A customer brought an old wrinkled image into the studio one afternoon. It was a snapshot from the late 1940s that had some fading and a few wrinkles.
She said, “That’s my grandpa with my cousin. My cousin was such a brat, he always took up too much of my grandpa’s time! I really never liked that cousin anyway – I’ve decided that I hate my cousin, take him out!”
The image was in need of some attention. Parts of the picture were wrinkled and beginning to fade. The old man looked comfortable enough sitting under the huge old tree with his dog. Upon close examination I noticed that Grandpa’s tongue was sticking out slightly. I decided to keep his expression as it was in the original image. We will never know if the old man’s tongue was out because of trying to hold onto the child or expressing his enjoyment of posing for a picture!
After making a high quality scan, I got to work. I decided to add more trees to the background behind the old man to bring more attention to his face and the dog. After very carefully removing the dreaded “cousin,” I wondered what would make this old man look even more comfortable and natural in this pose.
Then…it came to me.
A Remington shotgun.
It fit the pose perfectly!
*Remember to protect those images that you love by storing them in acid-free storage with a low temperature below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity should be below 65% to help prevent mold growth but above 15% so that your images won’t get brittle. Exposure to all light can cause fading or even darkening. If you want to display your images, I recommend storing the originals and displaying good quality copies.
I hope you enjoy the images and the story – until next time . . .