TEXAS HUNTING TRIP 1964

This is a picture of my granddad with a fresh kill during a deer hunting trip in East Texas, November 1964.

It’s one of several shots he took during this trip, which he developed as slides for storage. And that’s where they stayed, in an old box in a dusty barn for decades, until my uncle John sent them to me a few years ago.

I finally restored them at my home studio and was impressed with the quality of the images Granddad captured. They show a bygone era when hunting was an important value in the culture.

Here are the stills from the video. Click for full-res.

COLORADO VACATION 1963

Photo Restorations

This photograph was taken in July 1963 in Grand Mesa, Colorado.

My grandad set up his Canon on a tripod and using a timer, took it himself. From left to right is my uncle (age 9), my mother (age 7), my granddad (39), and my grandmom (38).

Ever since then, this print has been framed and hanging in one hallway or another for sixty years, and I always wondered about the story behind it.

A few years ago my uncle sent the original slides from the trip. I processed them at home and restored them using Photoshop and Lightroom.

So sit back and take a trip back to Colorado 1963 as the Yates family camps at Grand Mesa, drives the Million Dollar Highway, rides horses, and catches enough trout to feed the neighborhood back home in Texas.

GRANDDAD’S PORTRAITS – DECEMBER 1963

Photo Restorations, Portraits

Tis the season to restore old family photos. I found a treasure trove of my granddad’s Kodak slides in a few crusty old boxes Grandmom stored in her barn in Llano, Texas. I’ve scanned a ton but as far as restoring them, I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s a portrait session of Granddad’s from December 1963. You have my mother at age nine, my uncle at eleven, then a selfie Granddad took. He was thirty-four.

I restored the shots and helped create final images I hope he would’ve been proud of. Compare the before-and-afters – click to enlarge:

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THE DEATH OF HENRY STARR

Photo Restorations

I just returned from the hometown of my wife and kids and I thought I’d share an interesting story from this small town in the rugged Ozarks of northwest Arkansas. Several years ago, I worked on a project with the Genealogical Department of the Boone County Library, where I needed to scan hundreds of old photographs of the area and its inhabitants, dating back to the 1800s. I restored a few of these images to bring this story back to life.

Above is William J. Myers, the bank president in Harrison, who gunned down the notorious bank robber, horse thief, and silent film actor, Henry Starr, on February 18, 1921.

During his thirty-two years in crime, Henry Starr robbed more banks than the James-Younger Gang and the Doolin-Dalton Gang put together. “The Cherokee Badman” netted over $60,000 from more than twenty-one bank robberies.

He started robbing banks on horseback in 1893. After going to prison in 1915 in Arizona, Starr published his autobiography, THRILLING EVENTS: LIFE OF HENRY STARR. Upon his release on parole, Starr even portrayed himself in the silent film, A DEBTOR TO THE LAW (1919). Starr was also the first bank robber in the United States to use an automobile for getaways. He ended up robbing his last with an automobile when he met his fate in Harrison, Arkansas.

Myers shot Starr with a .38 caliber Winchester rifle, 1873 model, during a robbery attempt. It was a gutshot, and Starr died from his wound three days later.

Historical photos are rare treasures. I can bring them back to life. Check out my portfolio: PHOTO RESTORATIONS.

GREAT-GRANDMA PAPAGNI

Photo Restorations

Today’s restoration features this passport photo of my Great-Grandma Papagni taken in the late 1970s. She was on her way to visit Italy, her homeland. Born in 1899, Angelina immigrated to California in 1919 – to meet her betrothed husband, Mauro. For decades they lived their lives and raised their children on a farm in the Central Valley.

When I was in kindergarten at Homan Elementary in Fresno, Grandma lived in a house on Brown Ave. just a few blocks away. I would get done with Mrs. Ford’s class at 11 AM and walk the few blocks to Grandma’s. Over the next couple hours, I would sit at the kitchen table as Grandma sliced fresh tomato and some homemade bread, then she’d scramble a couple eggs in olive oil. She’d sit with me at the table as I’d eat and we’d talk. She spoke in broken English, heavy with accent, slipping in and out of Italian. She would laugh at my stories and I’d laugh at hers and then she’d pinch my cheek real hard and call me her “chickadee.” Us great-grandkids were all her little chickadees. I’ll always cherish those mornings with Grandma Papagni.

If you have an old photo of a loved one you’d like to have restored, I’m running a promotion on photorestoration – $35 per image – check out my portfolio and contact me for more info:

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MESA VERDE – 1963

Photo Restorations

I recently uncovered a treasure trove of old family photos my grandmom left behind. From black and white images to color slides to old negatives, I’ve been going through them and restoring a select few. I recently acquired the equipment in my studio to develop old negatives and other mediums and getting all this practice has been helpful … and quite the trip down memory lane.

The image below is a photograph my granddad took of a canyon in Mesa Verde National Park in July 1963. This is the original scan:

Below is the restored version of the above image:

But the real story here is that upon developing this old slide, I recognized this canyon. I was there in 2018 and damn near took the exact same photo:

It’s uncanny – we were at the same spot at the same time of day, framed the picture the same and everything. He had better light, though, so I think he took the better photo.

But perhaps the real story here is that I didn’t know my granddad very well, and yet I’ve been told my whole life that he and I are remarkably similar. As I’m developing these old slides and negatives, I’m seeing things through his eyes, and I’m discovering how true that assessment is.

Life is one big road trip, y’all.

EXPLORING THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

Photo Restorations

In the summer of 1987, my granddad took me and my grandmom on a trip to explore a small waterfall hidden somewhere in the central Texas hill country. Granddad took several photos of that trip. I just finished restoring a handful of them for a project with Screams from the Trees. It was a fun project – check out the Before & Afters – click for full res: