Preserve Your Past - New York photo restoration service dedicated to preservation of visual history and ancestral legacy.
Preserve Your Past photo restoration service was founded by Sebastian Wintermute in 2002 with the goal of providing to all those interested in preservation of visual history and ancestral legacy an opportunity to preserve and to restore photographs, images and documents that otherwise would literally fade away with years. Since then Preserve Your Past has successfully restored thousands of photographs and documents of great personal and historical significance.ABOUT PRESERVE YOUR PAST PHOTO RESTORATION SERVICES
A boutique photo restoration studio located on Manhattan Lower East Side neighborhood famed for its diversity and vibrant creative life, Preserve Your Past offers personalized photo restoration and photo retouching, document restoration and preservation services to private clients, non profit organizations, family history and genealogy research experts and enthusiasts.
Two smiling aviation pioneers stand in front of an airplane made of canvas and wood, posing for a handshake with a local mayor. Apollo 8 spaceship surges into the sky amid fire and smoke. A few lines of faded handwriting on a worn-out paper declare that a man was honorably discharged from the Union Army for which he volunteered in1862 at the age of 15.
Some of those photographs and documents were brought in to be restored by the local New York City residents, others were sent in from as far away as Hawaii. Many were lovingly kept in family albums, passed from one generation to the next. Others were found in dusty attics and dirty basements. However, all of them contain great personal value as well as a visual history of people, their families and the country as a whole.
Sebastian understands and appreciates the sentimental value of family albums and heirlooms. Whether your treasures were signed by the Presidents of the United States or high school principals, they will get the attention they need and the care they deserve at Preserve Your Past. Neglected treasures, discovered in dusty attics and damp basements, may have great historical, as well personal value, restoration will increase their worth.
Because of Sebastian's expertise, high quality of work and meticulous attention to detail Preserve Your Past has been entrusted to restore and to preserve photographs and documents not only by individual clients nation wide, but also by some of the most prestigious and well known companies and organizations making Preserve Your Past one of the best photo restoration services in the country. The list of some of his clients includes:
- Maurice Vallency Inc.
- Metropolitan Club of New York
- New York Racquet and Tennis Club
- New York Fencers Club
- Masonic Lodge of New York
- Belle Harbor Yacht Club
- American Fire Arms Company
and many other renown companies and institutions
Sebastian Wintermute - the founder and overall guy-in-charge of Preserve Your Past, while growing up preferred spending time at museums and galleries to doing school homework and hanging around archeological digs to going to a summer camp.
Sebastian Wintermute knowledge of art, photography and restoration techniques made him a true expert in the field of photo restoration, while his deep knowledge and passion for history often turned seemingly simple restoration project into a fascinating journeys of discovery of forgotten names, places and events.
PHOTO RESTORATION SERVICES
Over the years Preserve Your Past™ has successfully restored thousands of photographs and documents of great personal and historical significance. Every photo restoration project start with the high quality scan that can be captured from virtually any type of photograph, document or artwork of any size from 35mm slides to large format color transparencies and B&W negatives.
RESTORATION OF 1899 PANORAMIC VIEW OF MANHATTAN
Measuring over three feet across this extremely rare 1899 panoramic view of Lower Manhattan and the South Street Seaport taken from the Brooklyn side became unevenly faded and discolored with age.
The photograph was copied using a large format camera equipped with a high resolution digital scan back and a German made Schneider flat field lens. After careful retouching and restoration, the photograph was printed on wide format giclee printer and displayed as part of waste collection of historical photographs of New York City belonging to one of the most prestigious social clubs.
The scanned image is then exported into professional digital photo editing software for the repair work to begin. Starting with the removal of spots and scratches work progresses toward more difficult restoration tasks such as replication of missing sections and repair of water and mildew damaged areas. Color corrections and adjustments are added in a non-destructive manner. After all signs of damages have been eliminated the image can be resized and cropped according to customers specification and additional treatments such as photo tinting and coloring may be applied.
Photo restoration is a very difficult and time consuming art form when it comes to extremely damaged photographs on which important parts, particularly facial features are missing. But even in such extreme cases our artistic expertise and experience working with historical photographs and allows for successful undertaking and completion of even the most difficult restoration projects.
All restored photographs and documents are printed using specially formulated inks and high quality photographic archival paper. Upon clients request, restored photographs can be printed on a variety of special print media including canvas or watercolor papers. Fine art Giclee prints are also available on a variety of fine art inkjet papers and other printing materials.
Restoration Of Sports Memorabilia Autographed Photograph
Possible exposure to chemical cleaners caused a yellow stain to cover most of this valuable signed photograph of the famed boxer. To preserve the value of the signature, a high resolution digital copy of the photograph was produced and then retouched to remove all appearances of the stain. The restored image was printed on the high quality photo paper and framed, with the original signed photograph safely sealed in an archival envelope placed under the protective back cover of the frame.
