Yosemite Open Despite Nearby Fires

Yosemite is still open, and despite the tragedy for those who are directly affected by the fire, the smoke presents many unique photographic opportunities.

Yosemite News Release
July 27, 2008
For Immediate Release
Yosemite National Park Remains Fully Open During Telegraph Fire Roads and facilities in Yosemite National Park remain open with limited impacts in Yosemite Valley due to the Telegraph Fire burning in Midpines, CA.

The fire, now burning about 16,000 acres in Mariposa County, required PG&E to turn off power lines that feed Yosemite Valley and the local community of El Portal. Generators in Yosemite Valley are keeping visitor services such as the Valley Visitor Center, lodging, restaurants, and stores open. The power outage has had no impact on services and facilities in Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona, White Wolf, and other park destinations. All roads into the park remain clear and open.

Visitors should expect some reduction in visibility and localized smoke in areas throughout Yosemite National Park. Visitors with respiratory conditions should avoid smoky areas and vigorous activity where heavy smoke is present.

For more information about the Telegraph Fire, visit www.fire.ca.gov or call 209/966-4784 or 209/966-4785

For more information on Yosemite National Park, visit the park website at www.nps.gov/yose or call 209/372-0200. (-NPS-)

Hurray for the Summertime Blues

Lightning and thunderstorms brought wildfires to our area on June 21, filling our community with smoke and fire fighters from several states. Thankfully, our local fires are now under control, and we're starting to see the summertime blues again - those wonderful, deep-blue skies that make the Sierra such an amazing place to photograph.

July brings us hot days and temperate nights - perfect for backpacking and photography. Brimming High Sierra lakes make for bountiful streams, which support a variety of mountain flowers, along with a few too many mosquitoes. And when the spectacular blue skies fade into night, you can cast your gaze upwards for a captivating view of the Milky Way.

There is no "bad" time to visit Yosemite, but if you want the magic of a high country summer, visit now. Grab your tent, get in your car, and head up the Tioga Road. Spending a few days absorbing the "good tidings" of the mountains is something you'll always be glad you did!

Case Study - Sean Bagshaw

Photographer: Sean Bagshaw - Ashland, Oregon

Project: Making gallery-quality prints of his adventure and landscape photographs

Camera/Film: Canon Digital dSLR; Canon Lenses

Goal: Making great prints, without the frustrations involved with printing on his own Epson Stylus PRO 7600 inkjet printer.

Read how WCI met Sean's needs on our website.

Eastern Sierra Photo Workshop with Sean Arbabi

Great Outdoor Images through Digital Exposure
October 2-5, 2008

West Coast Imaging is proud to sponsor Sean Arbabi's wonderful long-weekend workshop amongst the fall colors of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

Arbabi, an 18-year commercial travel photographer and industry expert, will provide dynamic lectures, field direction, and post-capture techniques. West Coast Imaging will also demonstrate techniques for making the highest-quality prints from your images.

Visit seanarbabi.com for complete details.

CSU Summer Arts Comes to a Close

Well, the CSU Summer Arts Digital Photography course has come to an end—the culmination of two weeks of intense photographic and printmaking study. The real pay off in courses like this is seeing all of your hard work in print, on the wall, for everyone to see. Today at 1pm in the Conley Gallery each student has displayed two of their photographs for each other and the public to enjoy.

It really is a great experience to watch the eyes of each artist open up to all of the possibility of digital photography and the tools that are available to them through a Photoshop workflow designed specifically for fine art printmaking.


Michael Jones and I would like to give a special thanks to Mark Larson and Jim Elferdink for allowing us to participate in this program the past two years. It is truly a pleasure and a privilege to work with such friendly, professional and genuine people. And a big congratulations to all of the students—happy printmaking!

Michael Jones at CSU Summer Arts

[Melanie IM'd me this update on Summer Arts to post.]

This is the second year that I've been assisting West Coast Imaging Printmaker Michael Jones as he wraps up the Digital Photography course in the CSU Summer Arts programs. This is such a great experience—being able to bring the printmaking workflow that WCI uses to make the most beautiful prints possible to photographers of all levels.

This has long been a passion of our staff. We strive to empower photographers, freeing them to make their photographs say what they want to say, in the most precise way possible. Whether we do this through our Custom Exhibition print service, or through our Photoshop tips for our Print Lab, or through passing on skills and knowledge to students at workshops like this—it's all about helping advance the art of photography.

If you've never heard about this nationally renowned program, take a moment to check out the website and mark your calendar for next year!

Photos courtesy Jim Elferdink.

Website Back Up - New Sale

Our website is back up, so we're moving forward and posting our latest scan sale.

WCI Website Problems

We're here in the office, our phones are working, our email is working, even our upload server is working, but since our website is down, it's hard for you to access many of the resources that you might need.

We're working with our hosting providers to resolve this as quickly as possible, but in the meantime, we have a lot of great people here who are happy to help if you call us toll-free at 800-799-4576.

If you need to upload files use this direct link to our upload server. If you would like to place an order, call us, and we will take your order over the phone...or send us an email at info@westcoastimaging.com, and we'll email you a PDF order form that you can fax to us.

Please keep in mind that we will be closed July 4, 5 and 6, in observance of Independence Day...but we'll be here, ready to work on your orders and answer your calls and emails at 9AM July 7th.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Have a safe and happy 4th of July!