In 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce forever changed the the world through one simple act: he photographed it. The first permanent photograph on record was taken from his window in France, aptly titled, “View From the Window at Le Gras,” and printed onto a polished piece of pewter. As the year 1826 continues to fade into the backdrop of time, so do the millions of photographs taken since.

Photographs are treasured mementos that can bridge the past with the present. While memories often drift away, a simple glance at an old picture can restore a feeling, an experience, or even a person. The preservation of old photographs is really a protective act against time, capturing the people and events of the past to shape our individual and collective history.

Ukrainian historian and photo retouching expert, Tetyana Dyachenko is a master of photo restoration. Through her company, Digital Art Gallery, Dyachenko restores, retouches and enhances thousands of photographs into even-better versions of their original glory.

Until the advent of digital photography in the early 2000s, most family photographs were stored in show boxes in the attic, or plain old plastic bines. Exposed to the elements, faded and worn, these heirlooms were once subject to the sands of time, but thanks to technology, can now be scanned into digital copies and edited using software like AKVIS Retoucher, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Though we may all feel like master photo editors on Instagram, it takes serious skill, patience, and time to undo the damage of decades. See examples of Dyachenko’s impressively restored photos below, and remember the professionals at Duggal Visual Solutions for any of your professional retouching, image preservation and photographic printing needs.