Restoration Of Photograph Colored By Magic Markers
Every child thinks that he or she is the next greatest artist. Unfortunately some of their creative experiments take a heavy toll on whatever comes under their magic markers. This oil tinted baby picture that underwent additional coloring at the hand of 5 year old artist was carefully retouched to remove all signs of flaking of the original pigments as well as the magic marker colorization that was generously applied to the hair, eyes and the baby outfit. The restoration of the eyes presented a particular challenge since it was important to recreate the impression of true baby innocence.
RESTORATION OF POLAROID PHOTOGRAPH
With time many Polaroid pictures become discolored, cracked and curled. Scratches and tears may result in separation of layers that cause further damage to the image. Such Polaroid pictures have to be restored with extreme care.
Since attempting to scan a photograph in such state of distress may result in poor quality of scan and in worst case further damage and even destruction of a photograph, first step in restoration has to be humidification and flattening of the photograph. By slowly introducing humidity into the layers of a photograph it can be flattened and made pliable ones again. Quite often the process of humidification and flattening has to be repeated many times before a photograph becomes reasonably flat.
Ones a photographed is flattened and dried it has to be scanned at high resolution to produce a digital file suitable for restoration.
After the file is created it is retouched to remove any signs of damages, such as scratches of the photo emulsion, tears and rips. Color correction is applied to restore the original tones of a photograph. After that the final image can be printed on variety of available glossy photo papers. The most recommended is LexJet Sunset Photo Gloss paper that offers excellent ink retention characteristics and longevity with high gloss finish that resembles the original Polaroid prints.
RESTORATION OF CIVIL WAR UNION ARMY MILITARY DISCHARGE
The rare Civil War Union Army Discharge papers were very faded with much of the text written in iron gall ink lost or made unreadable by creases and stains. What made this document so unique was the list of battles and skirmishes that the soldier fought in, written on the back of the document. The document was carefully cleaned from accumulated dirt and degree. A high quality replica of the document was created by making of a high resolution scan of both sided followed by retouching and recreation of missing text. Giclee prints were made on fine art matte paper that matched the texture of the original and trimmed to follow the outlines of the original.
Restoration Of Portrait Made With Camera Obscura
This wonderful example of a pre Civil War portrait was created with help of camera obscura where the image is first traced on a piece of paper laid over the ground glass of the camera. This technique was very popular at the time when the photographic process was still extremely difficult and very expensive.
During restoration the portrait was scanned at high resolution and retouched to remove all signs of tears and stains. Fully restored and printed on high quality archival photo paper, this portrait became a great addition to the collection of photographs and images of a family history that spanned over 150 years.
Restoration Of Hand Colored Photograph
This beautiful hand colored photograph of a girl was found in the attic were it was neglected for many years. The owner became aware that silverfish had attacked the paper just in time for us to fully restore this precious portrait. With exceptional attention to detail the facial features of the portrait were retouched and the missing parts of the background were carefully painted in. After the restoration of the photograph was complete, the image was printed on fine art paper.
Digital Restoration Of Torn Document
Digital restoration of documents provides an opportunity to bring back even the most damaged pieces. This document dating from 1899 was torn in four parts, showed fading and discoloration, had missing parts and sections were covered by adhesive tape. To restore it to its original appearance, a high resolution scan was made of the individual pieces which were then assembled into single digital file.
After the pieces were aligned digitally and joined together, all the seams were carefully retouched and the missing parts were copied from the undamaged areas or painted in. Finally, the overall colors and tones of the document were adjusted to restore it to its original condition.
Restoration Of Oil Tinted Photograph
This vintage photograph is a great example of a photo portrait that had paint applied to it to create the appearance of an oil painting. Over the years the portrait became heavily creased with parts of the paint layer and photo emulsion separating from the base. The image was carefully retouched to remove all signs of damage and adjusted to bring back the tonality and contrast. Final print was produced using a high quality photo printer and giclee matte paper.
Restoration Of Civil War Photograph
Photographs dating back to the Civil War often exhibit fading, chemical deterioration and silver migration. Each of those images deserves careful consideration and preservation because of the historical significance that the are depicted on those photographs.
This striking photograph of three solders wearing Civil War cavalry uniforms required extensive restoration due to its uneven fading. Careful application of dodging and burning techniques and precise matching of tone and contrast helped to bring back the natural appearance of this Civil War group photo.
