Melvin J Chaney (1883-1954)
Melvin J. - 10 months to a year old?
After working on a few photographs of Melvin, I have come to the conclusion that he had a difficult time remaining completely still for a camera throughout his life. Shutter speeds were much slower back then, so when someone moved even slightly, as Melvin was apparently prone to do, the images seem to be irretrievably blurry.
Restoring photos requires getting zoomed in to the facial hairs if possible, and as I have seen in a few other photos, Melvin either has 2 sets of eyes or has them closed.
I could be completely wrong; it could just be coincidence that I have only encountered that phenomenon with Melvin while restoring these photos, but I thought it was interesting enough to share.
This photo can be fixed, but it will take time.
M. J. Chaney at the General Store
When I first zoomed into Melvin's face in this photo, I was mezmerized by the resemblance Greg has to him. By this time, I had been in contact with one of Greg's dear friends from high school and beyond and I "randomly" sent her the link to this photo without saying a word about my impressions. She replied back, "Oh wow! That looks like Greg! Who is that?"
Melvin, Bluford, Lura, and Lloyd
Carter James resembles Bluford in this photo.
