PANOPTICON IMAGING:
Picture perfect
~ by Maurajane Rogers
It is a question most of us have waxed hypothetically: in the event of an emergency, say the house is on fire and you have the smallest window of opportunity, what do you grab right before you run? God willing, you never have to put it to the test and of course, after all living things, but there it is. What could you take with you if you had but a fleeting moment? It could be said the first response would be photographs, our photo albums, and the visual history of all that we love. Photographs have an outrageous ability to jolt us out of a reverie and to make us weep with remembrance. The preservation and display of the art of our lives is what Paul Sneyd lives for. No matter the type of memory you want to develop, display, or restore, Panopticon Imaging will provide you with a beautiful vessel.
At Panopticon Imaging, there are wizards at work. The demonstrated level of care and safekeeping for what they are entrusted with is, at the risk of sounding trite, surprising and honestly invigorating. The man in the darkroom known as Paul Sneyd is a man who truly and unabashedly loves his work. For knocking on three decades he has gone into the darkroom bringing memories to beautiful life. His work is laudable and demonstrates with candor his respect for the subject. Arguably, the only thing more precious than our loved ones are the tangible memories of them we hold on to. Panopticon goes far, far beyond the old photo. All at once, they at Panopticon are scientists, photographers, craftsmen, not to mention veritable digitized brains. It would be remiss to omit they are artists and gentleman. There is love in their work and it shows.
The breadth of knowledge and skill at Panopticon Imaging, situated at 5 Pond Park Road, Hingham, is impressive. The talented creative team offers a mind boggling scope of services and options. While the majority of the pieces brought in by clients are photographs, be it digital or film, there is virtually nothing that the team cannot create for presentation and framing, from massive landscape reproduction to invitations and greeting cards. Wondering what to do with that old collection of baseball cards? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to share them somehow without actually giving them away because, while they may be worth a king’s ransom to you, it’s likely you’re the person lamenting in the feedback booth on Antiques Roadshow. “Thanks Grandpa, but your ‘priceless’ bequeathed collection was more ‘less’ than ‘price’.” Whether a signed photograph, a cherished totem, a concert t-shirt that was lucky enough to get sharpied or an x-ray that begs the question, WHAT happened here? If you want them stunningly preserved and presented, you’ve come to the right place. Paul has had 28 years to fine tune his skill and continually sharpens his craft and technical knowledge. Add to that a sprinkling of additional sage wisdom of life lessons and you find a person who knows the true value of memories. Panopticon Imaging will house your memory in an outstanding display of craftsmanship, beautifully preserving your treasured moment in time.
In Sneyd’s workshop, which is his office and also his studio (or is it a gallery?) you will see, amidst the tools of the trade, the works of local and national photographers. From Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Stanley Forman (that infamously indelible image which has the power to repel and attract simultaneously), to Isa Leshko’s animals that will make you sigh and Larry Pratt’s vivid images of light and shadows; is that a tree? A nude? At our first meeting, Sneyd was engrossed in an ongoing project for Apple Corporate Headquarters, giving me the chance to digest dramatic, spectacular and cleverly displayed images that are seen by hundreds, nay, thousands of people. With a client base that includes museums, libraries, galleries and historical societies, the finished products are teeming with quality. Archival paper, museum glass, UV glass, one-on-one customer guidance with digital technicians all comes standard at Panopticon Imaging. From private homes to museum halls, presentation is everything rings loud and true.
From professional photo-graphers, to painters and collectors to the point-and-click everyday man, Panopticon Imaging offers museum-quality framing and matting with archival supplies to protect and preserve, as well as design marketing services in the forms of postcards and business cards and even unique invitations. Perhaps someone you know is having a big birthday this year and you’ve waited a long time to use that wickedly terrible (all in good fun, of course) picture of them. Bring it to Panopticon Imaging and you will be amazed and delighted at what is possible: photo restoration, giclee printing, darkroom services and more. Restoring, scanning and printing old negatives which have deteriorated over time (as will inevitably happen) is another fast growing aspect of imaging reproduction. For Paul, working in the darkroom is perhaps the most calming and exciting place to be. “It forces me to slow down and really be in the moment as the picture develops; to take the time necessary to make it come to life.” It is this careful attention to detail carried over to each client that has served Sneyd well.
While the mind’s eye will register and discard innumerable, unfathomable images, it is the artist and photographer who capture those images. There isn’t an image that can’t be coaxed onto paper more beautifully than when done by Paul Sneyd’s team. Paul thanks each and every client who crosses his threshold and grants that client continuous opportunity to enlarge his sphere, to stretch his imagination and to gain appreciation for beauty on a myriad of levels.
We are lucky to have this hidden gem, Panopticon Imaging, right here on the South Shore. Whether the image is a photograph, a print, a painting, a simple charcoal sketch or a relic of some part of our life, Paul Sneyd will carefully create a finished product that will last decades. Some images deserve such respect and Panopticon Imaging delivers.
Panopticon Imaging can be found at the convenient location of 5 Pond Park Road in Hingham, Massachusetts and online at www.Panopticonimaging.com. Check them out on Facebook or give them a call at 781.740.1300.
PANOPTICON IMAGING
5 Pond Park Road
Hingham, Massachusetts 02043
781.740.1300
