Instax 210 | Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay

A few instax frames Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay a while ago.

FP-3000B | Negatives VS Positives

The negatives are like the RAW files, and the positives are like the compressed jpegs!
Left: Scanned positives; Right: Scanned negatives

Personal: Missing Fedex Package

I'm not about to lose $461. I just needed some place to document all of this for myself as I try to get my money back and figure out what's going on.

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On December 17, 2013 I placed an order for a Nikon SB-910 flash from EZCorp through Amazon. The order number is #116-2617700-3213817.

On December 23, 2013 a package arrived but it was the wrong item. I received a Nikon SB-900 flash, not a Nikon SB-910.

I immediately contacted the seller wanting to return the item and get a refund. I was given a Fedex Ground Email Label Login to print out a return label to attach to the package to be returned. The EZCorp team member's name was Darla Broome-DeLisser. She gave me a tracking number for the return label: 575798615007680

Login: AnnieHall

Password: TaifUy18Uu

On December 26, 2013 I printed out the return label from the Fedex website (which said the login would expire within 5 days) and dropped it off at an authorized Fedex drop off center – In and Out Center Plus. 15902A Halliburton Road, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745. The woman working at the drop off center seemed preoccupied on the phone and motioned for me to leave it in a corner marked “Fedex”.

On January 3, 2014: Having no record of the tracking number on Fedex's system, I emailed Darla and told her the situation and asked what steps I should take. I received no response.

On January 7, 2014: I went into In and Out Center Plus in person with my boyfriend Tyler and asked the people working there if they knew anything. They said they were not responsible for dropped off packages, and that Fedex comes every day at 4pm to pick up the packages left for them in their corner. Their tone was rude and unhelpful. Tyler noted that In and Out Center Plus had surveillance cameras.

That same day, I called Fedex and told them about my problem. They gave me a case number 0107147590.

On January 13, 2014: I filed a claim with Amazon and detailed the situation. They denied my claim on January 15, 2014, saying that the seller had no record of me returning the item and thus could not give me a refund. I continue calling Fedex about my case #0107147590 – no one has picked it up or nothing has been resolved.

On January 16, 2014: I called Fedex and talked to a man named Michael and asked if he could pull up some record or copy of my original Return label login. He said that was not possible because of the sheer volume of labels generated. 

I called In and Out Center Plus and asked if they had security cameras at their location and they said no. After some heated words, they continued denying responsibility for any packages dropped off. 

I spoke to Fedex Curtis via email and they were unable to help me because they had no record of the package ever being picked up / scanned into the system. Curtis suggested I talk directly to In and Out Center Plus.

I spoke online with Fedex Julie and they were unable to help me, though they confirmed that the Fedex station responsible for servicing the Hacienda Heights area is located at 200 Old Ranch Road, City of Industry, CA 91789 and that Fedex's authorized drop off locations are independently owned and thus having surveillance cameras are up their own management, not Fedex's.  

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Currently, there are two different scenarios I can see:

1. In and Out Center Plus misplaced/stole my package. Their rude/defensive shopowners don't help their case.

2. Fedex driver that was responsible for picking up the packages from In and Out Center Plus took the package for himself. In and Out Center Plus argues that without fail, a Fedex driver comes in at 4pm to pick up the packages.

Either way, the package was not scanned and thus never made it into Fedex's tracking system. Fedex is completely and utterly powerless without an existing tracking number.

-- UPDATE: Januay 17, 2014 --
Someone asked if I got the serial number for the wrong flash sent to me, and THANK GOODNESS I did. I was taking a photo of it when I first opened the box to show Tyler that I received a flash, and luckily it captured the serial number as well, though since I shot it with my iPhone it's kind of hard to tell:
226352B?


Darla from EZCorp emailed me and confirmed that the tracking number is correct, but it never made it into the Fedex system.

Lately...

Just a few instants since 2014 started...

These images were quickly pulled from my instagram (http://instagram.com/annie__hall) Since I usually grab the Instax 210 and/or the Nikon FM when I go out hiking or just personal events, I procrastinate at getting them digitized, though I just recently got myself an Epson V600 scanner!

Instax really needs a good amount of sunlight to get a good image. It didn't shine too well in the overcast bits of a park, so my friends and I drove up to the top of the hills, literally chasing light.


I think this is the first time I used the Instax 210 for an indoor event, at my dad's birthday party. Best to set the exposure to 'L' for "Lighter" to compensate for that direct flash + tiny aperture that usually darkens the background to a black oblivion. I also brought the Mamiya RB67 with polaroid back and some FP-3000B. The instant films were a big hit! Even the waiters commented on them.


I kept the negatives to scan later.


iPhone boxes are the perfect size for temporarily storing instant film. I'll need to scan all of these soon. I actually ordered some 3.5"x5" sheet protectors to assemble my own instant film album. :)


Update: Just received my 3x5" x 5" sheet protectors as I was writing this blog post!