From Helen Pike’s History & Heritage Journal:

Ever since the 1890s gear heads embraced the new portable technology of Kodak cameras and George Eastman’s adaptation of movie film for consumer use, Asbury Park’s attractiveness as a destination to photograph, and be photographed in, accelerated.

In the first half of the 20th century, Frank H. Cole lead the field of professionals who operated in and around the city. His affiliation with the Rochester, NY, company gave him the edge, enabling him promote the Kodak brand as a means to promote his services, especially in postcards used for direct-mail campaigns. One hard-to-find promotional card shows Cole’s own Boardwalk location in the northeast corner of the of 2d Avenue Pavilion. The word “Kodak” was prominently displayed on the front of the building.

Cole’s 611 Bangs Avenue location is now home to a post-war, four-story brick building. In the real-estate heritage game many play because some locations seem to attract successive generations of like-minded businesses,  this address was most recently home to Tom Gilmour III’s Bull Dog Clip Productions, a video and arts studio. Before that, Andy the Catalogue Kid, a collector and auctioneer of photographed ephemera , used this space for his headquarters. Currently, the Bangs Avenue Art Gallery occupies one bay.

After World War II, Joseph Carter, who had studios on both the West Side and East Side of Main Street, could lay claim to the Kodak crown. Today, his daughter, Madonna Carter Jackson, curates his extensive collection of negatives. Last summer she took the wraps of a second book of Asbury Park photos. No slouch when it comes to embracing new technology, Madonna has also figured out how to put photos from the Carter Collection on line for individual ordering: mylittleoffice.net/Cached – Similar

And that brings us back to the current crop of photographers, many who submitted work for consideration in a new show to open this First Saturday in February. The opening reception for “Phone-Ograph” starts at 6 p.m. in Gallery 13. And, yes, that title is exactly what it implies: photographic work shot with an portable phone’s camera. I think of this work as portable postcards, the newest iteration of photographic history.

Last month, Gallery 13 moved upstairs in the former Woolworth Building at 658 Cookman Ave., to the spacious Suite 5. So, if you’re planning to stroll First Saturday in the Downtown, this is a terrific opportunity to check out what the latest gear heads are producing in miniature.

Tip of the hat to the Steve Albert Historical Archives.