My First Experience with West Coast Imaging
By DIY Maven
A couple of weeks ago I snubbed my nose at Target's photo processing department and embraced fine art processing. I've been taking photography classes for over six months now, and I've taken some nice pictures (IMHO), and I wanted to treat them in a way they deserved. I mean, this is art, right? So why not seek out a purveyor of processing that understands that? My search was easy, however. I just followed my photography instructor's advice and went to West Coast Imaging.
I don't know why, but I was nervous about submitting my order. Sizing the images gave me the yips; uploading the files made me tweaky; filling out the order form produced sweats. Ultimately, my attack of nerves resulted in filling out the order wrong. About an hour or less after I submitted it, I received a very nice letter from WCI's Candace explaining my error, which I quickly (and apologetically) responded to. About a half hour after that, I received my order confirm complete with order number and charges.
WCI ships FedEx. Of the available shipping types, I chose FedEx ground. Of course I received tracking information so I could 'watch' my order travel across country. It took about a week to arrive, and when it did, I was more than impressed.
First, my prints arrived in a shipping box. Each had been placed in a plastic bag, which was sealed and taped onto a heavy piece of cardboard. The cardboard pieces were sandwiched together and wrapped in bubble wrap. It goes without saying that they arrived in perfect condition.
Something I hadn't expected to come out of the whole process was how it made me feel about my 'art'. It was kind of humbling to see my photographs handled in such a respectful way. It also made me feel differently about my photography. Maybe I AM a good photographer. Maybe my images ARE worthy of such treatment. Maybe more than 'maybe'. I am and they are. (That was actually hard to write.)
So, to my fellow shutterbugs, if you haven't treated yourself or your art to such professional processing, I'd encourage you to do so. I'm sure Candace will be more than happy to take your order...and check it twice.
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Self-proclaimed Maven of DIY, I'm up for anything from gonzo rehab to dressing a room. Check...
Bruno
Yeah! Or at least post some photos in your Curbly account so we can see!
DIY Maven
Bruno...Not yet. Should I?
bruno
Maven, do you have a Flickr stream or something we can subscribe to?
Melanie Crutchfield
Hello!
My name is Melanie Crutchfield, and I work at West Coast Imaging. I came across this blog post and I can't tell you how happy I am for you. Certainly it's nice to know that we provided you with a quality print and our hard work continues to pay off. But mostly I'm reminded of why it's so great to do what we do; why I love working for Rich and Susan Seiling, whose dreams and passions bore our business.
There is no greater reward for a hard day's work than to know that you, the photographer, have been reminded of your value as an artist and of the value of your work. We are more than fortunate to see the work of so many gifted and passionate artists and it's this experience that makes the world such a lovely place.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I'll be sure to pass your kind words along to Candace (she's a keeper for sure!). My most heartfelt congratulations to you and your newfound sense of pride in your work. May you have many, many more days filled with that feeling.
Kind regards,
Melanie Crutchfield - melanie@westcoastimaging.com
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