Notes from the Anderson Guide to Enjoying Greenwich - Keep Your Focus Local

Notes from the Anderson Guide to Enjoying Greenwich
Keep Your Focus Local

Greenwich is lucky to have several brick-and-mortar photo shops. We hope they are here to stay. Photo shops disappeared rapidly in the '90s. With digital cameras we no longer needed to buy film and drop it off for developing. What accounts for the survival of our Greenwich shops is Personal Service!

The Memory Studio, is located on Havemeyer Lane. Their large showroom is filled with photo frames of all shapes and sizes. Craig Ketover, the manager gave me a tour, telling me about all their services – custom framing, slide transfers, photo editing, event photography, photo gifts, and yes, even prints from film.  I dropped off a box of old movies Jerry and I inherited. (I felt safe leaving these movies in their hands.) Seeing them for the first time on DVDs was almost surreal – we were seeing his parents and grandparents, moving, vibrant and young. Now we can share these films with all the relatives. The Memory Studio has invited the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce for a special event in March where everyone is invited to bring their camera, film or digital, and they will have hands-on developing of their own pictures. Smart business!

The Memory Studio
1 Havemeyer Ln.
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
(203) 990-0290
www.TheMemoryStudio.com

Images on Sound Beach Avenue has had our business for years. Marcos Torno has welcomed us into his shop for 21 years! If you haven’t stopped by recently, you must visit now. Marcos is a supporter of the arts and he has redesigned his shop and created a marvelous bright gallery for artists to display their paintings. Unlike traditional galleries he does not take any commission on the sale of the art. He simply rents a section of the wall for a modest fee. Now we have the photo services we have always enjoyed plus the fun of seeing interesting art. Marcos frames photographs, restores damaged photographs by removing scratches, tears and stains, enhances photographs to correct color and brightness. When I asked Marcos if he were an artist, he said, "I am a needle pointer." If you have needlepoint to frame, you can count on him to do it beautifully. I dropped off some old photos to be copied for gifts at Jerry’s Harvard reunion. His roommates will love them!

Images
202 Sound Beach Ave.
Old Greenwich CT 06870
203-637-4193

Ritz Camera on Greenwich Avenue is where we buy our cameras. They are the largest retailer of cameras in the US with more than 300 stores. They offer camera education and private tutoring. They do one hour photo developing. You can upload your pictures to www.RitzPix.com and pick them up within one hour, or get next day delivery. They have a huge selection of photo gifts such as mugs, bookmarks, calendars, 3D and animated cards, and stationery. They are very helpful in creating a photo book or scrapbook. The manager, Daniel Parker, sat right next to me as we decided on the type of book, the order of the pictures and the layout.

Ritz Camera
82 Greenwich Ave.
Greenwich CT 06830
(203) 869-0673
www.RitzCamera.com

Glenville Photo and Image Center in the Glenville Shopping Plaza has been a favorite since their opening nine years ago. When you stop in here you feel like you are entering a neighborhood gallery. As Amy Zeeve pointed out, you are likely to recognize almost all of the portraits hanging on the wall. The owner, Chuan Ding, is a photographer. She takes photos in her shop as well as at your location. You can tell by the way she captures the smiles on children’s faces that everyone likes her. This is a good place for your passport photo or a business head shot. They convert movies, slides and photos to digital formats. The big 44” wide photo posters are popular gifts. All prints are done in their own lab. They can print from film, transparency or any digital media up to size 24” x 36”. For Chuan, personal service comes naturally.

Glenville Photo-Image Center LLC
25 Glen Ridge Rd.
Greenwich CT, 06831-3641
(203) 532-1211
www.imagesbychuan.com

Saving Family Memories

On the top shelf in your closet you may have a box of “to be sorted” photos, a box of slides, or home movies. If not in your closet, check your Mom’s. Fortunately, help is here. Take that box and head to one of these great resources.