Thumbnail photo on homepage–The iconic roller coaster at Seaside Height boardwalk for over 70 years. Photo by Steven Zumwalt/FEMA

Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) will be coming to Seaside Height, NJ on May 3-5 to help families with photos damaged by Hurricane Sandy. For instructions on the care of damage photos, please reference this Page.

Memories of a lifetime hit by Hurricane Sandy.

The New York copy run was not only a success, but probably one of the most unique copy runs that Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) has ever had.  Katrin Eismann,  well known author and head at School of Visual Arts (SVA) and Ken Allen of Ken Allen Studios came together to host the event at SVA. Also sponsoring and attending the event:  JP Morgan Chase Technology for Social Good; William Geffert of ImagingEtc; B & H Photography; Photoshelter; and DigMyPics. Volunteers also included those from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) in New York, students from SVA, and OPR volunteers.

To give you a better insight of how it all came together–check out the OPR Forum

Margie Hayes

President OPR

Photo Courtesy: Jan Neil

EL DORADO, KS – January 15, 2013 – Operation Photo Rescue (OPR), a U.S. not-for-profit organization comprised of a worldwide network of volunteers will be in New York City on February 2^nd and 3^rd to digitally copy photos for anyone whose pictures were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Hosted by the School of Visual Arts Masters in Digital Photography program and supported by Chase, PhotoShelter, DigMyPics, Imagingetc, and Ken Allen Studios, the OPR team will be onsite at 133 West 21^st St, Room 101c in Manhattan on Saturday, February 2 and Sunday, February 3, 2013, 10am-5pm on both days. Walk-ins are welcome and appointments are available at Book Appointment.

Anyone with photos damaged from Hurricane Sandy may bring up to 20 photos to be evaluated and potentially restored. Photos that can be repaired will be digitally captured with state-of-the-art imaging technology and later restored and printed. Restored photos will be mailed to owners at no cost. The original photo remains with the owner.

All photos need to be dry and removed from picture frames and albums. Those that cannot be extracted will still be copied, but the quality may suffer. Photos that are stuck together can be separated by soaking, but should first be tested on a corner to see if the emulsion is stable enough to soak. Further instructions on care can be found on “Salvage Flood-Damaged Photos.”

Following family and pets, photos are the next most cherished possession, as the memories captured in photos are all that remain after a natural disaster. Chase, through its Technology for Social Good program, is supplying the imaging stations, software and volunteers to help make the photos available electronically. The School of Visual Arts is also providing imaging technology in addition to volunteers and the space. DigMyPics will donate all of the printing and shipping of restored photos; PhotoShelter will provide free online storage of the damaged as well as restored photos; and Imagingetc and Ken Allen Studios will both provide volunteer staff who are experienced in handling and digitizing delicate photographs in addition to equipment.

Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) is a federally registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity that restores photographs that have been damaged by natural disasters. OPR was founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in January 2006 by two photojournalists, Dave Ellis and Becky Sell. Since then, the organization has grown into a network of over 2,000 volunteers from across the globe. Volunteers from all 50 U.S. states and 76 other countries have returned over 9,000 restored photos to survivors of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires.  More information is available at http://www.operationphotorescue.org.

Media Contacts:

Margie Hayes, Operation Photo Rescue, mhayes@operationphotorescue.org

Katrin Eismann, School of Visual Arts, keismann@sva.edu

Jennifer Kim, Chase, jennifer.h.kim@jpmchase.com

To Book Appointments
Homepage Photo of Long Beach, NY
Courtesy: Andrea Booher/FEMA
ID 60710

We are excited to announce that OPR will be teaming up author, teacher, and photographer Katrin Eismann and Ken Allen of “Ken Allen Studios, L.L.C.a dedicated digital studio that offers archival digitization of collections, exhibit prints and exhibition display printing, and consultation.
 
Many of us learned how to restore from Katrin’s book Photoshop Restoration & Retouching and found OPR through a link to volunteer help for those hit by Hurricane Katrina. That is the path I took and now on the 7^th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we are once again faced with a challenge as big as we did back 2006. In some ways the challenges are even greater because of the huge areas devastated by Sandy.
 
While in New York on business, Jan Neil was able to meet for an hour at Katrin’s office at the School of visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan.

According to Jan, “both Katrin and Ken are enthused, willing, and able to stage an OPR copy run for us in early February. The location is ideal, as it is located near to subway and bus lines. Keep in mind: people are used to using public transportation here in NY.”

Photo of SVA/Katrin Eismann and Ken Allen

Courtesy of Jan Neil

Margie Hayes

President OPR

Hi Everyone,

“As this year comes to a close, I’d like to thank all of you and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Somewhere in the commercialization of the holidays, the true spirit of giving gets lost. Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) is giving the best gift of all—memories restored.” I wrote this in December 24, 2008, the first year that I took over as president of Operation Photo Rescue and the thoughts I expressed back then are true today.

