Hello and Welcome!
I'm Kim Lazernik
My interest in photo scanning developed into a passion in 2007, almost by accident... my parents were about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, and I wanted to do something memorable for them. Unbeknownst to them, I had been sifting through many years worth
of their photos, looking for all the pictures I could find of them as a couple, starting from their wedding day all the way through the grandparents they are today. I digitized all the photos, then created a beautiful DVD slideshow accompanied by "their song". My parents loved it, and the slideshow is a gift that they still cherish to this day.
I discovered while making the slideshow that I also enjoyed the process of scanning the photos. It was exciting to see old pictures that had been long forgotten come to life as I digitized them, and to see each one displayed full size on the computer screen where some of the originals may have been very small.
At the time I was making the slideshow, I had recently left my 16 year career as a software tester, and started my own company, Virtual Computer Services. I was primarily focused then on my work as a Virtual Office Assistant, but added photo scanning to the list of services I offered.
In 2009 I was very fortunate to have been contacted by a writer from the Washington Post, who was writing an article about Virtual Assistants, which was a fairly new profession at the time. The article mentioned my photo scanning services as well as my work as a virtual assistant, and it helped attract new clients in both areas.
I was honored to have been contacted by Wild Life Productions to digitize a unique collection of WWII photos that a local man had. The photos were used in a documentary they produced called "Hunt for the Samurai Subs", which aired on National Geographic's Expeditions Week in 2009. A trailer can be seen here.
As I delved more into digitizing photos and continued to learn more, I realized that scanning photos is what actually brought me the most joy in my work! I decided to switch the focus of my business to scanning photos, slides, negatives, and other personal mementos. I eventually added slideshows and document scanning to my list of services.
It gives me great joy to help people by taking their entire life's history in photos, and transfer them to a digital format that can passed along to their family and loved ones. I love adding a personal touch to my work, and enjoy meeting with each client to discuss their particular project. I make every effort to accommodate any special requests a client may have.
At this time, I am beginning to expand my offerings to include labeling photos after they're scanned to identify the people in them, and creating photo projects such as collages, photo books, and photo documents.
Virtual Computer Services, Silver Spring MD (301) 438-3140 Kim@creative-alternative.com