BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING....

      "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end:  then stop"

Said the King to the White Rabbit

Lewis Carroll-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

      When the marketing experts began touting the praises of Blogging I not only wondered how I was possibly going to fit this task into my already overloaded schedule, but could not figure what on Earth I was going to say that would be of interest to readers.
      Blogging seemed synonymous with “Bleah, Bleah, Bleah”.  If I were going to post Blogs what direction of thoughts would I write?  What would be so compelling as to attract an audience and add something of interest to their lives?  I pondered this thought for weeks until something very profound happened.

      On an unscheduled evening, a treasured friend phoned to bring our acquaintance up to date.  Since she and I are somewhat collaborating on international genealogical projects, we quickly brought the family news up to date then got down to business discussing photographs, archives, historical data and research.

      Excitement and electricity reigned supreme as it usually does when my friend and I are engrossed in conversation.  Put the two of us together and our husbands usually run exhausted from the room.  My daughter says we are the only two people she knows that can converse for hours of time and still have to email each other because some subject was omitted.  So it was with this day’s contact.

      That night I slept soundly but awoke far too early.  My mind began to wander from one thought to another.  It didn’t take long to begin reviewing the earlier conversation I’d had with my friend.

      The sun was just beginning to rise when it literally “dawned” on me that I had suddenly found the subject matter for this Blog. 

      Where my personal life dedicates a great deal of time to my own family history research, my business revolves around the photographic images and lives of my customers and their ancestors.  I am a professional fine artist, photographic conservator and restoration artisan. Day in and day out I retouch, restore, enhance and duplicate treasured images of other people and their past. 

      Where passion is the current word of choice to describe one’s desire, I prefer to consider my work electrifying.  Every photograph that comes into the Studio has a story to tell, a mystery to solve and a myriad of questions to resolve.  Owners in possession of photographs handed down through generations tend to have little knowledge of an image’s date, origin, construction and often subject matter.  Some images are so faded or deteriorated the average person cannot make sense of the jigsaw puzzle effect of the broken pieces still remaining.  They certainly have no concept of the level of skills required, skills I possess, which will bring back and preserve their family history for future generations.

      With this thought, it comes to light that over the past thirty years I have seen some of the most beautiful photographs and handled some of the most neglected and damaged.  With each treasured image there is a story whether it is an investigation into methods of reproduction and restoration, an historical search of setting, clothing and image details or an attempt to pinpoint the genealogy of those peering out at the viewer forever frozen in time.

      Throughout this Blog I will bring you some of the more exciting tales and images surrounding my work.  Where to begin was not a question.  Like the King said to the White Rabbit in Alice and Wonderland, we will begin at the beginning and go until we come to the end. 

      The most obvious choice for the first story concerns the oldest photograph ever brought to the Studio.  We will begin with the start of photographic history and, in fact, the early history of the New World, and move through time and generations of fascinating people, places and events.

      I would very much like to thank my dear friend, Henrietta, for sharing my unending enthusiasm for historical and genealogical research and investigation.  Special thanks for all of our conversations each of which re-energizes my unending excitement and focus.  Thank you, my friend, for phoning and this time reminding me why the sun rises in the morning.

      Sit back, grab another cup of coffee or make a lovely cup of tea and read on.  We are about to take a journey that will................Bring Back Memories of Another Time.