Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993 TAG: 9305010038
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
She opened her photography studio, Aloma's Snap Shop, at 224 N. Jefferson St. Thursday and painted purple stripes across the door. The interior decor is also that color.
It's an attention-getter, she said. `I did that intentionally . . . You need a gimmick."
O'Dell, 50, is an inspector at Jefferson Mills from 3 to 11 p.m. So her shop will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. during the week, she said.
She will offer a variety of photo services, including portraits, scenic, real estate and just about anything else someone might want to capture on film.
Until she gets a telephone at her shop, photo inquiries can be made by calling her at home (980-3257).
O'Dell said she got assistance from Roscoe Cox, Pulaski Main Street director, in getting a location for her shop. Karen Graham, who has a display of O'Dell's photos in her Pulaski pet shop, Somethin' Fishy, gave her a lot of encouragement, she said.
Besides being a photographer, O'Dell is a collector of antique cameras including one dating back to the 19th century. Some of those will be on display at her shop.
She was a laboratory technician and photographer for eight years at the Southwest Times and has her own lab at home for processing film.
O'Dell had been working a paper route for the Pulaski-based newspaper in the early 1980s and its circulation manager at the time advised her to take some college courses.
She spent three quarters at New River Community College taking everything she could find that touched on photography.
Then she returned to the newspaper as a photographer, shooting everything from ribbon-cuttings to fires.
"I love photography. That's the reason I opened up the shop," she said. "I'm going on a wing and a prayer. Just my expertise is all I have to offer at this point."
She said she had been talking to someone recently about all the shops opening up along Pulaski's Main Street and in the downtown business section and told the woman that, well, maybe someday she would try a photo shop.
"Well, someday's here," she said. She decided to take the plunge in addition to her regular job at Jefferson Mills because she simply enjoys picture taking.
Even when she goes fishing or is off by herself with no work plans, she said, "I always have a camera with me. I eat, drink and sleep photography."
by CNB