[StBernard] PRESS RELEASE: OPERATION PHOTO RESCUE coming to East Bank Regional Library May 1-5

[Westley Annis]

A friend of mine sent me this opportunity for free photo restoration.

Dan
----- Original Message -----
 
 JEFFERSON PARISH LIBRARY
 
 
 
 PRESS RELEASE
 
 
 
 For immediate release
              Contact: Jim Davis
 
 
 
 April 24, 2006
 
       Phone: (504) 838-1100, x262
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 OPERATION PHOTO RESCUE TO SET UP SHOP
 
 AT EAST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY TO DIGITALLY RESTORE
 
 STORM RAVAGED PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORIES
 
 
 
 Digital Photo Restoration Free of Charge
 
 
 
 
 Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) will
 set up shop at the East Bank Regional Library in Metairie, LA, from 
 Monday, May 1 through Friday, May 5 to copy and restore photographs 
 damaged in last year's devastating hurricanes.
 
 
 
 
 Pass Christian, Miss., resident Virginia Smith
 
 displays her original wedding photograph of
 
 her mother and the restored version.
 
 Photo from THE FREE LANCE-STAR of Fredericksburg, VA
 
 February 3, 2006
 
 (For another restoration example, see
 
<"http://web.mac.com/fiftyeggs60/iWeb/Site/OPR%20Blog/1DD58F34-1EE2-47DA-B05
D-7D74A38DD8C9.html">

 )
 
 
 
 
 The public is encouraged to bring up to five damaged photographs per 
 family to the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon Avenue, 
 Metairie, LA,  9:00 am-9:00 pm, Monday, May 1, through Thursday, May 
 4, and 9:00 am-5:00 pm on Friday, May 5.  OPR volunteers will be 
 located in the entrance foyer of the library.  Persons bringing photos 
 are asked to come in advance of the library closing times.
 
 
 
 If at all possible, persons bringing photos for digital restoration 
 should not remove the photos from albums or from behind glass since 
 that could further deteriorate the image.
 
 
 
 The entire process is free of charge.  OPR Volunteers will make 
 digital copies at no cost to the public and then return the originals 
 to their owners.  The digital copies will then be sent to volunteers 
 from around the world to be restored and printed. Once completed, the 
 single copies of the pictures will then be mailed to their owners, also
free of charge.
 
 
 
 
 OPR is a nonprofit organization comprised of professional 
 photojournalists, amateur photographers, graphic artists, and others 
 who are committed to salvaging not only photographs but also the 
 memories behind the pictures.
 
 
 
 Operation Photo Rescue is the brainchild of Dave Ellis, photo editor 
 of THE FREE LANCE-STAR of Fredericksburg, Virginia, who figured that 
 professional photographers could help Hurricane Katrina victims in a 
 way that no one else could.  He and THE FREE LANCE-STAR 
 photojournalist Becky Sell embarked on a mission to recover the photos 
 and memories that otherwise would be lost to the storm.
 
 
 
 Ellis and Sell serve as co-presidents of the nonprofit organization 
 they created, with the motto "Insurance doesn't restore memories - but 
 we do."  As a result of their efforts, professional photographers and 
 other skilled professionals were recruited worldwide as volunteers to 
 help them with their mission.
 
 
 
 OPR began after Sell came down to the region to cover the aftermath of 
 Hurricane Katrina. One sentiment she ran into time and again was the 
 wish that more than anything, people wanted their family photos.
 
 
 
 Upon her return, she and Ellis determined that their skills as 
 photographers could be put to good use in trying to salvage people's 
 photos-and their memories.  The two made a trip to Pass Christian, MS, 
 and set up shop in a temporary library on Monday, January 30, where 
 they continued through Friday, Feb. 3.  Another volunteer made another 
 trip there a month later. So far, OPR has copied somewhere in the 
 neighborhood of 750 photos.
 
 
 
 The upcoming trip to East Bank Regional Library marks OPR's third trip 
 to the hurricane ravaged region and their first in the New Orleans 
 area, again supported by THE FREE LANCE-STAR.  Jefferson Parish is 
 honored to be able to provide East Bank Regional as the site for this 
 noble volunteer effort.
 
 
 
 On behalf of the citizens of the Greater New Orleans area, thank you, OPR!
 
 
 
 For more information about OPR, visit the website 
 http://www.operationphotorescue.com/
 from which the OPR blog can be accessed.
 
 
 
 An article and images which appeared in the FREE LANCE-STAR about 
 OPR's original trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast may be found at 
 http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/022006/02032006/164970
 
 
 
 
 For further information about OPR, contact:
 
 Mike Morones
 
 Operation Photo Rescue
 
 Ph: 540-455-7285
 
 info at operationphotorescue.com
 
 http://www.operationphotorescue.com
 <http://www.operationphotorescue.com/>
 
 
 
 
 Photographers and others with professional photo restoration skills 
 who are interested in volunteering with Operation Photo Rescue should 
 contact Operation Photo Rescue directly.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jim Davis
 
 Information Specialist
 
 Jefferson Parish Library
 
 4747 West Napoleon Ave.
 
 Metairie,
 LA 70001
 
 504.838.1100, x262
 
 jdavis at jefferson.lib.la.us