• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 26, 2021

Last summer parts of Europe were devastated with some of the worst flooding in decades. Belgium, which recorded the worst flooding in its history, was particularly hard-hit..

Now Canon, ReStory and agency Happiness Brussels (allied with FCB) have launched a campaign to help flood victims restore some of the many thousands of photographs—and memories—that were lost and severely damaged in the floods.

The restoration of the images is a joint initiative between Canon, the Object Care laboratory and numerous volunteer digital retouchers. The photographs are restored to their original state as far as possible, using a drying and smoothing process, followed by manual digital corrections. All applications to restore pictures can be done at www.restory.photo.

“Of course, the severity is incomparable to the number of lives lost, and incomparable to the financial losses,” said Geoffrey Hantson, chief creative officer, Happiness Brussels. “But the emotional value of these photos is nonetheless very high. And there’s where we could help, together with Canon and other partners, restore as many of the damaged photographs as possible. To contribute in a small but relevant way to the emotional recovery of the region.”