Every morning at 7:30 a.m. Mr. Borelli gets his cup of coffee and walks to the mostly abandoned Dills Department Store Center at 521 Market St., Parkersburg, W.Va. The Main department store closed down in the late 1980s due to the deterioration of d

Every morning at 7:30 a.m. Mr. Borelli gets his cup of coffee and walks to the mostly abandoned Dills Department Store Center at 521 Market St., Parkersburg, W.Va. The Main department store closed down in the late 1980s due to the deterioration of downtown Parkersburg, largely attributed to the building of the Grand Central Mall and the business section of Vienna, W.Va. just a few miles down the road. Only his studio and a lawyer’s office remain in the building.

A sign is left on the front door of Mr. Borelli’s studio letting people know he will be opening at 9:30. He is located in the basement of the Dils Center. He normally does his picture printing before he opens so not to be disturbed by people coming

A sign is left on the front door of Mr. Borelli’s studio letting people know he will be opening at 9:30. He is located in the basement of the Dils Center. He normally does his picture printing before he opens so not to be disturbed by people coming in. He is no longer able to remember with clarity his printing process if he is disturbed.

Sel Wig from Parkersburg, W.Va. brings in some old 4x5 negatives for Mr. Borelli to print. Very few places still exist to where prints from negatives like this can be commercially reproduced.

Sel Wig from Parkersburg, W.Va. brings in some old 4x5 negatives for Mr. Borelli to print. Very few places still exist to where prints from negatives like this can be commercially reproduced.

Mr. Borelli lines up an 8x10 negative to get ready to make a contact strip for the correct exposure.

Mr. Borelli lines up an 8x10 negative to get ready to make a contact strip for the correct exposure.

Mr. Borelli dodges a partial image in his darkroom using the timer’s ticks to count how long he has changed his print exposure using this method.  This method for printing news images is no longer practiced in today’s high tech world, but Mr. B

Mr. Borelli dodges a partial image in his darkroom using the timer’s ticks to count how long he has changed his print exposure using this method.  This method for printing news images is no longer practiced in today’s high tech world, but Mr. Borelli believes that creating your images this way is much more personable and historically important for people to know.

Mr. Borelli’s darkroom looks like any traditional darkroom that was a staple for most professional photographers for almost 100 years. He proudly keeps the tradition alive and does not even own a computer or does anything on Photoshop.

Mr. Borelli’s darkroom looks like any traditional darkroom that was a staple for most professional photographers for almost 100 years. He proudly keeps the tradition alive and does not even own a computer or does anything on Photoshop.

Using a book made of cotton, Mr. Borelli dries his prints flat in the book before he finally hangs them up.

Using a book made of cotton, Mr. Borelli dries his prints flat in the book before he finally hangs them up.

Mr. Borelli falls asleep waiting for some of his pictures to wash and before he opens the studio. The darkroom is the only place with heat in the basement and where he can comfortably rest when no one is there and he waits to hang up his pictures.

Mr. Borelli falls asleep waiting for some of his pictures to wash and before he opens the studio. The darkroom is the only place with heat in the basement and where he can comfortably rest when no one is there and he waits to hang up his pictures.

(l-r) Joyce Stephens, Bill Butler, and Marvin Kerr look at Mr. Borelli’s collection. They occasionally visit the studio and talk to him about possibly moving his studio to a better location.

(l-r) Joyce Stephens, Bill Butler, and Marvin Kerr look at Mr. Borelli’s collection. They occasionally visit the studio and talk to him about possibly moving his studio to a better location.

Mr. Borelli (center) talks with Marvin Kerr, Bill Butler, Abby Hayhurst, and Joyce Stephens (left to right) from the Parkersburg, W.Va. Art Center. They talk about moving Mr. Borelli above ground where he would see more traffic and not be in a basem

Mr. Borelli (center) talks with Marvin Kerr, Bill Butler, Abby Hayhurst, and Joyce Stephens (left to right) from the Parkersburg, W.Va. Art Center. They talk about moving Mr. Borelli above ground where he would see more traffic and not be in a basement where the piping leaks and is always cold.

Not only Does Mr. Borelli have a large depository of images, he has also collected many maps of Parkersburg that date back to the early 1900s. Tracy Bakic (right) from the West Virginia Division of Highways is a structural historian and is documenti

Not only Does Mr. Borelli have a large depository of images, he has also collected many maps of Parkersburg that date back to the early 1900s. Tracy Bakic (right) from the West Virginia Division of Highways is a structural historian and is documenting old buildings in downtown Parkersburg that may soon be torn down due to their environmental hazards.

Looking for mid-century pictures of the Parkersburg High School Big Red Band, Parkersburg, W.Va. resident Rodney Moore (right) talks to Mr. Borelli to see what he has in regards to old band pictures.

Looking for mid-century pictures of the Parkersburg High School Big Red Band, Parkersburg, W.Va. resident Rodney Moore (right) talks to Mr. Borelli to see what he has in regards to old band pictures.

Trying to combat people illegally reproducing his images, Mr. Borelli now stamps every photograph with a copyright.

Trying to combat people illegally reproducing his images, Mr. Borelli now stamps every photograph with a copyright.