Mission photography space going dark

In yet another blow to the arts in the Mission, darkroom and studio space Hamburger Eyes Photo Epicenter is closing its doors – at least for the time being.

On Lilac Street, near 24^th and Mission, the photography collective will close in the next few weeks or so, according to manager Ray Potes, who spent the weekend selling off frames, photos, darkroom equipment and other surplus items. Potes didn’t want to go into detail about why the business was leaving but said he hopes to reopen elsewhere in the future.

“Basically, our lease was up,” he said. “It was time for us to move. That’s all I feel comfortable saying.”

Potes, who publishes Hamburger Eyes photo magazine, seemed to be taking things in stride Sunday. He said he plans to put what he’s not selling off in storage and maybe hit the road for few weeks to take photos, noting that he just got new tires on his car.

News of Photo Epicenter’s closure comes as art organizations in the neighborhood struggle to compete with high-margin restaurants and specialty stores that can afford to pay astronomical rents. A Mission Local article from November 2013 noted that 14 galleries and art spaces had closed in recent years.

Launched 8 years ago as a place to rent darkrooms by-the-hour, Photo Epicenter became a work and gathering space for street photographers. When the darkroom business lagged, Potes rented out Photo Epicenter’s six office spaces and stopped making the darkrooms available by the hour.

Potes stressed that the magazine will continue.

“We just need a computer to do that. People think that (because) we don’t have a space, we are not going to be doing photography, which is crazy. We’ll always be doing publishing.”