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WESTERN TRAILS PHOTOGRAPHY
Many of you reading this have been customers over the 10
years that Western Trails Photography was open and wonder what is he doing
where is he? Well I'm still here working out of my home doing portraits and
commercial work. My lab is even hooked up here so I do all my own printing
still. I still do all the Wickenburg sports, all school photos at Salome
High School and the DC ride plus three other rides New
Mexico and on the left coast (California). If you need portraits, photo
restoration or any other type of photo, please call.
The age of digital is upon us and its great news for the
consumer but not for the retailer which is why this one closed. I tried to
keep up with technology by adapting the old (1994) lab to do digital and it
did a great job but it was very slow. Now I'm stuck with a lease and its a
lot of fun working so you can pay a lease on equipment that is worthless.
Film equipment that cost over $80,000 can't even be given away! I've
tried! So digital is great. But is it?
I just love not having to process and print my photos
don't you? It sure is a lot easier and less expensive. But don't you miss
seeing the photos you take? They used to be in our briefcase, purse,
countertop, dinning table, dresser, coffee table, car, on our walls, even by
the toilet. But now they're just in my computer and the prints? Well I
have a $150 printer, inkjet, and well, the prints, they fade after 6 months
or so, and if I clean the heads, the prints aren't streaked. But boy I can
take a lot of photos can't I and store them on my HP! Well I've never
backed up my photos, don't need to...what could happen? CRASH! Well the
computer just became worthless and my photos? Yep you guessed it...gone!
It happened to a friend of mine. Not me! At least not yet. I do miss
seeing the photos all over the place and I miss showing them to my friends
but the slide shows are real neat. I'll have to show them to you next time
you're over. That never happens.
There's a lot of convenience in digital. But it does have
its drawbacks. How about all those scrapbooks your parents and grandparents
kept over the years. I have photos from the 1850's. I wonder what will
happen to the photos we take now? The digital ones. Will my great grand
kids see their grandparents, my kids, in photos? I'll never know. My
oldest is 10 and I'm 53. I hope to see my grand kids!
The most important thing you can do is print your
photos! ALL OF THEM! And burn and log them onto a CD. Or they will be
lost forever. Just like the 1000+ photos lost when my friends computer
crashed. I didn't make it up. When I had my store and digital was new, I
couldn't get my customers to print their photos and it is a national problem
for all photo finishers. Its called educating your customers. Hopefully
I've opened some eyes with this article and I will continue to write with
photo tips occasionally so keep your eye out for a new rambling. Oh yes and
by the way...film photos are better than digital!!!!! I'm sure that film
will be an art form if it already isn't.