It's been a while...

[GP]

I haven't been here in a while....
but got finally lucky to snap up a picture to restore. It looks fairly easy at first glance, but I was having a hell of a time to come up with a glue what to do about the damage.I had the impression that this is not the original picture, it looked like it had already some work done to it. I contacted Mike about this, but did not get any response so far. So here it is...



Any comments, suggestions or a better method to deal with it are welcome  :loveit:

Gerlinde

[cmpentecost]

Hi Gerlinde,

Welcome back!  The picture looks great!  I can't see anything else that needs to be done to it.  Nice job!

Christine

[kstruve]

Wow, Gerlinde!  This looks really, really good.  You're right, the original looks like someone had done some work to it already.  So you asked Mike about it and he hasn't responded?!  That's surprising.  ;)  Sorry to be sarcastic like that, but it's frustrating when you need some information and you can't get any reply.  As Paula has said in the past, and I paraphrase, "Try wadding up your request and toss it onto the roof - sometimes that works just as well."

So, it looks to me like someone had started work on this and then handed it off.  I think the girl might have had a scarf around her shoulders and the two ends lay across her belly.  In your restored version, the ends of the scarf are gone.  Also, the girl's left elbow (on the right of the photo) was originally smaller and up higher than it is in your version.  Here are the outlines of the scarf and her elbow as I see them:



I think what you have really looks good.  These changes I'm suggesting are merely for the sake of accuracy, so feel free to print out my suggestion, wad it up, and toss it onto the roof.

Kurt

[GP]

Hi Christine and Kurt!
Thank you for your replies. Kurt, as allways you hit the nail right on the head, like we germans like to say  ;D.
You are most likely right with the outlines you made on the picture, but this is also the problem with it. You can't really tell, are the dark blobs water damage or part of the  scarf. That's why I contacted Mike to get maybe the original and see if there is some more information to recover from. There is pretty much no detail in that area. I guess you could say I did some artistic interpretation on the lower part of the picture. I am not sure if it really matters.
I am taking a break from it for a day and than I look at it again and see if I can do anything more.  :)
By the way, Kurt I am the one in your poll with the 1 - 3 year experience. I have Photoshop on my computer since version 5 and have now CS, but I never used it for anything more than removing scratches or resizing a picture. The 1. thing I always would do is close all those pallets cluttering up the tight space on the monitor! Layers??? what are you suppose to do with them? :D
It all changed last year as I found the Photoshop Elements website and signed up for their newsletter. That's where I also heard about OPR. I am still not very good with PS, but I use it more and more for complicated stuff like restorations. I only wish my brain would be better remembering all the things I learn here and at the PE site.  :knuppel:
Gerlinde

[Dave]

Alright everyone,

I've gone out of my way to keep my thoughts on these issues limited to personal messages, but I think it's time to address it more publicly.

Please consider the feelings of others before you post something like the following:

"Try wadding up your request and toss it onto the roof - sometimes that works just as well."

While the comment may or may not be specifically addressed to me, as one of OPR's organizers, it comes across as offensive.

This organization runs slow, because there are no full-time workers. Also, it doesn't run slow just because of the organizational side of the house. For instance, we haven't posted the next round of damaged originals because of restorations from the previoius round that weren't up to par or fully completed.

I wrote about my own low morale in one of the more recent posts in my office. Comments such as these are partially the cause. And they don't just come from volunteers. We've had several image owners, people that we are helping free of charge, complain that they haven't received their restorations yet. The largest portion of that wait is the amount of restorations that are checked out and never returned... we understand that restorations take a lot of time when people are already busy, and try not to downplay the effort that is going into those photos, even if it is taking awhile.  It's difficult when the sentiment is not shared.

Before posting a comment such as this, consider the phrase "walk a mile in my shoes." Just because you don't see the work that OPR management does, doesn't mean that we're not working.

I apologize if this comes across as harsh, but I find the comments difficult to hear after awhile. If you have an issue that you feel needs to be addressed and you're not getting a response from one of the members of management, please try one of the other three.

On a side note, GP: Great restoration.

Dave

[kstruve]

Dave and Mike,

I'm very sorry about the rude and off-handed comment I made about the frustrations associated with requests not being handled in a timely manner.  Mike, the comment was directed toward you and I apologize for it.  Right after I clicked "Post" I regretted saying what I did.   :-[  I understand that OPR is a volunteer organization and that everyone has commitments outside of OPR that take priority.

Sincerely,
Kurt



P.S.  I really shouldn't have had so much coffee this morning.

[Dave]

Thanks Kurt. Frustration gets the best of us all at times. I'm a living example of that.

Dave

[GP]

Dave,
I fully understand your frustration and I really admire you for doing what you do! And thank you for the headsup on my restoration.  :loveit:

Gerlinde

P.S Mike found the original of the picture in the meantime.

[beckysell]

Hi Gerlinde,

Nice work! 
Just wanted to point out a huge tip you gave... take a break for at least an hour or so and then open it up with fresh eyes.  Sometimes that helps when you haven't blinked in a couple of hours!  Whew!

[glennab]

Hi Gerlinde

I want to add my kudos for your lovely restoration.  I do agree with Kurt that the scarf appears to extend further than you have it, but otherwise it's terrific.

GG

[GP]

Hi Glenna
thanks for your comment! I got the original picture now and it gives me some more detail (also some more of the damage :-[), so I probably start over with that whole area. It looks like there is some reflection probably caused by the shininess of the photopaper and I don't now how to deal with that. It's hard to explain I should post a detail picture, but I don't have it here at work, maybe tonight.
gp

[GP]

Becky,
thank you too for your encouragement   :)
Gerlinde

[GP]

So here is now my final version, I think this is all I can do for the little girl.




:)

[glennab]

Hi Gerlinde,

She looks fantastic.  One question: what is the slightly blotchy area on her scarf at the upper right as we look at her?  Is it a bit of damage? That's the only thing I can see that bothers me.  Otherwise you've done your usual wonderful job.

Best wishes,

GG

[kstruve]

Other than Glenna's comment, she looks really good, Gerlinde!  Very nice work.

Kurt