Joseph Bellows — tall, slender with close-cropped hair, glasses, blue jeans and a long-sleeved pink shirt open at the collar — looks something like the actor John Malkovich, as he sits behind his 300-year-old wooden Spanish writing desk. On the floor, to the right, on a patchwork leather rug is an old rusted cannonball. There are other odd, unique and interesting furnishings in Bellows’ back office. And there are books, lots and lots of books about photography on his shelves. It is, perhaps, the finest library on photography anywhere. This is the middle room of the three back rooms of the Joseph Bellows Photography Gallery. The first room has more books and collections of photography and a large white table for mounting and working with prints. The far back room is like a waiting area, furnished with design pieces, like a Z-shaped wooden chair, rugs and a sofa. You follow these rooms back out through a couple of twists and turns to the atrium gallery which is accessed by a long flight of metal stairs from the street. In the gallery, lining the walls are some of the most interesting photographs you might ever see. These are photographs by people who take their work seriously, who are craftsmen and artists. Bellows spends most of his time in the back office on the phone or the computer. He does not cater to the typical La Jolla tourist scene or the flow of street traffic. He works mostly with serious or prestigious collectors — like museums. Bellows was born in Rochester, N.Y. His parents were in the art business, so he learned the trade at an early age. In 1981, he came out to La Jolla where he worked as a gallery assistant. In 1983, with Arthur Olman, he helped found the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park. Twelve years ago he opened his own gallery in La Jolla at the Art & Design Center at 7661 Girard Ave. Bellows said he is interested in vintage photography by master photographers of the mid-20th century and new emerging artists. He describes himself as primarily a collector, secondly as a dealer of photographs. Bellows said if anyone in the La Jolla area has some quality photographs they would like to sell, he is interested in looking at them. The phone number for the Joseph Bellows Gallery is (858) 456-5620 and the website is www.josephbellows.com.