Restoration Of Rolled Up Photograph
Restoration of rolled documents or photograph is considered to me one of the most challenging and difficult of all restoration tasks. Because simply trying to unroll the photograph may case additional damage if not total of the item, first the photograph has to be carefully humidified in order to introduce moisture into the layers of the photo paper and make it pliable. Often the procedure of humidification has to be repeated many times with the photograph being carefully unrolled inch by inch.
This particular photograph was not only tightly rolled and stored that way for many decades in a dry environment, it was also broken by careless mishandling. Fortunately the tear run only half through the photograph and no parts of the photograph were missing.
After the humidification, unrolling and flattening of the photograph were complete, the photograph was digitally scanned and retouched to remove all signed of damages. After the photo retouching was complete a light sepia tone was applied to the photograph to gave the final image a delicate vintage appeal.
The final image was printed on gicleee semi gloss paper to be framed and displayed by the owners of the original photograph.
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How long does it take to restore a photograph? In most cases it takes between 5 to10 business days to have a photograph restored. However, if a photograph is extremely damaged or if we are experiencing heavy workload, it may take a bit longer. It is particularly advisable that you bring in photographs to be restored well in advance of holidays such as Veterans Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day or Christmas. |
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How much does photo restoration costs? Each restoration project is unique and precise estimate can be provided only upon thorough examination of the original and assessment off all the requirements for the creation of the final image, such as size, tone, and even the lighting condition in a place where the restored photograph will be displayed. Because of that the price for the restoration of photographs can range from $50.00 for light restoration of 5x7 photograph to hundreds of dollars for restoration of large size photograph that it torn, warped or damaged beyond recognition. You may refer to our photo restoration services price list to compare the samples of photographs that we previously restored and find how much did it cost to have them restored. For more precise estimate you may send us a scan of your photograph or make an appointment to have the photograph evaluated at our studio. All estimates on photo restoration are provided free of charge. |
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Can I send you a scan of photograph for photo restoration? If you are unable to bring a photograph to the studio or send it to be restored you can e-mail a scan or send a CD with high resolution scan file. Please have a photograph scanned at minimum resolution of 600dpi at full color setting, even if photograph is black and white. However, please remember that producing a high quality scan is the first and one of the most important steps in photo restoration. Unlike many discount photo restoration services that use low quality scanners in hope that later whatever imperfections of the scan, low resolution or color changes can be fixes in Photoshop, Preserve Your Past™ utilizes the most current high-end scanners available, to ensure capture of even the smallest details or the most minute color variations of the original that are needed for high quality photo restoration and art replication. To see the difference in quality of images produced with professional high resolution photo scanners comparing to images produced by a common scanner you can examine the two scans of the same photograph. Both scans were made at 600dpi resolution setting. The scan on the left was made with a scanner commonly used in offices and copy shops. Immediately it can be seen that the scan produced with professional high resolution photo scanners is much sharper and has better color balance and saturation. Closer magnification shows that the scan retained even the smallest details while the other scanner blurred the details making the image appear fuzzy. |
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I have a document signed by one of the President of the United States. The signature on the document is very faded. Is it possible to make the signature visible again? Preserve Your Past does not modify, enhance or alter signatures or any other parts of legal document or documents that may have historical value or significance. However, it is possible to make a display copy of the document on which the faded signature will be made visible again. |
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I have an old family photograph that is in good condition but covered with some sort of silver residue. Is it possible to restore this photo? Most likely the photograph is displaying the signs of silver migration or what is commonly referred in photo restoration as “silver mirror”. Silver migration is the process opposite of formation of patina or layer of oxidation on the surface of silver or bronze objects. If a photograph was not properly processed, with time, molecules of free silver begin to appear near the surface if the photograph creating a shiny layer. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done to remove this layer. Some photo restorers suggest that a light coating of Vaseline can reduce the appearance of silver migration, but usually such treatment can lead to long-term irreversible damage to the entire photograph. The better solution is to produce a high quality scan of the damaged photograph and to remove the damage by expert photo retouching. Preserve Your Past has successfully restored many such photographs including those that came from the vast collection of historical photographs of New York City belonging to history associations and private collectors.. |
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Can you restore the original photograph instead of making a digital copy? Preserve Your Past offers traditional photo retouching service on case-by-case basis. If an original photograph is damaged only slightly, it may still be possible to reduce the appearance of scratch marks and other imperfections by careful application of retouching spot tones. The great misconception about photo restoration is that in the old times the true photo restorers whose art is forever lost were able to repair and restore an original photograph no matter how damaged it was. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though some damages such as scratches, minor blemishes or tears in the original photograph could and still can be retouched and repaired by a skilled restorer, anything more then that required making of a copy of the original photograph. The usual procedure was to photograph the original image onto a special copy film such as Kodak Professional Copy Film 4125 that was designed for photo retouching. After a copy was made the photo retouching expert would carefully work on the negative removing all visible signs of damages and imperfections by applying special retouching tools and pencils. After the negative was retouched it would be printed on photo paper, this producing a restored duplicate of the original damaged photograph. Nowadays, instead of making a negative from the original photograph a digital file is created by scanning the photograph with a high quality photo scanner. After the digital file is retouched the restored image is printed on specially designed paper of higher quality and longevity then most of old photo papers. |
