I've read and heard a lot about Janine aka Landailyn over the past year and a few months ago I decided it was time to ask her to work her magic for me.
As many of my readers know, I rescue old photographs - CDVs (Cartes de Visite) from the Civil War era. I have over 3,000 now and many are online at Lost Faces But I also have hundreds of family photographs that I have inherited as the semi-official Family Historian.
Some of my family photos are in bad shape - faded, torn, stained - you name it, these family treasures have experienced it. I've been thinking about how great it would be to have some of these photos cleaned up and the faces made more visible. So I chose three photos and sent them to Janine for restoration.
One photo was of my grandfather (who died before I was born) in England circa 1912. He's in a military camp with his buddies but the photo is so faded it's hard to distinguish his features.
A second photo was of my great-grandmother with her three young children. It was taken in Ramsgate England circa 1889 and is faded as well as having inked-in eyes.
My third photo was in very bad shape. It is a CDV of my great-great grandmother Sarah Stead nee Elvery. It was taken in England in 1866, just one year before she died en route to Sydney Australia.
Poor Sarah was only 32 when she died and I've longed to see her more clearly. In my photo her face is faded, the features barely discernable. The photo is torn and badly marked. Parts of her dress are missing or stained. Only bits and pieces of the floor are visible.
For a very reasonable fee, Janine took my three family photos and restored them. The restorations are beautiful! I am so impressed and pleased with the results!
Wow. Isn't it amazing! I can now see my great grandmother's face. Look at how crisp and clear the folds of her dress are and how gorgeous the checkerboard square floor is.  |
| Sarah before |
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| Sarah after |
All three of my restoration projects turned out absolutely stunning. Janine's work is top-notch and I was pleased at how reasonable the cost was. She gave me a firm quote before work started - no estimates and then suprises at the end, I knew exactly what the project would cost.
Janine has tutorials at TipSquirrel.com, in Shades Of The Departed digital magazine, and on Lynda.com. I've watched some of her video tutorials and they are extremely well done.
Don't overlook Landailyn to put on your Wish List for a special day - your birthday, your Anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day... it would be a perfect Christmas Gift if you booked it ahead so Janine had enough time.
So to answer my own question in the title of this blog post ... Landailyn How Do I Love Thee... all I can say is... in too many ways to count!
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