Just in Time for Christmas

Gazella Bethlenfalvy

Years ago, our neighbor Marta had brought back a photograph of her grandmother from Europe. Unfortunately the fragile photograph became damaged in the trip home. When viewing Norman's work she brought the picture to Norman to have it restored.

Usually this would be easy, however a ghost story is involved here. 

The original photograph was quite large so my husband Norman set up the camera on an overhead boom to keep the camera steady and to get a good shot of the fragmented picture. Norman is a bit psychic. He started to feel a female presence and noticed that the batteries in his camera kept draining. Often the shots turned out black. He managed to get one but the picture looked twisted at an angle.

I could hear his frustration from the other side of the house and came down to see what all the commotion was all about. 

He told me that she, "the hot grandma" as he calls her, was messing with him and he didn't know quite what to do. 

After giving it some thought I suggested a theory. If it was her, she was probably upset seeing her portrait in pieces in a strange house with strange people and not knowing what we were doing. I told him to talk with her and put her at ease; telling her that he was restoring her portrait for her granddaughter and making copies for all her grandchildren and great-great grand child.

Norman did just that and then shot the fragmented photograph with no problem. That was the end of the ghost part of the story.

Norman restored the photograph and printed it on archival paper and framed several versions for Marta's family for Christmas.

One large one that measures 20" x 24". Four medium at 9" x 12" and the small one for the great-grandchild at 5" x 7" with a tighter crop to keep the detail of the face.

A Christmas ghost story with a happy ending.