BitShelter, a digital asset storage firm based in New York City, is helping Operation Photo Rescue (OPR) coordinate the restoration of thousands of photos that were damaged in Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. The company has donated the use of its PhotoShelter program, providing OPR's photographers, restoration volunteers and editors with a free multi-user account.
Operation Photo Rescue, a not-for-profit organization, employs 725 volunteer image retouchers who restore storm-damaged images.
During the restoration process, volunteers in the field use digital cameras to digitize the damaged photographs. The copied data are then uploaded to OPR's PhotoShelter archive, where the photos can be retouched. The restored images are then made available for delivery to the original owners free of charge.
The OPR archive on PhotoShelter contains approximately 1,100 images in need of retouching. Volunteers continue to register daily through the organization's website, operationphotorescue.com.