SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - During her career that spans eight decades, Twyla Cecil has photographed three presidents, countless heads of state and movers and shakers of all kinds. Yet her favorite subjects are children.
"We still photograph children. We're the only ones I think maybe in the world even that still produce these panels. They are very difficult to print," Twyla said.
Cecil's House of Photography on India Street chronicles the history of the captured image, all the way back to the mid-1800s. There are pictures from Mission Beach taken in the 1920s.
"Those swimsuits were wool," Twyla said.
Painstakingly restoring old damaged photos is a specialty at Cecil's.
"A lot of times, even if they are wet and stuck together, we can take them apart," Twyla said.
Each image is repaired on the computer, then transferred to a 4x5 negative, then processed to a finished reproduction.
"Permanence to me is so important. It's so sad families pay a lot of money for a color photograph they have today that they won't have to hand down to their grandchildren," Twyla said.
At age 91, Twyla Cecil still works in a dark room and doesn't think much of your fancy digital camera.
"Eastman some time ago said, 'Digital has set back photography 100 years,'" she said.
Twyla Cecil continues to take photographs inside her Little Italy studio with a lifetime of experience, a keen eye and passion for preservation.