Community Corner
Local Company Fixing Memories for Free
Snap Shots Unlimited is providing a service that restores tornado victims' damaged photos
Soon to be entering their 10th year in the photography business, Sarah and Dwayne Thomas are setting their Enfield business, Snap Shots Unlimited, apart from the rest of the photographers in town.
They are restoring damaged photographs of the for free.
“It’s not about how you afford to do this for free,” Dwayne Thomas said. “It’s about what’s right.”
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Thomas and his wife are accepting photos with watermarks, slight tears and other minimal damages to restore with the use of Photoshop.
Unfortunately, Thomas told us “there are photos we can’t fix,” but for those customers, the Thomas’ arrange for the family to sit for a formal portrait for free, with a complimentary 8x10 print.
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“We’re so close to what happened,” Thomas said about the tornado. “It could have been us and we would want someone to do this for us. Someone should do it, so that’s why we stepped in.”
Thomas told us the project was actually his wife’s idea.
Sarah happened upon a website that served as a lost and found for photos. People posted pictures that they found in the damages, and others claimed what was theirs.
“We decided to take it one step further,” Thomas said. “Ya know, I’m not a construction worker, but I can restore people’s memories.”
People are beginning to call Snap Shots Unlimited for their services, but “a lot of people are still finding out where they’re going to live,” Thomas said.
One client was hit “double hard.” After the tornado, she went into her house and got her photos, but when Thomas offered her the disc of her restored photos, she said that looters stole her computer, so she had no way of viewing them.
“There are a lot of people without insurance,” said Thomas.
It is obvious that Snap Shots Unlimited is not doing the free restoration for the profit, and Thomas said “it’s not about making us happy. It’s worth it in their gratification,” he said about his clients.
When your photos are restored by Snap Shots Unlimited, you are given a disc of your pictures for free, but printing will be at the client’s cost. Many locations such as Wal-Mart, Rite Aid and CVS have photo printing equipment.
Snap Shots Unlimited is located at 15 Coslin Rd. in Enfield, and Sarah and Dwayne can be contacted at 860-749-7468 for photo restoration or booking for a special event.
