Merchant
Soars with
Local Aerial Photography
by Elizabeth
Anderson
Last
April Vic Morgan decided to try something different. After
demand for the low-priced framed pictures he sold steadily
declined, Morgan, a Kobey’s seller on and off since
1975, took up a suggestion from some of his customers, namely,
offering aerial shots of San Diego.
He didn’t let lack of experience
stand in his way. Because he had designed catalogs during
the course of his career, he figured going up in a helicopter
and snapping some pictures wouldn’t be very different.
Morgan compares himself to singer Willie Nelson whose story
he saw recently on television. He explains: “Nelson
said he’s not a singer, he’s not a guitar player,
he’s a songwriter. Well, I’m not a photographer,
I’m not a framer, but I’m a merchandiser. I
enjoy finding items that sell.
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Click
to enlarge |
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Skyline |
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Hotel
Del |
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Coronado
Bridge |
It seems he has. The panoramic photo print posters Morgan
offers are in hot demand from local merchants, tourists
and San Diegans who wish to display their favorite hometown
views. These include the Coronado Bridge, the Downtown Skyline,
the Ocean Beach Pier and the Hotel Del.
For the present, Morgan has cornered the market. However,
his prices don’t reflect his one-man monopoly. He
sells the 11” x 12” unframed posters for only
$3 (2/$5) and framed posters for $10. He says people always
tell him he’s too cheap.
How does he do it?
“I approached this from the framing point of view,”
he says. “People with a camera may get the idea thinking
“I’ll do it”, but they don’t know
how to put a frame and picture together for ten bucks. I
do. This has worked out well for me.”
Despite his low prices on a truly unique product, Morgan
spares no expense in its production. He prefers to rent
the $760 an hour helicopter over the less expensive $260
one -- the more expensive one has a door.
He works in medium format using a variety of wide angle
lenses.
Morgan is meeting the requests of customers who are asking
for aerial shots of other Southern California towns. He
plans to add six more panoramas to his current collection
of ten.
Look for Vic Morgan, V.M. Assoc., Sat. & Sun. in spaces
F23 & 24. Call: (619) 460-5377.
Article from November, 2002 Issue of
Kobey's Magazine.
Prices and items subject to change.
