Naxxar’s Images Photo Studio is set to close down after 36 years, Owner John Magro confirmed in a recent interview with The People of Malta.
Mr Magro, who is also known as ‘Johnny of Images’, said that “Every beginning has an end. Metamorphosis.” While he is closing down the studio, he will still keep the location to “start a new chapter”.
“I am a bit saddened at the idea of closing down after 36 years, but as they say, when one Pope dies, another succeeds him,” he said.
Looking back on his career, Mr Magro explained that he has been in the photography business from a young age, having “inherited it” from his father, who “although was not a photographer, was a sculptor, painter, and worked with wood”. When he was still six years old, Mr Magro used to grab a small camera that his father had brought from Canada and “played around with it”.
Eventually at the age of 17, he started working at a photography lab, and with the money he saved he purchased a Yashica camera, the first in his long career.
“In 1983 I took images of the Good Friday procession in Naxxar for the first time. At the time, you wouldn’t catch many people with cameras around their necks,” Mr Magro said.
“At the age of 20 I was already taking wedding photos. I did this until I had my own children and then stopped to dedicate more time to my family. There’s a huge difference between photography as a hobby and as a profession,” he explained.
Mr Magro describes himself as a “perfectionist”, yet this is a quality that has made him “suffer” over the years due to his willingness to offer a good service. “Behind this there is a certain degree of tension and pressure because you want everything to be just right,” he added.
Over the course of the 36 years that the studio has been open, he has “always been the one serving people”, as he could “never employ anyone” in his absence to deal with clients.
Mr Magro also stated that Images was “the first studio in Naxxar”. While he was a relatively shy person initially, photography gave him “the will to succeed” and he eventually started to open up himself even more. Additionally, he always sought to make sure that his work remains professional, as “clients are your best advertisement”, particularly since “talk amongst villagers travels faster than lightning”.
“People come here and tell me that they came to me for their children’s baptisms, first holy communion, and confirmation. Now that they are older, they come for their graduation photos if not even for their wedding photographs. That is the best advertisement and the highest satisfaction for me,” Mr Magro said.
While he is retiring from photography, Mr Magro added that he is now opening up a “new chapter” in his life tied to blacksmiths. Over the years he has conducted research about the profession in Naxxar, and his “dream now is to publish a book about blacksmiths who were present” in the village.
“You will not find me carrying a camera in my spare time. I search and find material connected to blacksmiths and restore all I manage to find. I always looked for history, art, and culture,” he concluded.
The announcement was met by a wide array of online comments from previous clients, who thanked him for his “professional work” over the years that will “remain engraved” in their hearts.