Back then we had just gotten a flood of new volunteers after Nancy Massey put out a message on the NAPP forum that we needed help. This time the message went out on Adobe’s Facebook page about us during Thanksgiving. The response was overwhelming and our website crashed for a short spell from all the traffic. We signed up over 700+ new volunteers from all over the U.S and 75 countries worldwide. That is mind boggling, because it shows that despite our differences we are united by our humanity. December is a month that holds special meaning for different cultures and religions and while we may each celebrate differently we share the same love of photos that are a reflection of ourselves and the ones we love.

Back in 2008 OPR had lost its only grant and from that point on OPR would be dependent on donations and the generosity of our sponsors: Photo Shelter and DigMyPics. Today, same story and like the children’s story of the Little Engine that Could, OPR is the little engine pulling the cars up the steep incline. Once again we are asking for donation to help us sponsor our copy runs to the Northeast following the destruction left by Hurricane Sandy. http://www.operationphotorescue.org/current-fundraiser/ For all those donating $15 or more (except the inner team) a drawing will be held at each copy run for a free 1 year membership to NAPP and that includes Photoshop User Magazine. The money for the membership was donated by two  in the inner team and does not come from the donation collection.

The first run will be tentatively set for the first weekend in February at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) with Katrin Eismann and her students helping with the run. OPR is thrilled to have Katrin sign on as she is responsible for a large number of our volunteers coming to OPR through her best selling books and  her NAPP connection. Joining her will be close friend Ken Allen of “Ken Allen Studios, L.L.C. is a dedicated digital studio that offers archival digitization of collections, exhibit prints and exhibition display printing, and consultation.”

In the coming days and weeks more details will be posted. At the present time we are almost finished with past runs except for clearing Quality Control. I would like to thank all of you that have helped with restoring, donating, and helping with plans for our New York copy run. I would like especially to thank all of the OPR inner team volunteers that have in the last few months spent long hours each day processing in new volunteers and the distributors getting the photos out and back in for printing. Thanks to Hannie, Jan, Jonas, Kiska, Mike, Pat, Shujen, Tess, and Victoria for your friendship and whose help I could not do without.

As a special thanks and to give all of us a chance to enjoy the holidays and catch our breath, OPR will be taking a week off from Saturday December 22 to Friday December 28, 2012. During that time the galleries will be closed.

Look forward to seeing you in 2013!

Margie Hayes

I contacted Nanda Sparks and she was happy to be interviewed. She also happened to be the first person whose photos we restored and sent home. This was the first time that I had met Nanda and she couldn’t say enough how much having her photos restored meant. She found out about OPR by contacting Lost Photos of Joplin to find out if there was someone she could pay to restore her photos and they told her about us and our free service.

Of all the copy runs OPR has done in the past, this one was different because the force of the tornado and how photos were displaced. Thad Beeler and members of his church spent hours, days, and months cleaning, scanning, numbering, and filing in boxes the lost photos. At first hundreds of photos were listed on Lost Photos of Joplin’s Facebook page. Because of the sheer numbers it was decided to make copies of the photos and place them in notebooks for the public to view.

Later Thad and a group of volunteers would start a non-profit called National Disaster Photo Rescue (NDPR) and while their name is similar to ours, their mission is different. They collect, clean, house, label, and search for the owners of the displaced photos. From Joplin they have saved over 30,000 photos and returned over 8,000 to their owners. OPR is in a partnership with NDPR and will continue our efforts to help restore photos from Joplin.

On that Tuesday as I joined Thad’s group and had a table set up with OPR brochures and examples of before/after photos from Joplin that we had restore—the reaction of people filing by was disbelief! They could not believe that it was possible to restore the damaged photos they were seeing to the after restored photos. Even Thad’s volunteers were blown away with the results. I came away happy that day to know how much our efforts were appreciated and to have the chance to meet some wonderful people.

Margie Hayes.

Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) is making plans to travel to Hummelstown,PA in the spring of 2012 to help residents whose photos were damaged by Tropical Storm Lee in September of last year. Anyone in the surrounding area with damaged photos is encouraged to bring them to the William H & Marian C Alexander Family Library in Hummelstown,PA on April 6-7, 2012.

Hours of operation will be:

• Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Photos brought to the library need to be dry and removed from picture frames or albums. Those photos that cannot be extracted will still be copied, but the quality may suffer. Photos that are stuck together can be separated by soaking, but should first be tested  on a corner to see if the emulsion is stable enough to soak. Further instructions are are available on FEMA’s Website.

We are fortunate to have OPR volunteer, Katherine Arline, in Hershey, PA as our local contact. Because of the extensive flooding in Pennsylvania it was hard to pick the best location to have the copy
run. Thanks goes to Laurie Lane of The Dauphin County Library System for making the recommendation of the library meeting room in Hummelstown.

In the coming months we will be sending out press releases and flyers to announce our copy run. More information will be in our newsletter, Website, and on Facebook. So often at copy runs we hear locals tell us they didn’t know until the last minute about our coming and had they known they would have told their friends.

We are going all out this time to spread the word, but the greatest help will come from those of you who contact your friends and family via social media.

