Meet the crew
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Robert Kepko - OwnerList Item 1
RobK@GulfCoastCamera.com
Robert is the principal owner of Gulf Coast Camera. While earning a bachelors in business management from Temple, he began his career in the photography industry in 1990 in Philadelphia, working for Camera Shop Inc and later Ritz Camera. In 2004, he moved to Northwest Florida, where he served as a regional trainer for Ritz Camera. In 2009, he launched Rob’s Camera, and in 2012 merged with Calagaz Photo. In 2023, Rob and his business partner reacquired the Pensacola location, marking the beginning of Gulf Coast Camera. With nearly three decades of experience running stores, Rob brings a deep passion for camera gear and a passion for the hunt of the next rare camera.
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Frank Muller - OwnerList Item 2
Frank and Rob have been partners in business for almost 3 decades. Like brothers, they can work through any situation and get the job done. Frank brings a broad business background to the team.
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Wendy Kepko - Owner / Repairs CoordinatorList Item 3
Team Pensacola
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Josh Kern - Pensacola ManagerList Item 1
JoshK@GulfCoastCamera.com
Josh joined the team in 2013 shortly after earning an A.S. in Photographic Technology. After working in each department for more than 10 years, when Gulf Coast Camera came to be, Josh fit right into the role as manager.
His favorite things to photograph are his kids. He also loves night, landscapes and light painting.
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Valerie Sousa-Nelson - Pensacola Assistant Manager
ValerieS@GulfCoastCamera.com
Valerie joined us in 2021 while running an event photography business on the side. She primarily processes incoming used gear and oversees the store's online sales logistics. She also offers one to one lessons on camera basics, shooting manual, artificial lighting and Lightroom, thanks to her years of professional shooting experience. We are thankful to have her on the team; she is able to handle any task or project with care and focus!
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Jeffery Tremmel - Pensacola Sales Team
Jeff is our detail oriented guy. He is passionate about film and Polaroid and can help you pick a great point & shoot for your travels. He has a broad knowledge of photography, in general and would be a great person to speak with when choosing your new gear.
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Mason Sparks - Pensacola Sales Team
Mason has a passion for artful expression through film photography and is very knowledgable about both vintage and current gear!
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Ann Marie Crouch - Pensacola Sales Team
Coming from the acting field, Ann Marie brings energy and excitment to our team! You'll find her helping all over the store and always smiling!
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Tracy Ladd - Pensacola Sales Team / Video Archiving / EducatorList Item 4
Tracy is another graduate of Pensacola State College with an Associates in Photo Tech. She started with us over 10 years ago, but moved on to another job after a few years. When she heard Rob was taking over and Gulf Coast Camera was hiring she was 1st in line to join the team again. She is often in the back preserving your VHS and other memories, but she also teaches one to one classes and small group classes.
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Kincade Essex - Pensacola Lab Team Lead
Kincade oversees the lab and makes sure the printers and scanners are running at full capacity.
TEAM BRADENTON
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Michael Arbor - Bradenton ManagerList Item 1
Michael has been supporting military, scientific, and industrial photographers for over 45 years. To date, his longest distance customer was in Antarctica, and his highest elevation customer was STS-78--Space Shuttle Columbia. Away from the store, he enjoys wildlife and nature photography and capturing things that go fast at air shows and auto races.
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Jesse Kepko - Bradenton Assistant ManagerList Item 2
Jesse recently moved to Central Florida to help integrate Bradenton into the Gulf Coast Camera family. He lives photography and can't wait to put any vintage lens onto his digital camera to see what he can create.
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Skip Rose - Bradenton Sales TeamList Item 3
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Dono Evans - Bradenton Sales Team / Lab TechList Item 4
Dono Evans has spent more than 30 years teaching photography and over 33 years pursuing landscapes, wildlife, night skies, and the fleeting moments that make photography so rewarding. His career began at Sarasota Camera Exchange, which later became Wolf Camera and, eventually, Ritz Camera, before continuing at Johnson PhotoImaging and now Gulf Coast Camera. Alongside his passion for photography education, Dono is also a fledgling novelist, bringing the same curiosity and passion for storytelling from behind the camera to the written page.
