In the land of blue-chip galleries and tony art museums, one place in Los Angeles has served the city's photo and filmmaking community like few others. Be it a high school student who's taking their first photography class, an amateur dabbling in the craft, or a professional toiling to get the perfect image — chances are, many of them have clocked time at Samy's Camera.
Samy Kamienowicz, the man who founded the retail camera stores and became a fixture for the city's creative community, has died. The news of his passing was shared via the store's Instagram account earlier in the week. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
"Samy was more than just a businessman; he was a global photographer's friend, mentor, and supporter," the post read.
An early love affair with photography
Kamienowicz founded his namesake camera shop in 1976 in the mid-Wilshire area, but his love for photography started decades before, at a camera shop in Brussels founded by his uncle after he escaped a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.
When the Kamienowicz family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1958, he would continue to hone his craft alongside his uncle — this time at Bel Air Camera, which the elder man started in Westwood.
After 18 years, Kamienowicz struck out on his own to open Samy's Camera.
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At first, the store sold and rented polaroid and professional equipment, according to the Beverly Press and Park Labrea News. From there, the business took off.
The week Los Angeles burned
But Samy's Camera suffered a major setback in 1992, when the mid-Wilshire shop were looted and burned down during the L.A. uprising in 1992.
Kamienowicz estimated the loss was around $10 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Instead of folding, Kamienowicz went right back to work, setting up a tent to operate out of at a nearby parking lot. In weeks, he was restocking at a new location just blocks away from the destroyed building.
Rebuilding the business after the '92 unrest took time, and Kamienowicz credited the rebound and later expansion to Samy's Camera's reputation and service.
A guy with 'a huge heart'
Frank Schlegel joined Samy's Camera around that time.
"Samy is that kind of guy who will not oversell you and [if] you need something, we're here to jump through hoops," said Schlegel, a sales associate who's worked at the store for over 30 years, currently at its Pasadena location. "He has extended credit to many photographers who needed [it] and been very patient about getting paid back. This is in the early days."
Kamienowicz's generosity and warmth extended to the staff.
"He used to buy us lunch every Saturday when we worked at the Fairfax store, just to feed the entire crew there. That's how generous he was," said Christy Jewell, who's been with Samy's Camera for two decades, currently working at its Pasadena store. "He has a huge heart. It's been a really tough week — with him not here to pick up the phone and say, 'Hey, how are you doing today?'"
The store that Kamienowicz built has continued to earn a place in the city's vibrant photo and filmmaking community.
Tim Berger started shopping at Samy's in the mid-90s, after he started a job as a newspaper photographer in the L.A. area. He was looking for equipment for the department, and landed on Samy's.
"They've got competitors on the East Coast [and] I wanted to stay local. When I found Samy's, I found that they were full service in what they offered, plus they were very in tune with what professionals needed," Berger said.
Berger said there's still no place quite like Samy's Camera.
"Samy's has got the depth where you can go toward video, you can go toward professional stuff, you can go consumer, and they are rich with knowledge. I wouldn't go anywhere else in Los Angeles knowing what they know," Berger said.
That sentiment is echoed by other longtime fans and customers.
"Samy's was always a big deal. It was one of the go-to's in Pasadena when I started a video production company years ago," said Tracy Thomas, who was shopping earlier this week at Samy's Pasadena location. "Anytime I think of anything camera, I always think of Samy's," he said.
