USA: Camera shop is old-fashioned bastion in digital age

. MIAMI, Florida / Miami Herald / February 23, 2009 Camera shop is old-fashioned bastion in digital age By Ana Veciana-Suarez Enter George Zima's tiny photo shop prepared for a stroll down memory lane -- and a comprehensive lesson in the history of photography. The second-floor office space in a nondescript Palmetto Bay building is chockablock with cameras, lenses, slide projectors and accessories for the tried-and-true 35 mm buff. Aptly named Forever 35, Zima's cozy nook is where film -- that so very 20th century idea of emulsion and negatives and darkroom -- is making its last stand. ''It's a Don Quixote thing,'' admits Zima, speaking of this bastion for single lens reflex photography. ``I know it's a losing battle because digital is the wave of the future. But I want to think 35 mm is not dead. Film is not dead.'' That said, Zima -- photographer, pianist, pilot, avid boater and collector of antique cars -- is not giving up. Film photography, which he mastered as an adolescent in Argentina, remains his first love. As Miami's only Leica dealer, he carries the brand's digital line, and he even admits to ''liking very much'' the V-Lux 1. He used it, his first digital, during a European trip last year. ''This is an incredible camera, so lightweight, so easy,'' he says. ``On my trip I could use it in any kind of lighting, any kind of distance. And then I put my card in my Sony printer, and there, just like that, I have my photographs.'' Nevertheless, Zima, 58, remains a ''diehard'' film guy. He has plenty of like-minded company, too, those who think that capturing an image has lost some of its art in the digital revolution. Listen to Zima's wistful tone when he opines: ``The days of waiting five, six days for the right light and the right image are gone. Now the computer makes the perfect picture. Want blue sky? The computer makes blue sky. Everything is too perfect. Everything is fictitious.'' Zima's love for old-fashioned photography is nowhere more evident than when he coaches young novitiates in the wonder of film. Rob Friedman, who has been teaching photography at Palmetto High School for 16 years, sends his students to Forever 35 for manual film cameras and for help in building their own darkrooms. Zima, he says, always quotes reasonable prices and sometimes gives students chemicals for free. ''He takes a lot of time to explain things to them,'' adds Friedman. ``He's very knowledgeable and sincere. I trust his judgment completely.'' FAITHFUL FOLLOWING Zima also has a faithful following among veteran photogs, some of whom have been buying equipment from him for two decades, when his store was known as Zima's and the promise -- or threat -- of digital was unimaginable. Sue Daisley, a Jackson Memorial Hospital nurse, is one of the faithful. Her first purchase was a lens. Then Zima began developing her rolls because he ''is a master of images, a true talent,'' she says. In the past 15 years, she has bought several cameras from him, too. Though she owns two digital ones, she agrees with Zima about the new technology. ``I don't have the control I would like with them.'' Shopping at Forever 35, Daisley says, is an experience, not a transaction. Zima is generous with his time and expertise. Always dressed impeccably in suit and tie, a contrast to the polo-shirted uniform of his competitors, Zima's old-world manners match his products. ''You're not going in there for 15 minutes to buy a camera and be gone,'' Daisley says. ``You're going in there for a couple of hours and he's going to make sure that before you leave you know how to operate the camera and you know everything about it.'' PERSONAL TOUCH She even phoned Zima from Alaska asking for help. That kind of customer service has enabled Zima to survive the onslaught of the Internet and ubiquitous big box stores at a time when many of his competitors have been forced to close shop. ''The personal attention he gives customers is far beyond what you can pay for,'' she says. ``There isn't anything you can ask him about that he doesn't know -- or doesn't know where to get the answer. You can buy cameras anywhere, but you can't get the knowledge George has.'' Retired architect Jose Tuñon is another longtime customer who agrees that Zima's ''boutique style'' of shopping attracts return customers year after year. ''He eventually becomes your friend because he spends so much time and attention with you,'' he adds. ``There really is no other photo store in the area like his.'' FIRST LOVE Zima can't remember much before photography captured his heart. He was born in Berazategui, a small town south of Buenos Aires where his grandfather, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, had founded a department store. Zima's father, Isaac, decided to introduce imaging products to the store's offerings just in time for his eldest son to discover them. While the family business became one of the largest suppliers of classical guitars in the area -- a factory produced instruments just for the Zima operation -- young George was busy experimenting with the photography equipment instead. By the time he was in high school, his father had put him in charge of that department. ''In those days there were photo clubs and art groups everywhere and I was invited to all of them,'' he recalls. ``I was making movies at school and shooting for friends and families at various events.'' As photography grew more sophisticated with the mass introduction of the single lens reflex camera in the 1960s, Zima expanded the store's line from Eastman Kodak to other brands. Whenever his family traveled, which was often, Zima took both his still and movie cameras along. Even as a university student majoring in physics and engineering, and then during stints in the Army and Air Force, Zima continued snapping shots. With access to top-of the-line equipment, Zima learned a valuable lesson early: ``It's not the quality of the camera, but the quality of the photographer behind the camera. Yes, more expensive cameras are more precise, but it is not a replacement for a good eye.'' COMING TO MIAMI Zima eventually moved to Miami in 1979 with his family as Argentina's political situation worsened. He set up shop ''selling anything and everything'' to his compatriots in downtown Miami during the heyday of Latin American tourism. When that business dried up, he decided to focus on photography. In 1982, when he opened his first store, Zima's, on U.S. 1 and Ludlam Road, competition was fierce among the 50 or more camera shops. Eventually mail order and the Internet began taking a bite out of his business, too, so he decided to specialize, maintaining two lines -- Pentax and Leica -- and offering what others could not: his knowledge and his passion for the art. ''I have said I will never give up, but I am also realistic, no?'' he philosophizes. ``I'm not convinced of this digital revolution, but I also know that it is better in many ways. Even an inexperienced photographer can do real art.'' © 2009 Miami Herald Media Company.