Not long ago, someone brought us a sad example of a do-it-yourself photo repair. It was a torn-up photograph patched together with cellophane tape. Tape is probably the worst thing you can use on a photo. It contaminates the emulsion (photographic chemicals), and pretty quickly ruins the picture. Fortunately, restoration was possible. But we beg […]
Five Ways to Preserve Old Photos
The best thing you can do for old photographs is digitize them: scan them, or let ABC Photo scan them, onto a CD or DVD that will last for generations. But then, what do you do with the original photos? Many of us feel a little odd about just tossing out vintage family photos, even […]
You Set the Pace: Converting Home Movies, Slides and Videos to DVD
Last December, a customer walked into our store with a big box stuffed with videotapes. He wanted us to convert the tapes to DVDs, but not all at once. Could we do the job over time? A lot of people ask us this, and we’re happy to oblige. Suppose you’ve discovered a forgotten cache of […]
Five Tips for Buying a Digital Camera
We don’t sell cameras, but a lot of people still ask us for advice. Here are our top five tips: For the casual, amateur photographer, a point-and-shoot digital camera works just fine. It’s cheaper than an SLR, and easier to use — you don’t have to bother changing lenses. Stick with a name brand. We […]
Top Three Custom Framing Tips
1. Tell your custom framer where your object will be displayed. Light, humidity and temperature can all affect your artwork. For a photo hung near a window, for instance, it is worth installing glass with the highest UV protection even though the cost is a bit higher. 2. Ask whether your artwork, photo or other […]
Photo Contest: Silver Eye
Something tells us they don’t want cute kittens for this one. Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh is looking for 10-photo portfolios “with a strong narrative thrust and highly individual, original points of view,” to be judged by the Carnegie Museum of Art’s curator of photography. Two winners — one international, the other from Pennsylvania — […]