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Can you enlarge a small photograph? Unless a photograph is very damaged or originally blurry or out of focus it can be enlarged. However, to preserve the details and the sharpness of the image it is advisable that enlargement should not exceed a certain size. Most passport size or wallet size photographs can be enlarger to 4x6 or 5x7 size and the photographs of those sizes can be enlarged to 8x10 or 11x14. A greater increase in size may result in loss of detail and excess appearance of film grain and texture of the original photograph. |
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Is it possible to remove a person from a photograph? With careful photo retouching it is possible to remove a person from a photograph without making the image look artificially changed. It is also possible to remove the background on a photograph or change the lighting, making the faces covered by shadows to appear lighter. Preserve Your Past offers such services when a photograph is needed for private use only. No such photo retouching is done to alter the appearance of photographs of any historical significance or if such photo retouching may violate professional or moral values or code of conduct, such as changing the appearance of images for publication in newspapers, magazines or online publications. |
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How do I protect photographs and documents from fading? To prolong the life of your photographs or documents and to prevent any additional damage we advise that you always store the original photographs in archival acid-free envelopes and boxes that can be purchased from your local art or frame shop. Keep them away from any areas that may experience dramatic changes of temperature and humidity such as garages, attics, basements or any areas near fireplaces or windows. Display the photographs or documents only in frames that are covered with UV protective glass. Keep them away from exposure to direct sunlight, fluorescent light and drastic changes of temperature and humidity. If your photographs or documents are mounted in frames, do not use chemical cleaners or solvents on the protective glass or the frame. Chemicals may penetrate the openings between the glass and the frame and cause additional damage to the photographs. Use only clean rags or paper towels with water to clean frames and glass. If frame or glass become damaged or you would like to replace them, do not do it yourself, take them to a professional framing shop, specifying the use of archival materials for mounting and framing. |
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How long do the digital prints last? All photographs and documents restored by Preserve Your Past are printed on fine art archival papers using specially formulated inks. With proper care and display, you can expect up to a 200 year life span, which will guaranty that many more generations in your family will enjoy these photographs and understand where they came from. If your restored photograph or document does become damaged you can always order a new print made from an archived digital file by without having to pay again for restoration of the original. The Photo CD or DVD disks that contain digital copies of your original and restored images or slide shows, unless mechanically damaged or broken, have life span of unto 200 years and can be viewed and copied without any loss of quality. |
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Do I need special equipment to play Photo CD or DVD? You may view Photo CD on any computer equipped with CD or DVD drive. The DVD slide shows can be viewed on any consumer brand DVD player or computer with DVD drive. |
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Can I make additional prints from the Photo CD myself? To provide the highest possible quality and longevity of the digital prints Preserve Your Past uses specially formulated fine art paper and inks, a print of acceptable quality and life expectancy of one to two years can be made using a home computer and printer. Please refer to the manuals provided by your printer manufacturer for an advise on printing photo quality images. |
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How safe is it to mail my photograph or documents? Prior to shipping, place all photographs or documents into separate envelopes, and then place those envelopes between pieces of sturdy cardboard. Do not forget to request a copy of shipping bill and the tracking number. It is advisable that you do not send framed photographs or documents due to a high chance of glass breaking during the shipment. We strongly recommend that you specify full insurance coverage and direct signature for your parcels and place a highly visible notes outside requesting careful handling. Due to the numerous problems with UPS delivery service we advise that you ship all packages via FedEx. Preserve Your Past will not be liable for any damage occurred during delivery of the materials to our studio and reserves the right to refuse the work or change the estimate price if the material arrive damaged or was not shipped according to specifications. |
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Do you keep digital copies of photographs and for how long? All digital scans of original photographs and those of restored ones, copies of all CDs and DVDs are kept in our computer system for up to 3 years. This makes it possible that in case of loss of the original, the restored photographs or disks containing the digital files we will be able to replace them at a fraction of the original cost. |
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New York photo restoration, photo retouching and photo archiving service dedicated to preservation of visual history and ancestral legacy.Preserve Your Past Inc. provides the full range of photo restoration services based on traditional and digital photo retouching techniques. |
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Preserve Your Past Inc. Nearest subway stations: |
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© 2002-09 Preserve Your Past™ | Terms of Use | Links | Phone: | E-mail: |  |