I am proud of this one, because it was nearly impossible.
I was asked much earlier this year to recreate a wedding photograph taken on May 21, 1955, in preparation for a 60th wedding anniversary party. There had been some ongoing dialogue among two brothers and a sister (in two states) about who had the best copy of the picture. Turned out, no one did. So I was given a grainy printout from a scan and asked to give it a try.
I made no guarantees but did agree to work at raising the image, in time for the anniversary gift to be handed over during a spring family party.
I admit to having a terrible time with the bride's dress and veil, and the groom's white jacket and face. Eventually a second photo was provided -- a different angle, still not great -- that showed a little more detail in better lighting. So I was able to combine the best parts of both and make a new image.
Turns out, that family party never happened and the picture waited for several months, until the couple visited Ohio in December for a holiday visit. It's now a Christmas present.
As a surprise, it was hung in the the room that they would be sleeping in in during their visit to their son’s home. In an ironic twist, one of my previous works, a portrait of Elvis, had to be taken down to make room for this new portrait.
Also turns out, these were not the only available wedding day images. There is indeed a wedding album -- but the siblings didn't want to let on about what they were up to, so we had to use the inferior copies.
I hope I got them right. He looks vaguely like the late, great bandleader Stan Kenton. She was obviously stunning. A very sharp couple.
I suspect they still light up each other's lives, and have given their now 50-ish sons and daughter quite the example to follow.
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