Torrance, CA—The founder of Paul’s Photo, Paul Comon passed away March 17, 2022. He was 90 years old.
Comon loved to travel, shoot film and work in the darkroom. He was an avid tinkerer as well as a collector of coins, books and cameras. In addition, he was an author, photographer and entrepreneur.
Paul and Shirley Comon were married in 1958, raised four children and built a business together in Torrance, California. He and Shirley, who passed in 2020, loved to tour the world. He always had his camera over his shoulder, capturing the pictures from his imagination.
Born in Pittsburg, California, Paul’s family moved to Torrance when he was three years old. After graduating from Torrance High School where he played football for the Tartars, Comon served in the U.S. Army as an engineer and fought during the Korean War. Moreover, he bought his first camera before deployment, a Kodak Retina, and fell in love with photography. He copiously captured pictures of life in the Army, Korea as well as Japan.
Upon his discharge, Comon followed his new passion by working at A-1 Photo in downtown Torrance. He started out sweeping floors in the camera store and worked his way up to become store manager of A-1 Photo’s Walteria location. Then, in 1961, he and his wife purchased the business—and Paul’s Photo was born. 
In addition, Paul taught photography at Torrance Adult School in the 1960s. He was on the board of directors of the Southern California Photo Dealer’s Guild and was also active with the Photo Marketing Association and Photographic Research Organization for many years. Furthermore, he authored a number of books, including Photographic Composition, which is still highly sought after.
Paul Comon was interred at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors.
