THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 27, 1997 TAG: 9701250192
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 122 lines
The photograph from a lifetime ago lies in jigsaw-like shards: two pantalooned children and their parents in austere poses.
The man's impeccably-pressed suit is marred only by a very large teardrop of white paint that cries down the surface of what was once a 16-by-10-inch portrait.
But, voila! A long overdue reunion of this idyllic photo family is displayed nearby, an example of a new photographic repair process called ``digitization.'' It's one of the computerized, state-of-the-art services available to customers of Quality Camera in Ghent.
``That's our business, preserving memories,'' says Jack Bunting, one of the business's owners, showing off the restored portrait inside a glass case.
If not for the partnership and entrepreneurship of Bunting and Bill Utley, the store that serves professional and amateur picture takers would have disappeared from the 700 block of W. 21st St. a couple of years ago.
Bunting was manager of the retail store, and Utley was general manager of the business that included a photo finishing plant, when parent company Qualex - the largest photo processing company in the world, according to Utley - moved its film developing operations to Maryland.
Qualex, a Durham-based company that develops film for retailers ranging from small camera shops to grocery store chains, decided it could serve its customers more efficiently from larger processing plants, a company executive said at the time.
Qualex is a joint venture of Eastman Kodak Co. and Atlanta-based Activa Inc. that was formed in 1988. At the time of its move from Ghent, it operated more than 50 plants nationwide.
Bunting was in California when the news came that Qualex was relocating. He and Utley learned that within 90 days, their company would fold. It was the same day in January 1994 that an earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale shook the Golden State.
``That day, there were earthquakes on both coasts,'' Bunting jokes.
The two men put their heads together and took the business plunge; in the process, they managed to save seven of the 66 jobs that were on the line.
After pooling resources, they opened the doors of Quality Camera on June 1, 1994, as partners. More than a year ago, they moved to 725 W. 21st St. across the street from the former location. Though it's moved twice, the company has stayed on 21st Street for 35 years.
``It's unfortunate that big companies don't worry about people when they close down stores,'' Utley said.
Utley and Bunting are old hands in the image-making business. Utley tallies 35 years, and Bunting, 30. They credit attention to customer needs for their success and say they are happy to be part of a revitalized business community.
``Our clientele is built on people we know,'' said Utley, 67.
``It's a lot of fun,'' said Bunting, 60. ``We meet an awful lot of nice people. An awful lot.''
On a recent weekday afternoon, customers were a constant, and each was picky about pictures. After all, personal and family history is being made with each click of the shutter.
Bunting pointed to employee Scott Hardwick, hard at work restoring a 1950-era portrait of a woman whose image is distorted by a myriad of spots on the surface of the photo. It will take Hardwick about three hours to bring the image back to its original condition via a computer.
Black and white shots can also be brought to life with color with the processor.
Bunting says, ``Many people can remember that Mom had on a red sweater 30 years ago.''
It seems there's nothing that can't be done - no history that can't be rewritten - thanks to the $70,000 Bunting and Utley have invested recently in new technology. Bunting shows some examples:
One photo shows three people - a married couple and a second woman - standing on a front porch, during the 1940s perhaps. But in the altered image the extraneous woman has disappeared, the wife placed next her husband and the door to the house has been closed.
Bunting says it's not unusual for a customer to ask that a person be zapped out of the picture when a relationship changes.
Another new piece of equipment at Quality is a do-it-yourself enlarger. For $3 to $9, photography buffs can print their own blow-ups of favorite shots, up to 11-by-14s.
The 21st Street corridor is now undergoing major renovations in a streetscaping project that will give the Ghent commercial district a new, old-time look.
Utley and Bunting agree that just now the mud and inconvenience to customers are bothersome, but they think the results will be well worth waiting for. They see the changes as part of an upward spiral for what has developed as one of Norfolk's business hubs.
``It's on the way back now,'' says Bunting, after decades of ``downslide.''
Gloria Bunting, Jack's wife and accountant for the firm, says, ``You have to have a vision. This is the answer. We've seen it revitalized. I told a customer who asked that we're not sick of it because it's going to be beautiful. A lot of people don't have the big picture - have tunnel vision.''
Bunting says that personalized service will save the day for small businesses, even when the upscale MacArthur Mall opens downtown. ``Each person is an individual, and there's no set rule. We work to help customers.''
Quality Camera is a business that has created a family portrait of its own:
Utley, who lives in Virginia Beach, has raised five children, and Bunting, who lives in Chesapeake, has three grown kids.
It's an image that just can't be beat, the two men say - enlarged, digitized or reproduced in any number. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
CECELIA JOLLEY
The Virginian-Pilot
On the cover: From left, owner Bill Utley, accountant Gloria
Bunting, owner (and Gloria's husband) Jack Bunting, and employee
Scott Hardwick, seated. Hardwick is working at a computer that can
restore faded or damaged photos, bring color to black and white, or
do other tricks that a customer might request.
[Color Photos]
HUY NGUYEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Employee Steve Sistrunck helps Beth Carter, a customer at Quality
Camera, scan a picture into a computer. The store's owners credit
attention to customer needs for their success.
A customer examines the selection of cameras at the store. The
crowded shop is located in the 700 block of W. 21st St., where
workers are renovating the business corridor to give it an old-time
feel.
Quality Camera was on the verge of folding. Then partners Bill
Utley, left, and Jack Bunting rescued the camera shop for its
customers.