken for a special occasion, the candid shots drew my interest the most. I was drawn to the notion of “why this shot?” As photographers, we are all familiar with that instant when our brain screams, “Capture this.” What made the photographer, usually my mother, stop what she was doing and capture that moment?
The second aspect that I considered was the composition of the image. These snapshot photographers knew nothing of the rule of nines, or leading lines, or lighting angles but fine examples of these show up time and time again.
Lastly, I wanted to be able to preserve and share these images in order to share them with the next generation and to be able to relive the emotion I feel each time I look a them.
