Mastercolor Labs - Photo Printing - Digital Photography Services - Giclee - Canvas Prints - Photo Preparation

Back to School

cwright — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:00:16 +0000

Well Labor Day has come and gone, all the summer clothes are now stored until next Memorial Day and life is starting to feel a little more normal. I love summer, I really do, but come each Labor Day I am usually exhausted. Our summer has been filled with lots of fun trips, great times shared with friends and family, and more cook-outs and tomato pie than I care to count. I have never been so excited to attend a back to school night in my life. I guess I would feel differently about saying goodbye to my kids during the active mid day hours if I felt they were actually dreading going to school (the way I did), but when the first carpool door flew open and my kids burst out of my car without even saying a word, it actually made me feel happy. On this special day I exchanged the "I love you daddy" my daughter normally leaves me with for the kids' laughter as they departed my car running after friends. Hearing their laughter made me feel even better because I knew that they were happy with the school we had chosen. At Mastercolor "Back to School" also has another special meaning: "Back to printing lots of pictures". Don't get me wrong, we love printing your vacation proofs, a canvas gallery wrap from your favorite scenic spot, and seeing all the wonderful places our customers have traveled when we print their photo books using our ROES software, but nothing makes me happier than strolling through the plant and seeing "units" pour out of the machines.

Life CAN Imitate Art

cwright — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:57:19 +0000

You know I have always heard how life can imitate art. Never meant much too me since in my mind as an average photographer, any art I created through my favorite hobby of photography was created from real life events or things that I had captured with my camera. Well my opinion changed this week. As I was hustling around trying to prepare our August 1st online news letter (sign up for it on the front page of our site), trying to pay all bills that will become due next week, trying to end and reward the winners of our "Sunset" photo contest all my mind could think of was vacation! Yep, I am outta here for 5 days to visit my aunt & uncle and their generous offer to share the old family house at on of the most beautiful places on this earth, MARTHA'S VINEYARD! The place where I captured my favorite image of my children to date, where I proposed to my wife at Gay Head , the place where I learned to fear the water like no other, the place where I saw them film JAWS. Yes life is imitating art. Shortly after telling a friend of mine that I was headed to the Vineyard, he said with a sly grin, "You have heard about the shark warnings in the area, haven't you?" I realized (with that sudden rush over my body like the one Chief Brody felt when relaxing on State Beach and the first cries of a shark attack whizzed through the air) that yes I was taking my family to the same spot where I watched the movie JAWS being filmed. In 1974 I was pulled around by my grandmother to watch as many scenes being filmed as possible, including "the boy on the raft".

BE PREPARED, BE PREPARED....

cwright — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:20:40 +0000

Yesterday I had a good friend of mine stop by our location to pick up a nice order he had placed for Canvas Gallery Wraps of his children. My friend had ordered 29 16x20 or larger to decorate his house with, and after my many grateful thanks, we talked about the pictures he had captured and some of the problems we had in printing them. When he initially emailed his files to me, many were low resolution, so we had to track them back to the original files.

"Roll film sure made it easier"

cwright — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:35:36 +0000

There is nothing better about getting together with old friends. Last night I enjoyed some slices of wonderful pizza and a few beers with some of my best childhood friends at a new Pizza place here in Greensboro, The Corner Slice. Excellent food at a great price, and you can read about it here. Half of this group was in town for the High Point Furniture Market, and the rest of us were just out to see our old buddies.

Spring is here, FINALLY!!!

cwright — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:07:21 +0000

I think the thing I like the most about Spring is CHANGE. "Change" is all around us. I would be lying if I said business was "as usual" during the cold of January and February, but the fact is time seems to be standing still during these cold winter months. However, one of the positives that comes with the lack of orders flowing through our plant is we can plan for change, determine what changes are needed, and implement changes in the services we extend to our customers. To prepare for the future at Mastercolor we decided we needed a new printer that could print more 8x10s per hour to meet our commercial needs, but also a printer that could add something to our line that we have been lacking. Starting May 1st we will be offering affordable panoramic prints sizes 8"x24" to 12"x36". We recently attended the Carolina Nature Photographers Association convention and one of the main request we received was for us to offer volume pricing on panoramic prints, so please check back with us in May, or join our Email list to receive future notifications about our specials. Change is not limited to the business decisions happening in the office. Step outside, notice the changes all around you. I walked out of our office yesterday and looked at a beautiful dogwood in the front lawn of Mastercolor. All winter this dogwood looked as if it was not going to make it, but yesterday confirmed my hopes, the buds are on the limbs, and the blooms are right around the corner. What have you taken a picture of recently or in years past that let you know that Spring is/was finally here?

