Wings Camera and Digital: A Century of History

, tucked away in the Williamsburg Village Shopping Center on Clairmont and Briarcliff Road, is the kind of place that is getting harder to find for two major reasons. Not only is it a camera store, it is also a family-owned business and has been since it opened in 1912. Its nearly hundred-year history makes it the oldest camera shop in Atlanta.

Founded by Henry Wing and originally located at 8 Pryor St. in downtown Atlanta, the shop moved to East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead for a time before settling at the current location. A photograph from the Pryor Street era, along with one from the current location, appears on the store’s about page of their website.

Owner Mike Morrison has been in charge since 1994 and Warren Jackson assists him. Before then, Mike’s father Harold owned the shop. Harold always drove cars bearing the vanity plate “Camera.” One plate hangs on the wall of the shop now alongside a picture of a smiling Harold holding another plate. However, Mike doesn’t want to keep that particular tradition alive for fear that a plate like that would make his car prey for thieves.

The shop sells both new and used cameras in digital and film varieties, although the focus is on used equipment.

"We primarily sell used equipment. New stuff we can special order, but it's hard to compete with the big Brandsmarts and Costcos of the world," Morrison said. “We’ve found that the big camera makers like Canon and Nikon and all that are not interested at all in the small dealer anymore. All they want to do is sell volume in the big box stores. That’s why we don’t carry new equipment.”

Prices start at about $20, and brands stocked include Olympus, Pentax, Minolta, Canon, Nikon and Ricoh. The shelves also feature some unique antique cameras, including a model from 1897 and a Brownie, an inexpensive model by Kodak that was popular in the first half of the 20th century. There are also stacks of film, including a basket labeled simply “Outdated Film.”

Enlargers used in the process of developing film are on offer as are darkroom supplies, all kinds of lighting equipment and studio necessities like backgrounds and stands. Lenses of all shapes, sizes and models are on sale for prices that are sometimes half of what they are at competing stores. But Morrison said he has noticed a renaissance in film photography.

“When digital came out, in the first five years it killed all the film cameras. Nobody even wanted to own a film camera. After a period of time, I would say in the past year, we’ve noticed a trend turning the opposite direction. People have the digital camera they want, and they’re bored with it,” he said. Customers come in asking for film cameras so they can take artistic black-and-white photos or photos with intricate details that standard digital cameras might miss.

He said he discovered a pattern among those interested in black-and-white photography, too: “The demographic on that is about 16 to 30 years old. The younger set loves film again.”

Student discounts of up to 20 percent off are available on equipment that can be cost-prohibitive to young aspiring photographers. Wings has a close involvement with photography education at both the K-12 and university level. They help with the photography programs at 19 area schools, including Druid Hills High School, and six area universities, including Emory University, according to Morrison.

“We go out to schools and help the teachers if they have broken enlargers, try to help nurse along the old equipment,” he said.

The shop also sells shelves of the chemicals used in the developing process, the preferred type of photography paper and the glow-in-the-dark timers needed for proper exposures.

Wings can repair cameras, process film, enlarge photos, take passport photos, handle digital imaging, appraise the value of cameras, buy estates and transfer prints and slides to digital formats. Old home movies on formats like Super 8 and 16 mm can be transferred to DVD as well. The staff will clean digital SLR cameras and lenses for $29.95 while you wait, as opposed to the cost and time it takes other stores to clean the same equipment.

"Everybody else in town [charges] anywhere from $49 to $65 and you have to leave your camera for a week," Morrison said.  

Morrison also offers free appraisals and free estimates on returns, stating that he doesn’t believe in charging people just for an estimate.

The shop cannot afford to advertise, so their website is the primary driver of business.

"You type in 'used cameras Atlanta,' I'm the first thing that comes up, or you type in 'camera cleaning Atlanta,' I'm the first thing that comes up," Morrison said.

He credits a "smart Web guy," Jeremy Stent, with helping the online outreach.

"Our motto is 'we treat people like family.' In the world of big-box stores and no customer service, it's nice to go somewhere and [have] someone be able to come and help you," Morrison said.

Wings will host a camera sale, featuring a variety of new and used equipment vendors, on April 23 (rain date April 30) from 9am to 2pm in the parking lot in front of the store.