OPR is currently fundraising to help with the expenses of the trip to Hummelstown and also a return trip to Joplin, MO in May. We realize that times are tough now and money is short, but if you can spare a few dollars, please help: http://www.operationphotorescue.org/current-fundraiser/

For more information contact:

For a print ready flier to share and pass out “Download Here.”

Katherine Arline  kate@katherinearline.com (Hershey)

Margie Hayes  mhayes@operationphotorescue.org

Special Thanks: Mark Pynes, Director of Photography at The Patriot-News

Photo Credits:  Christine Baker, Sean Simmers, and Chris Knight at The Patriot-News

Margie Hayes ( OPR President)

As a child, I would have known the answer to that question and would never have had to think twice.The answer to what I would grab would always have been one particular photograph.

Now I have given several people copies to keep in case of a disaster, since you can’t tell when your life will be suddenly turned upside down.

I had a twin brother named Bruce. This was before IVF made twins almost commonplace. He died when we were almost five months old. In those months of our shared life there was only one photograph ever taken of us together, shot soon after our birth, still at the hospital. After he died, people didn’t mention Bruce much in my family. Although I was very shy as a child, whenever anyone said something, even just in passing, about our family having four children, I always stopped them and said no, five. We have five children in our family. FIVE.

I had custody of that one original photograph of both of us for as long as I can remember which is kind of odd for a child to have. Or maybe not, because I certainly did keep it safe.All of this was before scanners could be found in some homes.

Someone gave me a tiny inexpensive camera, for which I was so grateful. I tried to take pictures of the picture of us, but they didn’t turn out. If I was ever in an office of some kind, I tried to Xerox it: not good. I could not let it out of my sight, even when I was told that it could be reproduced with accuracy. This was my most precious possession.

It helped me with the fact that my twin was rarely mentioned. He had lived for months, but his life seemed forgotten. I swore I wouldn’t forget his short life. I hungered for some memory of him. When I asked questions about him I was told simply that he had died of “crib death.” For years I didn’t even know where his remains were (I do now, though). No one ever took me there.

I never had that sense of immortality that some people have. This was the person who shared the womb with me. If he could die, I certainly could. Sometimes I stared at the picture and wondered what he would have looked like. Would we be best friends? I felt almost certain that we would have had a unique bond.
If he had been forgotten, couldn’t I? Couldn’t anyone? The picture stayed with me and helped me deal with other bereavements.

That photo proved that he had existed, even if people preferred not to mention him. That photo somehow helped me know that I was alive.

Finally in the digital era I was able to get the original copied without it being taken away from me. I took it to a digital photo place, and insisted on accompanying the manager when he took it to the back to copy it. It never left my sight. Other people probably have pictures that are just as meaningful to them.

On the OPR website, I have seen obviously big events, like weddings, and graduations. But others are just as poignant, snapped in ordinary life, sometimes apparently taken with the casual certainty of another day. Snapped of just someone laughing; not just christenings, birthdays, milestones, but just a moment casually spent, shot with probable certainty that life would go on. Two people sitting on a couch, unaware they’d been photographed, people relaxing on a porch, dancing at a party–Sweet moments in life, and in my book, as important as the birthdays and so on.

And then everything is turned upside down.

I’ve read that fragments of photographs have been found over two hundred miles away from their homes. Compassionate people set up locations like in churches for those little pieces of memory, usually for people they never met, nor ever would meet. This kindness reminds me of the good part of humanity, of giving to other during what may be the worst single event of their lives, when that memory of a loved ones laughter, no matter how damaged, can be treasured even as a fragment.Other strangers then work for hours, for free, to help reconstruct that moment in that life before that must now seem so very dear, who sacrifice to help with no glory and very little press.

This should change. These amazing artists, the individuals who pick up that piece of paper off the road and find out who to give it to, these people in churches and elsewhere who collect the pieces of pictures, companies and libraries who provide space and supplies, all deserve to be celebrated. In frustrating times I like to think of all of them, with that—something—that is goodness that can be in people without reward or recognition.

I can only imagine my grief if a tornado or flood or earthquake had ripped my picture apart and distributed the pieces as if they were trash across hundreds of miles.

In this recession, there is so little “extra” income and so many good causes, it is hard to know who to give money or volunteer time to if you are able.

OPR is not flashy. I have rarely seen any publicity, and I think they deserve it, beyond any doubt, and deserve our donated time and dollars.

I have struggled with Cancer, Graft vs Host Disease due to bone marrow transplant, and now a rare auto-immune degenerative disease. My time is indescribably precious to me. Everyone’s time is precious to them: I may just be hyper-aware of it.

It is my choice and my honor to spend a little part of my time creating and donating artwork for OPR to auction for fundraising.
Photographs are just so important.
They remind us of where we come from.
They remind us of who we love.
And they remind us of who we are.

Written by Barbara C. Reed,
All rights reserved.

Barbara C. Reed is a former digital effects artist for Disney, and a photographer.