The worn, dark wood floors of Durango’s Old Tyme Photography have collected the steps of folks seeking affordable heirlooms for more than three decades. It’s a mainstay on Main Avenue, where tourists and locals alike don costumes to create enduring photographs that evoke the Old West, and it could have gone away. The business was up for sale.

Photographer Molly Ferrer and her partner, Sam Redman, bought the portrait shop. Their journey to becoming downtown art innovators began in June 2016.

“I walked by after breakfast and there was a ‘help wanted’ sign, so I stopped in and that was that,” Ferrer said. “A few months later, it was mentioned that it was for sale and (Sam and I) jumped on that opportunity.”

Ferrer, who moved to Durango from Colorado Springs seven years ago, continued, “Now, I stay up all night thinking of plans. I want to make my own art – beautiful portraits of people that they can hand down but also preserve Old Tyme Photography for what it is, that fun, costume side.” That includes a hope to enlarge the Old West costume selection to better reflect the many heritages of the Four Corners and an increase in ensembles through about the 1960s.

Durango native Redman added, “I like being able to keep the face of the downtown. It’s changed so much. It’s nice to maintain a business that’s been here forever. There’s a picture of my brother and sister from 30-plus years ago that they took here ... That’s one of the most precious photographs my family has. It’s cool to play a part in people’s memories.”

It’s quite possible that the new owners can find the negative of Redman’s family in the treasure trove that came with Old Tyme. “There’s a ton of cool, old cameras and a really big archive of negatives that date all the way back, probably 40 years ago,” Redman said. Eventually, Ferrer and Redman aspire to digitize the negative archive.

It’s with a strong heart for the past but eyes on the future that Ferrer and Redman ponder Old Tyme Photography at Thru the Lens’ next incarnation. Part of that next life is getting Old Tyme into the community.

“If someone came in for an idea with a photo shoot they wanted to do, we want to work with them to try and make that happen,” Ferrer said. “Even if it is off-location,” added Redman. “Or,” continued Ferrer, “If someone wanted to do a show, we could work with them on props, lighting and sets. I want this to be an inclusive, community-minded space where artists can come in and have resources through loan or rental.”

In the coming months, you’ll see Old Tyme’s service menu expand. They aim to offer tintype prints, developed darkroom prints, digital prints and possibly Polaroids. Ferrer and Redman already offer head shots, passport photos, restoring photos, digitizing photos, recapturing VHS family videos onto DVD, fine-art portrait photography, and off-site photography in costume shop or fine-art capacity. They are available for weddings and other events,and will be snapping pics at the rodeo all summer long.

When asked what the big dream was for a little ways down the road, Redman said, “We want to partner with the MakerLab to build a camera that will take the world’s largest tintype photograph ... It would be massive and take multiple people to operate. The goal is to start that within a year.”

“I want people to come in (Old Tyme) and feel like they found another version of themselves,” Ferrer said. “Durango is a surreal place. It needs a costume shop to get funky in.”

If you go

Old Tyme Photography at Thru The Lens Photography, 643 A Main Ave. For more information, call 247-8626 or visit

durangophotography.com

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