Closed Camera Stores - We Miss You!

[Vince Lupo]

And Chris went to work for Lisle-Kelco...don't know where John went.

 

[Pablito]

All the NYC places, but also a little hole in the wall on 6th Ave called Photobug run by a family well connected to the photo industry. A few glass cases of really nice used stuff.

 

[newsgrunt]

Keith and Chris both worked for Lisle Kelco iirc. We know how this turned out.

 

[zauhar]

Well, maybe not an old camera store, but here's a shot my Dad took back in 1933 at the camera counter in Hudson's department store in Detroit. Back in those days, Hudson's was in the same class as New York's Macy's and Chicago's Marshall Fields. Note the folders and movie cameras.

Jim B.

Dear God - my Mother (may she rest in peace) worked at that store!

THANKS for posting that!

Randy

 

[zpuskas]

Jim Kuehl was not a store but a dealer in Iowa. In 2001 and 2002 I had some disposable income and bought a bunch of Leica M stuff from him both new and used. The first item was a used Noctilux for $1,500 that he charged on my credit card. The next month I ordered a Tri Elmar and was about to give him my credit card number when he said "Let me just send it to you and if you like it send me a check to cover the invoice." And he did. I bought two Leica M's and several new lenses that way.

I bought my M6 and a used 35mm Summilux lens from Jim around the same time. Bought a Summilux about 8 months later. Very good person to deal with; honest.

 

[julianphotoart]

In Toronto: ALT CAMERA EXCHANGE. What a great place that used to be; noyhing like the behemoth Henry's that took it over.

In L.A.: STUDIO CITY CAMERA EXCHANGE.

 

[dannynono]

Travis, Fairborn Camera was the shop my dad would head to whenever he needed something new for his Minoltas. It's probably a stretch, but in your first pic one of the faces in the background kinda looks like my dad. I'd be surprised if you hadn't run into him during your early years there.

I'm straining to recall the name of the photo store that was here in Fall Church until early '02 - the owner had a serious collection of pristine black-bodied rangefinders from the 50s-70s. The shop I do recall more clearly, and fondly, was Newberry Camera in Arlington. Mr. Newberry ran a small repair shop, selling used and consignment cameras. A very kind man who shared some great stories with anyone who happened to stop in.

 

[nikon_sam]

In the early 80's I would shop at a store in Pomona, CA called "The Good Guys"...I'm sure they sold more than just cameras and photography related gear but that's all I remember seeing there...
I bought my two black body Pentax MX's, two MX Winders, a Vivitar VI enlarger and then the Colorhead for the enlarger...most likely picked up paper and chemistry there too...
I don't remember when they closed...but it was a long time ago...

Claremont Camera was another local store that had a bunch of gear...they had a lot of salesmen too but even with that you had to wait to get to the counter...
I continued shopping there until they barely had anything left on the shelves...then one day I drove up to the store and they were closed...even now when I drive past I look at where they used to be...

Koenig Camera in Covina, CA was another shop that had it all or at least a lot of stuff that I needed...I think they still have a store but nothing like it used to be...

I never thought to photograph any of these places...I guess I figured they would always be around...

 

[I Love Film]

My father used to own a little local camera and film store up in the Bronx in the early 1950's.

A Polaroid rep brought in one of their early cameras and my father snapped a photo of one of his regular customers.

 

[sprokitt]

Digital killed photography.

I don't know about 'killed' but it sure did change it.
There are many things I miss about film. First and foremost, I miss the high quality gear that was being made in the late 60's through early 90s. Sometimes I pull out my old Nikon F just to remember what a 'REAL camera' feels like.

I also miss that you actually had to work at it a little harder with film. The anticipation of waiting to develop your film made me try a little harder.

While I did like doing darkroom work, I don't miss hours on end in a dark room full of chemistry. I worked for several years as a darkroom tech and that put a damper in my love of darkroom.

I wouldn't say digital killed photography, but it most certainly killed some aspects of it.

 

[sprokitt]

My Camera Store Votes:

Cary Camera - Cary, NC. My first camera store job from about 1987-1989 One of my best friends from high school got me a part time job there when he left for an out of town college. Luckily, I went to school in the same town. Even more luckily, my girlfriend at the time lived about 1 mile from the store. It was a tiny little store but I had a great time there.

