Staff Bios

 

Mancy

Mansford Marcelus Gant is a former seasonal saxophone player. He fell in love with photography in the winter season of 1996, whilst on a short tour to The Lake Minnetonka Jazz Festival. In the spring of 2010, he parted ways with his beloved seasonal career to pursue something special with Looking Glass Photographic Arts. He hasn't played saxophone since...<3

His website: thankyoufortheflowers.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anita

Anita comes from the land down under. (aka Southern California.) She's worked at Looking Glass for approximately 120 years - starting in the back room, graduating to the front counter, now in accounting! You might not see her face that often, but you will hear her voice every time you call the store: she's recorded all the announcements in our phone system! (Sometimes she also answers the phones - just trying to keep you on your toes.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen

Karen comes from "The Valley" in Los Angeles, CA and has been living in Northern, CA and working at Looking Glass for about 5 years.  She graduated from SF State in 2009 with a BFA and emphasis in photography.  Her first camera was a twin-lens Yahsica A that was given to her by her grandpa in 1996 --and thats how she got started in photography.  Currently her photography interests are band photography, 4x5 polaroid/instant photos, night urban landscapes and pretty much anything low light.  Karen has two kitties and 5 rats (including a naked one that occasionally visits Looking Glass). Karen's website is: www.xposurearts.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flee

Flee, aka Felicia or Flee-selhorst, takes care of receiving and shipping (yay for boxes, pink blades, and new tape guns!). She has a BFA from Chatham University and an MFA from the Academy of Art. Flee likes portraiture and self-portraiture, preferring her Hasselblad and the darkroom over her digital cameras. She can be found in the LG backroom, listening to bad girly music, drinking tea, and working under her favorite title: Qispi's mom! Check out her photography at: fotosbyflee.com

 

Qispi (Kiss-pee) is a Perro sin Pelo del Peru (or a Peruvian Hairless Dog). She spends her days sleeping under a blanket in her "seat" in the backroom. When she isn't on the clock as the LG morale-upper, she loves long walks (on the beach of course!), rocks and pine cones, and coconut oil.

 

 

 

 

Chà

Howdy :-) I'm Cha (pronounced Shay). I've worked at Looking Glass Photographic Arts for more than half my life. For all the time I've worked here I can definitely say “Photography Rocks”, “Film is Not Dead” and “Darkroom Printing is Alive and Well” :-) Viva La Albumen!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian

I've been working in camera shops since before I could see over the counter. (My dad would keep a stepstool back by the register for me!) I grew up on the East Coast, in upstate NY, and went to the Rochester Institute of Technology for a BFA in advertising photography.  After shooting for a bit, I put down the camera for a while and spent a few years in the equally crazy world of fine art, working at galleries in Colorado and California.
Now I've found the closest thing to home I could out here on the West Coast, and am having a blast here at Looking Glass! You can see some of my photos at: marcaisphotography.com

 

 

 

 

 

Op

Watch out for Op, this good fella can be a little rough around the edges.  Despite his sometimes unconventional customer support he truly enjoys helping out every one, and he'll make sure you will get what you need.  Check out his art work at www.opinoir.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santiago

Santi is a photographer for fun and is studying Industrial Design at CCA. And he speaks Spanish. He's a fine example of the classic triple threat in Bulgarian culture.
His photos can be found at santiagoportilla.tumblr.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

I started working in the Photo Industry while in High School (1985) working at my family's camera store in Walnut Creek CA, where I worked my way up in the business, starting with sweeping floors and picking up cigarette butts in the parking lot to become Photo Lab Manager, Sales Manager, Purchaser and Owner.

I have taught many classes and led photo workshops to places such as Germany, Taos New Mexico, Yosemite, Death Valley, the ghost town of Bodie and much much more. I mainly like to photograph landscapes, architecture and my kids. I have also photographed many weddings, and portraits.  I have worked at Looking Glass for four years now doing the buying, managing, teaching classes and much more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark

Mark was born in the North of England and immigrated to the US in 1980.
He was a photographer in the US Navy from 89-95 and graduated from The Brooks Institute of photography in 1999 with a degree in commercial photography  He has worked as a commercial photographer in Los Angeles and New Orleans. And worked at several camera shops. His primary interest is Editorial travel photography and B&W darkroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg

Greg Spickard first discovered his interest in photography while attending the University of California in Santa Cruz.  While exploring the picturesque forests and coastlines of the region, he experimented with as many different aspects of the medium as he could.  These included long exposure, pinhole, alternative process, macro, infrared, HDR, self-portrait, landscape, film, and digital.  He has since gone back to school again to train for a career in Animation & Digital Effects.  His favorite photographers are Tokihiro Sato and Andy Goldsworthy. Please visit www.gregspickardphoto.com for a sample of Greg's photographic work, or www.bluegreenworlds.com to see some of his CG work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol

My name is Carol Stevens and I have been in the photo business for 31 years. I’m proud to serve as the liaison of our repair department, used camera dept head as well as assistant floor manager. My passions are film and film cameras, especially toy cameras. My goal is to make your shopping experience at Looking Glass easy and enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jen

Some have been known to call me the little Jen-Jen that could. Please note however, due to my fierceness, only a select few can call me ‘little’. My brain is saturated with photography “stuffs”, so please don’t ask me to discuss religion or do math. My love affair with the darkroom began when I was 8 years old. That means I’ve been inhaling fixer fumes for almost 30 years… so watch out!

Sometimes I am so busy that I forget to eat. Cha is pretty good at reminding me, tho. Thanks Buddy!

When not taking pictures, I find myself contemplating, “Shouldn’t Angry Birds really be named Pig Smasher?”

And yes, it is true that on more than one occassion I have caught myself wishing for a clone or a superpower, becuase that would be both awesome and really handy.

 

 

 

 

 

Peggy

Peggy was born and raised in Southern California. She has a BFA in photography from California College of the Arts where she also dabbled in printmaking, textiles, and creative writing. She enjoys fake self portraits, stealing clothes from her mother, shadows at five o'clock, and the small space underneath closed doors.

   
   

Lila

Lila started taking pictures when her dad gave her his old Nikon FM2 from the 80's. Since then, she has experimented with various digital cameras, before going back to her film roots, shooting with the Nikon and a Mamiya. She was born in San Francisco and has been a Bay Area girl her whole life, moving to Sonoma County and then back to Oakland for a brief stint at CCA. She is inspired, photographically and otherwise, by the city and the country, cameras of any kind, and very early morning and very late afternoon light.