A new photography hub in Newport is helping Islanders rescue old photographs, print new ones and preserve family memories for future generations.
When the Island Photo Centre shops disappeared from the High Street, many Islanders thought the days of printing and restoring photographs locally were over.
Now, a new venture in the county town is helping to fill that gap.
The Island Photo Community Hub, based at 64 High Street in Newport, has been created to ensure the Isle of Wight still has a dedicated place for photographic services and advice.
The project is run by experienced photographer Chris Barton, a familiar face to many Islanders after years working as branch manager at Island Photo Centre.
With more than 40 years in the photography industry, Barton has brought many of the services people relied on back to the High Street, from everyday printing to specialist restoration of historic photographs.
Chris describes the hub as a place designed for the whole community.
“It’s a photo services emporium and imaginarium… a place to go for anything to do with photo and printing or reproduction services.”
While modern smartphones mean most pictures now live digitally, thousands of older photographs across the Isle of Wight still exist only as prints, slides or negatives stored away in cupboards, albums and attic boxes.
Old seaside holidays in Sandown, family gatherings in Newport, school photographs, weddings and snapshots of streets that have long since changed or disappeared can all be found among these collections.
But photographs fade, film deteriorates and slides become difficult to view.
At the hub, these images can be scanned, digitally restored and reprinted, allowing family photographs that may be decades old to be preserved and shared with future generations.
The service is already attracting Islanders bringing in historic family pictures, including old slides, negatives and even antique glass plates.
For many residents, the hub represents the return of a much-missed local service.
For decades, Island Photo Centre shops in Newport and Ryde were places where people could print their holiday photos, collect passport pictures or seek advice about cameras and film.
The new venture aims to restore that tradition. Services include photo printing from phones or cameras, passport and visa photographs, scanning of slides and negatives, restoration of damaged images, video transfer from old tapes to digital formats and camera sensor cleaning.
Located inside the Newport and Carisbrooke Community Hub building on the High Street, the project is also intended to become a meeting point for local photography enthusiasts.
Chris believes the hub will encourage Islanders to dig out their old photographs and preserve them before they disappear completely.
Many historic pictures of the Isle of Wight survive only in family albums and private collections.
Residents with old photographs of Island life, whether family portraits, village scenes or snapshots of streets and businesses long gone, are encouraged to bring them in to be scanned and preserved for the future.
