[StBernard] Operation Photo Rescue will be in Chalmette

[Westley Annis]

Dave Ellis, a photo editor with a newspaper in Fredericksburg, Va., helped
start up a non-profit group to try to restore photographs after he saw a
picture of someone trying to clean a photo damaged in Hurricane Katrina's
flood water.

Ellis is co-president of a group, Operation Photo Rescue, which has been to
the Mississippi Gulf Coast and to Jefferson Parish. 

But on Sunday from 2-5:30 p.m. representatives of the organization will be
in Chalmette to gather storm-damaged pictures from the public for free
restoration. The event will be held at 2010 West Beauregard Street, behind
the First Baptist Church which is in the 300 block of East St. Bernard
Highway.

OPR makes digital copies of damaged originals which are restored by some 900
volunteer members of a network that now spans 25 countries, Ellis said.

Once completed, the restoration is printed out and sent back to the image
owner. This service is provided completely free of charge. 

OPR will take up to five photos from each individual or family. There is a
limit to what level of damage can be restored, Ellis said, so residents are
encouraged to bring what they can. The most salvageable images from each
individual or family will be copied for restoration.

To date, he said, OPR has collected over 2,500 images from more than 500
victims of Hurricane Katrina. 

Ellis said that as a photo editor in Virginia he saw a picture of a
Hurricane Katrina victim trying to clean a damaged photo and he and others
decided to put together a network where people with the computer skills to
restore photos to try to help others.


"I looked at it as a way to use my skills to pitch in and help,'' Ellis
said. "Our slogan is insurance doesn't restore memories gut we do.''
The most rewarding part of doing the restoration is being able to meet
people and hear their stories, he said, although there are times it is
emotional when the only photos someone has are damaged beyond restoration.

For more information, the group's website can be reached at
www.OperationPhotoRescue.com. Ellis can be reached at
dellis at operationphotorescues.com or by cell at 540.834.8050.