Aerial Views of Northwest Available From Spaceshots

Q I was very interested in the article on Spaceshots Inc. aerial photos(Jan. 21). I have seen similar and more spectacular photos in the Northwest of Portland/Mt. St. Helens and Vancouver/Victoria. I wonder if Spaceshots Inc. also markets those photos? What is the full line of pictures available and where can I find them?

WILLIAM SCHACKLEFORD

Seal Beach

A The column on Spaceshots Inc. generated a lot of response. There is something about spotting the location of your home or a favorite landmark or your route to work on the freeway that generates interest.

The photographs of the Northwest were produced by Advanced Satellite Productions, based in Vancouver, Canada. Spaceshots Inc. does sell its photographs through a joint agreement. Other areas for which such shots are available include Seattle, the Chesapeake Bay, Portland, Ore., Mt. St. Helens, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Reno.

Currently, the only locations produced by Spaceshots Inc. are San Diego, Los Angeles (which includes parts of Orange and Riverside counties), Boston and Washington.

Here is a partial list of retail outlets for Spaceshots Inc.: Clines Hallmark at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, A-1 Stationery in Huntington Beach, Laguna Books in Laguna Beach, International Aviation at John Wayne Airport, Deck the Wall at Brea Mall and Corner Drug in Seal Beach. Spaceshots Inc. is based in Seal Beach but has a phone number in the Los Angeles directory. For more information you can call (800) 272-2779.

Q I am a serious amateur photographer and recently bought a Leica R6 camera. My biggest problem is mastering the technical side. I have encountered a problem that no one seems to have an answer for.

I take photos to have them printed, framed, shared and enjoyed. However, the 4-by-6-inch prints made from my 35-millimeter slides invariably return cropped on both the side and bottom, never full frame. These, of course, are machine-processed prints. I have talked to the high-volume developing labs and they have no solution. Other camera labs that do hand processing are very expensive.

Is there any way to get 4-by-6 or 5-by-7-inch prints from slides that are full frame at a reasonable cost?

MARIAN JONES

Corona del Mar

A Sorry, but you’re out of luck. Unfortunately the frame of a 35-mm. slide does not have the same proportions as a 4-by-6 or 5-by-7-inch print. You must use the more expensive custom services to have your prints made full frame.

The high-volume photo developing stores use machines that give you a print in a short amount of time but with a minimum of flexibility. This is done to keep the price low for consumers.

To get the high quality printing, or printing that does not fit a standard shape, you have to go to a custom lab and this can be expensive because the picture is printed by hand rather than machine. You also have to factor in the time that is spent cropping and adjusting the print.

Perhaps you can get around this by not cropping or framing your picture so tightly. However, there is still some risk in that you have no idea which side of the picture the machine will crop off.