(Re)touching Lives Through Photos

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Theodora Stafford
5 years ago
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Using Photoshop, they make skinny models skinnier, make perfect skin more perfect, and make the impossible possible. And they get criticized in the press all the time.

1 Becci Mason is a professional photograph retoucher who works in New York City. She describes herself and her colleagues as pale, gray creatures who hide in dark, windowless rooms and generally avoid sunlight. Using Photoshop, they make skinny models skinnier, make perfect skin more perfect, and make the impossible possible. And they get criticized in the press all the time. But they re actually talented artists with a real appreciation for photography. On March 11, 2011, Becci watched from home, as the rest of the world did, as tragic events unfolded in Japan. A magnitude 9 earthquake struck 80 miles off the coast. The resulting tsunami devastated 1300 miles of coastline. Becci knew right away that she had to leave her windowless office and go out into the world. Within days, she travelled to Japan with the volunteer group All Hands Volunteers as part of the response efforts. She spent three weeks in Ōfunato, a coastal town of people, where the waves were recorded at 8 metres (26 feet) and travelled over 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) inland. They pulled debris from canals. They cleaned schools and gutted homes for rehabilitation. Throughout their weeks there, all the volunteers had been finding similar things photos, cameras, and SD cards - and had been handing them in to various places in town for safekeeping. It was at this point Becci realized that these photos were such a huge part of the personal loss of these people; as they had run from the wave, absolutely everything they owned had to be left behind. One day, Becci was working in an evacuation centre, which happened to be collecting photos recovered from the debris. She was honoured when organizers entrusted her to begin cleaning the photos. It was emotional and inspiring. Some of the photos, over 100 years old, were still in their original envelopes from the processing lab. Becci had made a career of retouching digital photos for fashion magazines, but she had never endeavoured to restore photos damaged by Mother Nature. Nonetheless, she couldn t help but think, As a retoucher, I could mend that tear or fix that scratch, and I know hundreds of people who could do the same. So that evening, she reached out on Facebook and LinkedIn and asked a few of them. Within two weeks, 150 people from 12 countries had volunteered to help. Once the project was underway, Becci branched out to neighbouring towns. Once a week, she set up scanning equipment in travelling photo libraries that were set up for people reclaiming their photos. Older women, many of whom had never seen a scanner before, watched as their photos were scanned, and within ten minutes, received by a gaijin (stranger) on the other side of the globe to start getting fixed

The time it took people to get their photos back varied tremendously. It could take an hour, or it could take months. All of the photos had been damaged by water.

2 The time it took people to get their photos back varied tremendously. It could take an hour, or it could take months. All of the photos had been damaged by water. Many were submerged in salt water, covered in bacteria, in sewage, sometimes even in oil all of which, over time, would continue to damage them. Volunteers carefully hand-cleaned each photo, working slowly and meticulously, as it was easy for cleaners to do more damage. (Becci s team leader Wynn once said, It s like doing a tattoo on someone. You don t get a chance to mess it up. ) Then the retouchers began their work. Sometimes photos were cropped to remove irreversibly damaged sections. Then the retouchers adjusted colours and contrast. For the most badly damaged photos, they hand drew details, including faces, kimonos, and buildings, picking out the correct colours from parts of the photos the water hadn t damaged. Some families were lucky. They had duplicates of their damaged photos, so the retouchers could piece together undamaged parts into one good photo. 6 After 6 months, over 500 volunteers from around the globe had cleaned over photographs and returned almost all of them, fully restored and retouched, to their families. During this time, the organization spent only $1000 on materials, most of which were printer inks. Photo restoration was the perfect gift for tsunami victims. Family photos were something they remembered from before, that wasn t still scarred from that day in March when absolutely everything else in their lives had changed or been destroyed. And for some people, those pictures were the only thing they ever got back. The project also made a big difference in the lives of the retouchers. It gave them a connection to something bigger and allowed them to use their talents on something other than skinny models and perfect skin. Becci continues to give public talks about her All Hands photo-restoration project. We take photos constantly, she tells her audiences. They are our memorykeepers. They connect us to family, to relationships. They are the last thing we d grab [in a crisis] and the first thing you d go back to look for. That s what this project was about about restoring those little bits of humanity, about giving that connection back Adapted from Manson, Becci. (Re)touching Lives Through Photos. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED Conferences. Aug Web. 23 Jan < re_touching_lives_through_ photos.html?quote=1808>.

