Restoring an Old Photo

First Communion, 1958, Restored, originally uploaded by confections.

Last night I restored this old photo of my First Communion (in 1958) with Picasa. I also created copies in sepia and black and white. There are a lot more vintage family photos that need to be scanned and restored; that's one of the projects I have taken on this year.

My Brother & I, Summer 1958

My Brother & I, Summer 1958, originally uploaded by confections.

Here's the backstory on this image: it was probably taken by my Dad in the summer of 1958. We were at our cabin in the Pennsylvania mountains for a summer vacation. I finally had a baby sister (after three brothers) and a new puppy.

One of the first rituals after arriving at the cabin was driving up the mountain road to a crystal clear spring with our Dad and bringing back a huge cooler full of drinking water.

On this particular day I had gotten a new balloon, and just moments before this photo was snapped, our new puppy had burst my balloon--and I burst into tears.

Luckily, I had a lollipop (a Tootsie-Roll pop, nonetheless), which helped me get over my disappointment at the burst balloon. My almost 9-year-old brother is putting on his tough Little League game face.

I remember those fun little girls' playsuits with elasticized waists and ties at the shoulder, icons of the 1950's. I'm seven-and-a-half in this photo, about to enter 3rd grade.