Image Perfect

Things have changed since my father built a “photoshop” on Green Street in the 1930’s. Though I grew up in a photographic family, even I didn’t understand how much the camera business has evolved until I spoke with Ritz Camera’s John Gordon, who is Southwest regional manager.

Ritz Camera is in the imaging business, Gordon says.

“That’s what our company is all about,” he says. “Helping our customers to find ways to display their images, share their images and save their images.”

Gordon makes a great point. Today, each of us is likely shoot pictures on a cellphone, a camera and a camcorder. He stresses that Ritz Camera helps you think through how you want to use your images, and then plan the best equipment and presentations.

“Sure, you can get good pictures from a cell phone and you can get good pictures from point and shoot cameras,  but you can great pictures from cameras that have an interchangeable lenses,” Gordon says. That’s the difference between wanting to show flip-through 4″ by 6″ snapshots or gorgeous photographs you might want to enlarge to a framed 24″ by 36″ print to display on a wall.”

Ritz is really in tune with much more than cameras (wherever they may be, in today’s techie world) but also with the ways different generations keep and use images.

Gordon has noticed that  “a lot of people take pictures these days and never print them, just keep them on their phone or on their camera, because memory cards are becoming so large. We want to help them find ways so that they can have something physical, a memory they can hold onto.  Looking at pictures – you  know, enjoying the experience a second time.”

To make this fun and easy, Ritz Camera created Ritzpix (www.ritzpix.com). This all purpose workhorse website allows people to upload images shot on all kinds of devices and convert them into beautiful prints. Ritz even developed mobile phone apps to make the process easier – but you can walk in to their store with just a memory card and they will take it from there, too.

Another great way to share images (and preserve them safely, too) is to use Ritz’s upload system as a way of safely storing those photos you’re accumulating on all your devices.

“We can store your pictures for you as a backup,” Gordon says. “Things happen a lot of times — you erase the memory card, or your computer crashes and you lose pictures.  So we offer that backup service free to our members via our membership deal. You’re given special discounts on products and you get rewards back, 5% rewards back on all your purchases of imaging products. You can use that to purchase additional imaging products!”

Store Manager Quade Story told me how technology has reinvented photography.

“Nowadays the current SLR’s (single lens reflex cameras) on the market are so easy to use that anybody can walk in, pick up a camera, put it on automatic and get an excellent shot every time.  The weight has come down, the price has come down, the size has come down a bit on them, but the main thing is they are easy to use and produce excellent image quality,” Story says, professorially..

Story recommends a good quality SLR for 2 common scenarios: parents with children who play sports, and travelers going on that big vacation.

For parents, Story says “Before you’d have to hire a photographer to come out and photograph  your child.  Now with the equipment we carry, you can do that yourself and get excellent results every time.  Of course, also vacation photos.  You’re going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe, an SLR is the way to go.  The pocket camera just really isn’t going to cut it.”

Video is coming on strong, too.

“Videos are becoming more and more popular,” Story notices. “Video camcorder pricing has come way down.  They’re all almost all high definition and very light.  No longer do you have a giant four or five pound camcorder you have to drag around with you.  It’s this little thing that will fit in your pocket almost.  So video is becoming very, very easy to use.”

All the new technology in the hands of people with so many different needs means Ritz Cameras must constantly train its associates.

“Associates can’t just know about cameras anymore. They have got to know about networks, they’ve got to know about the latest wireless. There are a lot different things they have to learn!” Gordon laughs. He’s been in the industry for 22 years and understands the vast changes.

“That’s what made our company successful over the years,” Gordon says. “Ritz Camera has continued to change with the technology.”

Ritz Camera is located at Foothill Rosemead Marketplace, 259 North Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena. Call  (626) 351-1685 or visit www.ritzpix.com.