Katrina

2005.  Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in our nation's history.  It caused over $80 billion in property damage.

This wedding photograph was just one piece of history, severely damaged during the storm, but lovingly salvaged and now carefully restored.

The original was a 16x20 framed print, hanging on the wall in a home ravaged by the storm.  This couple's son-in-law and his friends traveled from Memphis to help in the rescue and recovery mission.  He found the wedding portrait and brought it back home with the plans to someday have it restored as a surprise for his in-laws.

The print was stuck to the glass, so the scan had to be done through the glass.  Not acceptable.  So.....

A second attempt at creating a digital image was a vast improvement.  This is a combination of photographs of the original, along with scans.  This digital composite that gave me the best possible source to work from.

While I was working on the photograph's restoration, the son-in-law was working tirelessly on restoration of the frame - a lovely gold-leaf ornate frame too beautiful to throw away.

The project took longer than anticipated, but the end result:  Totally worth every single minute.