Digitizing for Oak Bay
Oak Bay collections go back further than most. Glass-mounted slides, boxes of negatives, film reels from before the war, and photographs of people nobody left alive can name. I handle all of it, and it stays on the Island.
Older Houses, Older Boxes
The oldest material I see tends to come from the older neighbourhoods, and Oak Bay produces more of it than anywhere. That means formats a general shop will turn away: glass slides, medium format negatives, film reels from the 1930s, studio portraits far too big for an ordinary scanner.
It also means the collections have often passed through two or three generations already, and nobody currently holding them knows who is in half the pictures. Digitizing is frequently the step that lets the rest of the family look and start naming people.
Odd sizes and fragile things
Large portraits, mounted photographs, certificates, newspaper cuttings and glass slides all need handling that a sheet-fed scanner cannot give them. Those are done individually on a flatbed rather than run through anything.
Albums stay albums
Old albums with corners, tissue interleaves and handwritten captions are worth more assembled than as loose prints. I scan the pages as pages by default, handwriting and all, and only take an album apart if you ask me to.
Collected from your door
Fragile material travels better when it is carried once by the person who will be working on it, rather than boxed, couriered and unpacked by strangers. Over $99 I come and get it.
How It Works
Drop-Off in Colwood
Use my online form to book a private drop-off time. This ensures I can review your items with you personally when you arrive.
Approve Estimate
Once I have your project, I don't just process it. I inspect the condition of every tape and page. If I find something that needs special attention, I’ll call you.
Enjoy and Share
You'll get a private link to everything, and a USB drive to keep if you want one. You can finally watch your memories on your phone, tablet, or TV.
What a job starts at.
Bring a collection to the Colwood workshop and a job starts at $49. If the work comes to $99 or more I will drive out and collect it myself, and the drive is not a line on your bill. Either way you get a written figure before I start anything, and looking is free.
The workshop on Metchosin Road, about half an hour from Oak Bay. Over $99 I come and collect instead.
Questions From Around Here
I have glass slides and very old negatives. Can you handle those?
Yes, and they are done by hand rather than run through a feeder. Glass mounts, medium format negatives and anything brittle gets placed individually. Tell me what you have when you book so I can set aside the right amount of time.
Will you take my albums apart?
Not unless you ask. An old album with its captions and its order intact is worth more than the same photographs loose in a pile, so by default I scan the pages as pages. If you would rather have each photograph on its own, that is a different job and I will price it for you.
Before another generation forgets the names.
Once these are files, the rest of the family can look at them and tell you who is in them. Book a time and bring the oldest box first.