3 Multiple Choice (Circle the best or most correct answer.) 1. Why did Becci Mason originally travel to Japan? a) to clean up after a tsunami b) to escape criticism by the press c) to launch a photo retouching project d) to give public talks about photo retouching 2. What is the purpose of the information between the dashes in paragraph 3? a) examples b) a flashback c) a rewording d) a contrasting point 3. Which word is closest in meaning to endeavoured as used in paragraph 4? a) paid b) finished c) collected d) attempted 4. How did Becci reach people in other towns with her photo retouching services? a) She sent photo retouchers to their towns. b) She advertised free photo retouching. c) She brought people to Ōfunato to use the services. d) She brought a travelling photo library to their towns. 5. In paragraph 5, the word in parentheses is a) a translation b) an alternate term c) a contrasting point d) a credit to the author 6. What is the most likely reason that [t]he time it took people to get their photos back varied tremendously (paragraph 6)? a) It depended on the cost of restoration. b) It depended on the degree of damage. c) It depended on the importance of the photo. d) It depended on the distance from the retouching studio. 7. According to this selection, what made the photo retouchers job easier? a) having a team leader like Wynn b) meeting the people in the photos c) having duplicates of damaged photos d) cleaning the damaged photos with oil first 8. Which phrase describes the organizational pattern of paragraph 6? a) past to present b) steps in a process c) opinion and supporting details d) most important to least important 9. How did being involved in the All Hands photo retouching project make the photo retouchers feel? a) lonely b) perfect c) significant d) misunderstood 10. Which phrase from paragraph 1 becomes a main idea for the selection? a) creatures who hide in the dark b) make the impossible possible c) they get criticized in the press d) they re actually talented artists

4 Written Answer 11. What role did the Internet play in Becci s All Hands photo retouching project? Use specific details from the selection to support your answer. 12. What do Becci s words and actions reveal about her character? Use specific details from the selection to support your answer. Rough Notes Use the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

5 *Answer Key* 1. Why did Becci Mason originally travel to Japan? a) to clean up after a tsunami * b) to escape criticism by the press c) to launch a photo retouching project d) to give public talks about photo retouching 2. What is the purpose of the information between the dashes in paragraph 3? a) examples * b) a flashback c) a rewording d) a contrasting point 3. Which word is closest in meaning to endeavoured as used in paragraph 4? a) paid b) finished c) collected d) attempted * 4. How did Becci reach people in other towns with her photo retouching services? a) She sent photo retouchers to their towns. b) She advertised free photo retouching. c) She brought people to Ōfunato to use the services. d) She brought a travelling photo library to their towns. * 5. In paragraph 5, the word in parentheses is a) a translation * b) an alternate term c) a contrasting point d) a credit to the author 6. What is the most likely reason that [t]he time it took people to get their photos back varied tremendously (paragraph 6)? a) It depended on the cost of restoration. b) It depended on the degree of damage. * c) It depended on the importance of the photo. d) It depended on the distance from the retouching studio. 7. According to this selection, what made the photo retouchers job easier? a) having a team leader like Wynn b) meeting the people in the photos c) having duplicates of damaged photos * d) cleaning the damaged photos with oil first 8. Which phrase describes the organizational pattern of paragraph 6? a) past to present b) steps in a process * c) opinion and supporting details d) most important to least important 9. How did being involved in the All Hands photo retouching project make the photo retouchers feel? a) lonely b) perfect c) significant * d) misunderstood 10. Which phrase from paragraph 1 becomes a main idea for the selection? a) creatures who hide in the dark b) make the impossible possible * c) they get criticized in the press d) they re actually talented artists

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