09/15/2025
What I am up to? Custom Counter Top (yes….really), Vintage/Antique Negatives, Photo Restoration, and Negative & Slide Scanning
With all the construction in Rolesville at the intersection of Young and Main, business has slowed down a good bit as they closed our parking lot and made it very difficult for anyone to have a chance to come by. I am sure the local shops such as Main Street Collective and others are taking a hit, but they keep pushing and coming up with creative ways to keep the customers coming. The good news is that the crews are working hard and have heard the intersection could be opening up by end of September.
During these slow-down times, I use the time to do some of my other interests and ‘asks’ from my family members. Recently, my daughter (with the required ‘Daddy, Will you..’ (knowing damn well I will say Yes)….in this case, it was ‘make me a butcher block counter top’. Well, I think I may have found my match, but giving it a shot and starting off with a large pastry rolling / bread board with the same design. It’s coming out good, but this will be a real challenge….I am up to it.
Now, more related to art and framing, I have been acquiring some negatives from the late 1800s and early 1900s. With some of the new hardware and software I have purchased, I have the capabilities to scan photos, slides, and negatives with very high resolution. Then using a suite of tools from Adobe, Topaz Labs, restoring, cleaning up, and some of the nicer ones…printing and offering. Some of them you may have seen and some come from what are called “duplicate” or “copy” negatives where make a copy of the negative into a new negative…albeit even that copy was made in early 1900s and of high quality/detail. That said, many of the negatives are in bad shape and that is where I move into the photo editing tools after scanning them and clean them up. The black and white prints can be printed in-house and those will use the pigment black (archival ink) on a matte paper up to 13”x19” while color photos and glossy paper prints will use a dye-based ink. Think of this as the difference between the print lasting 60-80 years with dye ink and 400 or so years with pigment ink. If you see some you like, I can print them in the size you desire and offer optional framing of course. The photos are a sample of my rapidly growing collection.
I am offering the photo and slide/negative scanning and digitization, photo restoration and similar services to those that need it. Now…don’t think you can come in with a box of 1000 photos and negatives and expect me to even take that job….think of me in the low-volume arena but with attention to detail and high quality work.