Blue Moon Camera

Thanks, very nice read.
I've heard very much positive comments about Blue Moon Camera in the past.
I think such kind of shops run by real enthusiasts are what film photographers will really like.

Cheers, Jan
 
Very nice people to deal with. Among other things they were able to rescue me when I unexpectedly ran out of whole plate film a couple of years ago.
 
Is there a reason for this? I think so

Is there a reason for this? I think so

ChrisPlatt said:
Indeed, quite a contrast to the remaining big camera stores here in New York.

Chris
Click to expand...

Dear Chris,

I am not trying to start a flame war here but I think that the perspective of the average citizens of New York City and the Pacific Northwest differ a great deal.

I haven't traveled extensively, but I've visited NYC and the Pacific NW. Based on my limited experience I see them as two very different places. I could be dead wrong on this and I'm sure I'll get told that I am, but NYC is far more cosmopolitan and hustle/bustle oriented than the PNW based on what I've seen.

A store like Blue Moon Camera dedicated to film camera users could definitely survive, and probably thrive, in NYC, but it would be a far different experience than what you get in Portland.

I'm curious if anyone else thinks like that, or if you think I'm full of crap?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA 🙂
 
That's a real camera shop! Glad to hear they are doing well!
I got my BEOON from them a couple of years ago..
Wish I were closer..
Back in the day..NYC was nothing but cool places to go like this..until rents went thru the roof..and drove most of the the little guys out..in all professions..
 
I've recommended them numerous times here , usually in reference to 120 film spools that have been professionally trimmed to fit my old Medalist 1 camera . Worked first time, every time . I couldn't give higher praise . Peter
 
Tim Murphy said:
A store like Blue Moon Camera dedicated to film camera users could definitely survive, and probably thrive, in NYC, but it would be a far different experience than what you get in Portland.
Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA 🙂
Click to expand...

No.
Here in Philly we have only ONE brick and mortar shop left and we even used to have a Calumet until a few years ago. NYC is even more cutthroat with commercial rentals that a small shop like Blue Moon couldn't survive.
Look at Lens and Repro which was the next block over from Adorama and a few floors up. It was one of the east coast's treasures of old gear from the beginning of film photography to the present. They had a camera repairman on staff and almost always available. One time he fixed a lens of mine in an afternoon. I went in with a problem with Leica 90mm lens. Got a very fair estimate, went to get a cup of coffee and wander around midtown, came back a few hours later and the lens was fantastic.
They closed and I was really sad. NOBODY else in NYC or in the area offered the service, knowledge and incredible amount of photo arcania that Lens and Repro had. They were the east coast version of Blue Moon.

As for Blue Moon themselves, I had been looking for a 300mm lens for my Bronica S2a about a decade ago. I was calling shops all over the country and they said they'd get back to me. Then, when they found one, they called me. THEY called ME. I was living in Philly at the time and had only been inside Blue Moon once or twice years prior when I was stationed north of Seattle in the Navy. They just have amazing staff and service. The last of their kind, really.

Phil Forrest
 
Phil hit the mark with the situation the small independent stores are encountering. When Blue Moon opened it was in a less than desirable part of town in one of the less desirable cities on the west coast. As the housing prices have skyrocketed in California and other major cities in the west, those who could cashed out and brought the money to Portland. We have seen double digit increases in real estate values every year for the last six or seven years. The median home price has doubled since 2007. The St. Johns neighborhood where Blue Moon is located is one of the hot spots in a rapidly gentrifying city. They have built a good business and as the article pointed out many of the customers are young and interested in the cameras many of us used years ago. Like any business the best we can do is to continue to support them.
 
madNbad said:
Phil hit the mark with the situation the small independent stores are encountering. When Blue Moon opened it was in a less than desirable part of town in one of the less desirable cities on the west coast. As the housing prices have skyrocketed in California and other major cities in the west, those who could cashed out and brought the money to Portland. We have seen double digit increases in real estate values every year for the last six or seven years. The median home price has doubled since 2007. The St. Johns neighborhood where Blue Moon is located is one of the hot spots in a rapidly gentrifying city. They have built a good business and as the article pointed out many of the customers are young and interested in the cameras many of us used years ago. Like any business the best we can do is to continue to support them.
Click to expand...

Mostly, I agree, but Portland is the most desirable city on the West coast, in my opinion. I have family and myself have lived ever major city on the WC. And Portland is the only one I would want to live in.

I have lived in Portland and now live in the San Francisco Bay area (45 years)(I have lived four of the six).
 
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