March Madness comes in a timely fashion

cwright — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:36:03 +0000

I'm not sure who coined the term "March Madness", but I do not think there could be a more accurate term for such a grand event. It is the time of year where every school in the Division One Basketball has the chance to make it to the Dance. It comes at a time of year where my work is Maddening: "Why don't you people buy pictures in January and February?" Don't feel bad you are not alone, nobody buys photos during these months. The Holidays are over, it's cold, most have not seen the sun in four months, your nose is red from the cold you caught from your child's friend for the third time, so there just are not a lot of pretty pictures taken in the first two months on the calendar. During this maddening time of year Mastercolor gets to re invent itself, and plan for the future and to better our company. New technology is introduced each year at the annual PMA show, we meet new friends at conventions like the Carolina Nature Photographers Association,PPSC, or the Jackson Photographic Society, the madness of winter offers a new beginning for our company in the same way the NCAA tournament lends fresh new hope to every team in early March. The Madness is everywhere! Office pools, online hosting sites have contest, friends are ribbing one another, I find it hard to work without checking Inside Carolina to read the latest on the UNC team. Today when I logged on to Facebook there were five links all taking me to an interview with my Page High School classmate and friend Ken Jeong as he tries to explain the passion of March Madness here on Tobacco Road. I just can't seem to get away from it, and I am loving every minute of it!

Where is your first digital camera?

cwright — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:27:32 +0000

If you are like most, you rode the excitement wave of digital cameras right after you bought your new computer to avoid any Y2K issues TEN YEARS AGO. Can you believe it has been ten years? You remember your first digital camera, you know the 1.5 mega pixel camera that finally released the shutter 2.4 seconds after you pushed the button. The one that supplied more pictures of your subject half out of the frame than it did with them smiling for the photographer.

Well now that digital cameras are at rock bottom prices you are probably collecting your old cameras and chargers in a drawer for the day you are going to "need" them. Let's be honest, that day will never come. It is estimated that the average household has 3-4 old digital cameras collecting dust in their home. Your top of the line Pentex Optio 3.2 that fits inside of an Altoids case can not hold a candle to what you can now buy for under a hundred bucks. So what are you going to do with all of these? Someone has to want them, right? ...YES! you are correct.

How would it feel to make a real change in the world?

cwright — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:54:36 +0000

This is a question that I have asked myself all weekend leading up to today: February One. Fifty years ago today four brave young men stood up for what the believed in and what was right " EQUALITY". Fifty years ago today Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond walked into Woolworth's in downtown Greensboro North Carolina and took a seat at the lunch counter to be served as equals to the surrounding white customers in this once small town. I have heard this story my entire life, I have seen the name on the street in downtown Greensboro recognizing this accomplishment, but it is just recently that I have come to realize how proud I am that this happened in my hometown. Greensboro is in a celebratory state marking this 50 year anniversary of the historic event. The Civl Rights Museum is opening it's doors and political figures from all over the country are joining in to celebrate at the location where the race barrier was broken down. National papers are here, there is a wonderful story on the event in this month's Smithsonian magazine. Owen Edwards of the Smithsonian does a wonderful job of retelling the story of the Woolworth's sit-in as well as interviews from the four North Carolina A&T students who created this social awareness. The story grew national attention through the wonderful photography of Jack Moebes who was a photographer for the Greensboro News and Record, and was also one of Mastercolor Labs' first customers. The following photograph became the face of the sit-in:

Back-up your Data!!

cwright — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:28:07 +0000

Well it is that time of year ago. The ringing in my head caused by the ringing of the front door are gone. The Holidays are behind us, it is time to move forward into the new year and better every aspect of our lives that we can.

The Perfect Christmas Gift.

cwright — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:41:12 +0000

You can never go wrong by giving someone a photo of someone or somewhere they love. There are many suggestions of how to present the perfect gift for little money: