established during colonial rule margaos popular mauzo photo studio has continued to thrive for over eight decades it was the brainchild of an artist ramnath mauzo who began by teaching art to women coming from elite portuguese families in goa but later opted for photography as a profession following his internship at the popular j k verne studio in bengaluru karnataka the enterprising 26yearold set up his own establishment at margao on november 25 1936 he began by importing photographic goods manufactured by brands like mimosa kodak ilford etc and in the late 1950s opened two more stores one each in vasco and panaji these however were shut following goas liberation due to scarcity of manpower and other issues in fact the parent enterprise itself had to shift twice until it dropped anchor along margaos luis miranda road from where is still operates ramnaths claim to fame came in 1940 when the british government conducted an international photography competition in mumbai the young man decided to participate and eventually won a gold medal in the light and shadow photography category his original awardwinning photograph titled luz e sombra has been preserved by his son narayan and grandson hiresh and remains a matter of great pride for the family my father trained several students who now have their own studios in margao town narayan who took over the reins of mauzo photo studio in 1990 recalls together with hiresh he has managed to sustain the business even while the photography industry itself witnessed a major transition from film to digital photography in just a matter of yearsafter 2005 there was a marked decline in conventional photography as india ushered in the digital photography era our studio therefore had to keep up with the times leading us to switch to the trade of digital equipment and technology hiresh says costs were high at first as all digital photography goods had to imported from abroad but after 2010 when dslr cameras made a splash in india prices stabilised he adds although the duo now attributes a 40 drop in business to the launch of smartphones many of which come equipped with great cameras themselves mauzo photo studio continues to do what it does best restoration of old photographs outdoor photography and videography it also has a variety of dslr cameras and digital photography equipmentsuch as lenses flashes and batterieson offer which attract several young people whove chosen to take up photography either as a hobby or a professionweve managed to establish a brand identity over the years hiresh beams a clear indication that mauzo photo studio has a long rewarding path ahead of it