Sam Bass Camera - Raleigh, NC. 1989-1991. My 2nd camera store job. A much bigger store with a very large pro customer base. At the time the founder (Sam) had sold the store but still worked there. I learned a lot, met a lot of great people, and more or less paid my way through engineering school with this job. They eventually sold the store to Ritz or Wolf or somebody. The store is still there but the last time I went by not too many people who knew anything about photography worked there.

University Camera, Durham, NC. 1991-1994. I started working at this store when I graduated and started my MS degree. What a great store. The place was packed every weekend. Most saturday's there was a line 4-5 people deep at the counter. Loved it. Regrettably, the owner decided to quit paying taxes and one day the IRS put a lock on the door.

Southeastern Camera / Peace Camera - Raleigh, NC. 1994-2001. Tony and Todd from University setup a new shop and I was one of the guys. I worked pretty much every weekend through those years. It was just like University. We had SOOOO much used gear and it would be so busy on the weekends. I sure do miss those days. I think Southeastern and Peace split up but are still around. Great places. I miss working there, all the gear, and all the cool people.

I will post some photos if I can find them....and scan them...

 

[kena]

Digital killed the photo store

Digital killed the photo store

Digital killed photography.

I remember back around late 1999 why wife gave me my first digital camera for my birthday. It was a Toshiba PDRM-04. It was a little point and shoot but was quite a little novelty at the time. What I remember most though was what she said that the salesman told her " this whole digital thing is just a fad and will be gone in a few years" That store was a little place called The Shutterbug in Northridge CA. Long story short it closed probably about 6 years later. It's a shame because they also were a good local lab and had a good selection of used gear and a few shelves of Leica goodies.

 

[lmd91343]

In L.A.: STUDIO CITY CAMERA EXCHANGE.

X2 - the best one

 

[Travis L.]

Travis, Fairborn Camera was the shop my dad would head to whenever he needed something new for his Minoltas. It's probably a stretch, but in your first pic one of the faces in the background kinda looks like my dad. I'd be surprised if you hadn't run into him during your early years there.

What was your dads name?
If I don't remember him I'm sure one of the other guys will. I'm still in contact with all of them.
That shot was probably taken in 2001-2002.

 

[I Love Film]

Who remembers Marvin Tanner?

While not technically "a store", for decades he was a fixture at flea markets, camera shows, swap meets, etc etc. He had tons of cameras, lenses and ephemera at his booths and tables. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of hardware.

He specialized in Leica and other high end cameras. If you did not know what you were doing or didn't know what something was worth, god help you, but if you were intelligent and informed, you could get the rarest, most interesting stuff from him.

Around 15 years ago, he emigrated from New York to Australia. He died soon thereafter, a real shame and a loss to camera collectors everywhere.

(this photo was taken at the old Canal Street flea market in downtown NYC. in this photo, he was equipped with hat, Rolex and plenty of cameras)

 

[KenD]

Spiratone... several pages each month in the back of Pop Photo and Modern Photo... and the place to go for wild and wonderful gadgets when you were in the Apple!

 

[hometext]

ohh thanks for share your experience.

 

[Texsport]

Aubin Photo Studio & Camera Shop
Hibbing, Minnesota

In business for over 100 years
Cameras, accessories, and photo archives of northern Minnesota(many panoramic). Many archive negatives never developed!

Hours spent here were always magical.

Texsport

 

[nosmok]

The closest decent camera store to my house when I started shooting was Ferranti-Dege in Harvard Square. I bought a Contaflex Prima there (already had the lenses from my grandpa's Contina Outfit) and an RB Graflex. Nobody was very nice to me, but I still have a lot of prints and negatives they processed and they were damn good at that.

--nosmok

 

[mbdiesel]

Dorn's camera in Red Bank, NJ. Everything was overpriced but they used to have used stuff on consignment. I miss walking thought the place. Bought my first used medium format yashicamat LM and my first enlarger from them.

The only local place left is Le Camera in Middletown, NJ. Way overpriced. I now buy anything used from KEH exclusively.