A different kind of day at the gallery

Today was a day off from the “regular” job.  What to do with that type of day?  Well, how about hang out at the gallery and work with the printer?  Yeah, I could do that.  Heck, I did that.

On the scale of a long day, today was a very long day.  I spent the bulk of the day running prints.  Don’t get all excited.  I’m back logged right now, and I’ll be getting to some more prints very soon.  Today I had to put aside what I had planned to do for the business and instead do something else.

Yesterday I was approached by a co-worker regarding another co-worker.  One of the guys that works with me had a loss in his family.  His younger sister lost her life in a car accident.  She was way too young.

The question posed to me was a simple one.  Could I do a set of prints for the memorial and funeral?  Pretty simple answer.  You don’t turn down that kind of request.  You do what you can to be helpful and supportive of the family.  So I said yes and made plans to get together with my co-worker at the gallery this morning.

My friend stopped in today, brought a portable drive with him, and we loaded photos.  He had a few friends with him for support and that was good.  He was the one who sorted through his sister’s computer for the files.  That couldn’t be an easy task.

After everyone left I got to work.  I did a slew of smaller photos, some mediums, and one larger print.  The systems worked well, both printers stayed busy, and mostly I kept myself close by to swap papers and change cartridges in the 13×19 printer.

The new Z3100 proved itself out as well.  The image quality is GREAT (I’ll write about usage at a later time).  The user (me) still has a little to learn regarding the interface, but I muddled through like a champ in the end and got the results necessary for my personal standards.  I wished I had some larger format images to deal with, but the software suite I’d gotten for resizing worked well.

Mid-afternoon my friend returned with his parents to pick up the bulk of the prints.  I gave my condolences, but I’m sure at this moment they mean little.  It’s a hard thing to lose a child.  I haven’t experienced it, but I’ve been close to several people who have.

I was glad and sad at the same time to be of help.  I spent a good bit of the morning sorting photos and picking what I thought would make good an memorable images in print.  What I selected showed a vibrant young person ready to head out into the world.  The family was glad with the selections, but of course broke down while looking through the prints.  I figured that would happen, but it still surprised me and caught me off balance.  Sorting the photos had rattled me as well, so hugs and tears were prevelant.

Gotta say, the printer came at just the right time.  I’m glad I could help a family that wanted to memorialize their daughter.  Most certainly I wish somebody had come with a happier project.  Nonetheless, I’m happy that I had the tools available to give a hand during a difficult time.

Tomorrow is another day, and I can only guess what will be next on the horizon.  At some point I’ll provide photos of the print room, printer, the computer setup, etc.  I would have compiled all of that today, but a more important task was in front of me.

Be safe all!