Along Colorado Boulevard’s bustling thoroughfare sits Eagle Rock Camera & Goods, a cozy new boutique specializing in analog cameras and photo books. The shop, which opened in Dec. 2023, is the brainchild of Jason Lee and Raymond Molinar, friends who met through skateboarding and a shared passion for photography.
According to Lee, their idea flourished once his wife found the space for her Turkish home and loungewear store, Oddbird.
“This space became available, so my wife said, ‘Oh, you should rent the space next door,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, that, that would be great, maybe I’ll open a camera store,’” Lee said. “I called Ray and said, ‘Hey, would you want to open a camera shop?’ And he said, ‘of course’.”
What used to be a mosaic art studio has now been revamped after 10 months of construction under the direction of Raymond Molinar’s father, Ruben Molinar, a contract carpenter, according to Lee.
“We knocked down this wall, [Ruben Molinar] put up the beam, the support post, he did the flooring, built-in shelves, a new front door, all the trim, cleaned the ceiling out,” Lee said.
According to Molinar, with artful fervor, he and Lee have created a quaint retail experience for people to hone their analog photography skills.
“Being in here, you can tell that we’re pretty limited in space,” Molinar said. “So doing analog is perfect for entry-level cameras and books.”
According to Lee, books are a valued selling point, and the store design enables customers to browse their selections and enjoy them at the center table.
“It is very important to us to have photo books as well because not many camera shops also carry them,” Lee said. “It has been really encouraging to see how many people are buying photo books because people, especially in this kind of photo age and social media, like the tangible print.”
According to store employee Eric Bouvet, the shop hosted its first book signing with photographer Greg Hunt Feb. 10. Bouvet said the event was a success and a testament to their carefully curated shelves of books.
“We try to feature local publishers as well,” Bouvet said. “It is not just the big publishers.”
Across from the display of books are a variety of film cameras in different sizes, all for still photography, Bouvet said.
“We have Canon, Nikon, Olympus,” Bouvet said. “Then, when you get into a larger format, we have Mamiya, Burke & James and Plaubel Makina.”
According to Lee, their cameras serve not only professional photographers, but anyone who wants to take a shot.
“People come in like, ‘Oh, I have not shot film in years,‘ and they buy their first rolls of film for the first time in years, or they buy a film camera because they want to keep shooting digital but still want to get back into film,” Lee said. “Or, we get a lot of newcomers to film.”
Echoing Lee, Moliar said their expertise in film cameras has helped them build a community of other photographers, even those who primarily use digital ones.
“We have many returning customers come and hang out,” Molinar said. “We turn to people who shoot digitally and have not shot film for years, and they come in here and get inspired because they see how passionate we are.”
What’s next, according to Lee, is a film development lab behind the retail storefront. He said that this will continue their vision to act as a resource for analog photographers and a safe haven.
“The dream has sort of become a reality, and everyone that comes in definitely feels that vibe,” Lee said.
Contact Olivia Fishman at ofishman@oxy.edu
