Hello from Maryland

[fireflyspc]

My name is Sean Coleman and I am a graphic designer living in Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C. I am preparing to begin offering photo restoration services to the public and while mining for advice and information I was introduced to Operation Photo Rescue. I immediately requested information on how to become a volunteer.

Several years ago I restored photos for a small portrait studio in West Virginia. I did this for about two years before moving back to the D.C. area. Recently I have been thinking about what a valuable and important service this is. So many times I have been thanked with tears of joy by people who have had their photos restored. What a great feeling it is to know you have helped someone regain a piece of their personal history, or the image of a loved one. It is simply priceless and that is what it is all about for me. To be able to contribute my talents here for this cause is an honor and I promise to give my best efforts to OPR and the people they are trying to help.

I look forward to corresponding and sharing ideas with you all as time goes by. I am very happy to be here.

Sincerely,
Sean Coleman

[Mhayes]

Sean, welcome to OPR from Kansas. I think you will really enjoy the sharing of ideas on the forum. Your experience restoring will be a big help, but you may be in for a surprise when you see the amount of damage on our photos.

Look forward to seeing you on the forum.

Happy New Year!

Margie

[Hannie]

Hi Sean and a warm welcome to the forum from Amsterdam!
OPR is great place to help flood victims bring back their mementos and at the same time hone your restoring skills.
It sounds like you will fit right in here, good luck on your first OPR restore.

Happy New Year,

Hannie

[Mike S.]

Hello Sean,

A hearty Welcome from Michigan.

Your talents will fit right in with OPR.  We have damaged photos in the galleries from Joplin, MO and Stark County, OH to restore .  The owners will very much appreciate your talents.

Thank you,

Mike

[Pat]

Welcome Sean, thank you for joining OPR!

You seem to have a real heart for the work we do here at OPR, and with your experience you'll be able to teach us a thing or two. :)  Take some time to review past posts in the forum and you'll find some great tips and suggestions well worth bookmarking for future reference.  The forum is not only a great learning environment but we are also a friendly fun loving group and we look forward to seeing more of you here and learning from your experience.

Pat

[glennab]

Hi Sean

A very warm welcome from sunny Florida. If you haven't already done so, check out the video on the upper right of our home page to get a feel for the effect our work has on the people we help.  I can't watch it without crying (and I watch it often, because it's a reminder of why we all work so hard on these challenging restorations).  You certainly have a head start, since you already have experience with restorations, but brace yourself! These are like nothing you've ever seen before.  Which is why many of us stand by and watch the forum for anyone who has questions or needs help with an issue. 

Another word of warning: they are addictive.  I'm one of the first OPR members, and I so love this work. It's a joy to give back a family's history when they've already lost so much.  I'm glad you've joined us and will look forward to seeing you on the forum.

Bless and Happy New Year

GK

[fireflyspc]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I just finished my first restoration and have requested my next! Very happy to be here and look forward to helping out!

Sean