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Shelby Westlake - Bradenton Lab Tech / Graphics
Shelby offers a variety of skills, from studio work to printing and everything in-between. She excels at image editing and digital restorations. If you need any help with ordering prints, Shelby is there to help walk you through the process.
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Mike Faron - Graphics/Restoration
Mike has worked as an Illustrator and Web Designer in the past. He has been doing graphics, layout and restoration in Bradenton for the past 15 years.
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Jana Miles - Social Media GuruList Item 1
Jana handles our social media and marketing. She has a background of 15 years of photography and videography, and when she's not working you can find her participating in local community theatre.
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Tanner Palamides - Online Sales / BuyerList Item 2
Tanner joined us shortly after begining his interest in photography. He now publishes used equipment to our website and enjoys working on videos around the Pensacola area.
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Spiros Zachos - Online SalesList Item 3
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John Hoile - Used Equipment Quality AssuranceList Item 4
John is our main person responsible for testing and cleaning the used equipment before it goes up front or online. He is very meticulous and mechanically savvy. He even rebuilt his own Polaroid SX-70 to shoot 600 film and have its own battery.
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Dan Crago - Used Equipment Quality Assurance
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Jen Kepko - Shipping / Logistics
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Jennifer Kern - Shipping
Jennifer is one of those responsible for your packages going out on time and arriving to you safely!
The History of Gulf Coast Camera
1990s - Before the Store
While the new name just came about in 2023, our history goes back to before the days of Ritz Camera (for those of you that remember that name). Rob, the owner, started working in 1990 at Camera Shop Inc in Philadelphia while in college where he quickly was promoted to store manager. soon after he became a district manager and remained in that position after Camera Shop Inc was acquired by Ritz Camera.
2000s - The Start of Small Business
After moving to Florida in 2004 to be near family, Ritz knew they couldn't lose Rob and made him the Southeastern Regional Trainer. This was a pivotal time for the future of Gulf Coast Camera because in this role, Rob met many of our current friends and business partners.
When Ritz declared bankruptcy in 2009, Rob saw the future possibilities of an independent camera store where Ritz was unable to remain flexible through the overtaking of digital cameras.
He bought the Ritz Location in Pensacola (Next to Wendy's across from Pensacola State College) changing the name to Rob's Camera. The 1st team was Rob, his wife Wendy and their lab tech Michelle.
Growing steadily, the store moved up the road to what is now TBS Comics (Belvedere Park Plaza) a year later.
2012 - The Merger
In 2012, Calagaz Photo, out of Mobile AL, was looking to expand. Rob saw this as an opportunity to bring his knowledge and passion for used camera gear to meet the half century plus legacy of the once largest independent camera store in the south east. Rob's Camera became Calagaz Photo - Pensacola and Rob became the manager on Pensacola and head of used gear for both Calagaz locations.
2014 - A Decade of Growth
In 2014 we needed more space and moved to our current location where the building was tailored specifically to our needs and future plans of the time. Another major turning point for the store was when Rob proposed we start doing used buying events for other stores. In 2016 we had our 1st event with a store in California. Since then we have expanded this partnership to every corner of the United States. This has enabled us to provide more jobs and to make available a far wider selection of photography gear in the NW Florida area. It also has required a more robust system of managing inventory, obtaining service and overall logistics of processing multiple thousands of used items a year.
2023 - America's Newest Camera Store
After many years of growth with Calagaz, we craved greater possibilities and a deeper connection to our community. The quest to reacquire the Pensacola store began with Rob partnering with longtime friend Frank. They worked out an amicable split and Gulf Coast Camera was born four days before Christmas 2023.
Immediately, we began reaching out to our vendor reps and manufacturers about having a stronger presence in Pensacola. This started with having our Grand Reopening which saw more than 500+ visitors over two days.
We now have the largest selection of camera gear in the South, from Texas to the Atlantic Ocean. We are focused on our Gulf Coast and online customers by providing the best service and the best quality selection.
gulf coast camera
HOURS
Mon - Sat: 9am - 6pm
Sun: Closed