PICTURE PERFECT: A CLOSE AND CLEAR LOOK AT MY ANCESTORS

                                                                                                          Enhanced photo of James Clark, Mary Cashman, Julia Cashman and Tom Keneavy

                                                                                                                       (1895)

 I couldn’t believe I overlooked a useful tool that was right at my fingertips. E.A.B.

Several years ago, my mother presented me with a wonderful collection of old photos which were among my grandmother’s possessions when she passed in 1993. Some of the photos dated to the 1870’s and were most likely a compilation of both my grandparent’s and my great-grandparents collections. Through the kindness of cousins, I have been able to identify the subjects of most of the photos.

While I have some pristine pictures, I have spent countless hours gazing at damaged, time worn photos of distant indistinct forms through the lens of a magnifying glass, only to come away frustrated. My only recourse I thought was to find an expert and have the photos restored, if possible. However, life happens. There are always nuisances, distractions and responsibilities that take precedence over pet projects and so the photos sat in a box out of sight and mind for years.

Admittedly, I am a person who often overlooks the obvious and so it was not until I attended a presentation of rarely seen old photos that I realized that there was a resolution to the problem of faded, damaged and indistinct prints, right at my fingertips.

The presentation was a slideshow of photos of the lost Quabbin towns that had been stored for years in one of the local archives until they were rediscovered by a young intern, who approached the DCR staff with a proposal to scan and enhance the pictures. The results were dramatic. Distant shots that were digitally edited and enlarged revealed obscure details not detected in the original print. I was both amazed and excited by what I was seeing and I could not wait to get home give it a try with my own vintage photos.

Windows Live Photo Gallery is installed on my computer. After a few minutes of experimenting with the program's options, I decided to give it a try. I scanned a portrait of three of the Cashmansiblings and proceeded to crop, enhance and enlarge the photo. Below are the results.

The photos that I have tinkered with thus far have produced some amazing details when enhanced and enlarged. I was stunned when a photo of an ancestor once enhanced, revealed that she was wearing a piece of jewelry which is part of a collection my grandmother gave me a number of years ago. Apparently, it belonged to an aunt, who lived with my great-grandmother in Bay State Village.

I am certain I have just scratched the surface in terms of applications for photo enhancement tools and while I am short on time these days, enhancing my vintage photos is on my long list of future projects.

Keep diggin' for those gems!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Banas is a professional genealogist. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society, Association for Professional Genealogists and the New England Association of Professional Genealogists. You can send your research requests to fh_research@hotmail.com or go to eabanasgenealogyservices.com.