any other sentimental sobs out there?

[Wade D]

Still around? Fedco is long gone. Are you saying the store's still there with a different name, or is someone using the Fedco name, too?

I always liked their photo dept. I picked up Kodachrome processing mailers there cheaper than anyplace else, though I could get Kodachrome locally for about what they charged.

They probably are closed. I went there quite a few years ago and only saw a handful of primitive (3MP) cameras at the time. Not in a part of town I frequent. It was a good place for someone just stating out decades ago.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, JScott;

Yes, Bob Donovan's Kenmore Camera is still there. And, it may be that they actually do look at the camera before they offer it for sale to us. A couple of weeks ago, a friend you might know also called me and said that the guys at Kenmore Camera had some Minolta stuff they were hoping to show to me. I bought it.

One of the items was a Minolta SR-2 in need of a CLA and a locked back door latch that would not allow the back door to open for loading film or even checking the condition of the shutter curtains. They had a price on it and I bought it for the $14.00 USD. $14.00 for an original Minolta SR-2 from the 1958 to 1960 time period is not too bad. However, $203.67 USD later following the repair, CLA, and the work on the lens to remove the oil from the lens aperture leaves, I have a fully functional original Minolta Model SR-2 SLR 35mm Film Camera. This still may be cheaper than going to the bars and taverns, and it is more socially acceptable.

I have known and talked with a representative group of their people for several years now. Most of the time they have been very friendly and accommodating. Yes, there have been a couple of times where things did not seem right with one of them. Later I learned what outside influence had affected him on that day, and I understood why he did not have his normal outgoing personality that day. You might spend some more time with them and see what can happen.

And on the topic of the original question for this thread; Brenner Photo at 10th and E in Washington, D. C. across Pennsylvania Avenue from the FBI Building.

 

[R Paul]

There was a Sam's Photo in Yonkers way back in the early 70's.
I remember just looking at all that those yellow Kodak boxes,bottles and bags.
I bought my first roll of film there (Verichrome Pan). And they were very patient to an twelve year old with a Kodak 620 camera with flashbulb attachment
I'd give my right arm to get that camera back
rob

 

[BrianL]

In Portsmouth NH where I grew up there were 3 camera stores; each I liked for different reasons. One carried some of the interesting Japanese brands such as Miranda and Europe such as Exacta and Voightlander. The 2nd was more upscale with Leica, Nikon, Rolleiflex and some others while the 3rd was a small shop and carried Apla, Nikonos, Hasselblad and several large format brands. The first 2 pretty much split up the market with Canon, Yashica, Pentax (and the branded variants), Olympus, etc. In the city there was an amazing number of brands for a city of only 17,000 persons. After Pease AFB opened with its PX, the population increased to 26,000 and the number of brands dropped dramatically as you could buy almost all the Japanese stuff through the PX at about half the going prices. Pentax and Canon especially became standard issue. Olympus and Nikon did not see shelf space at the PX and these survived in the stores. Surprisingly, none were Polaroid dealers but, my aunt who had a discount store there (and still does) sold a lot of Polaroid.

It was interesting to be able to visit the Leica dealer who showed why if it was not Leica it was either Rollei or not worth buying for a serious hobbiest and professional. I then would walk to the Alpa dealer who showed why an Alpa made a Leica an wanna be and a Hassy made a Rollei no better than today's Holda. Obviously these guys never got along as for each it was in their blood as to the marques; not simly business. Oh, the Alpa dealer also was the Minox and Robot dealer. He felt the only lines he'd liked to have carried additionall were Exacta and Miranda.

As a youngster with a father in business all the owners were more tolerant of me being a pest than they'd be with other kids. It was like being in a candy store with too many choices and obviously not enough cash. I fell under the Leica influence and when the CL came out, I knew I wanted it. I also tried to love the Alpa but is was just not my cup of tea as to the handling, these were earlier models but the Exacta really got my attention and I also wanted a setup. I would read books and manuals and saw what guys were doing with the Rolleiflex and would dream of having one around my neck, walking down the street making beautiful b&w prints from it.

As soon as I had a few dollars in my pocket, I graduated from my folks Argus tlr 620 to a Kodak Pony 135 I purchased from the local pawn dealer for $5 and from thnere it was downhill. I learned the sunny 16 rule as I could not afford a light meter. Thankfully my aunt understood my needs and when I went to her store, she'd let me pick up a couple of rolls of film in exchange for doing odd jobs for her such as putting tv stands together or photographing some of her merchandise. She paid for the processing, also. It taught me early that the eye was the most important photographic tool as the Kodak results and I kept improving.

 

[Michael W]

In Sydney I liked visiting the old Fletcher's store on Pitt St. They had a back room with several large glass front fridges where they kept every film that was available in Australia. I remember buying stuff like Konica 3200 colour neg and Scotchchrome 3200 slide film. They collapsed in 2005.
Also the old Vanbar in Glebe was great - they had shelves from floor to ceiling with a massive range of B&W papers and chemistry.
There was a huge shop on Parramatta Rd, Annandale called Photo Antiques, run by an elderly couple who sold vintage cameras, some from the 19th century. It was like walking through a museum where you could buy anything that took your fancy.
Another good business in the '90s was Goodmans. They had a shop at Crows Nest and one on Fouveaux St, Surry Hills. Again, a very good selection of gear and consumables.

 

[mark]

Camera and Darkroom when it was a hole in the wall. Still in business, but now all glitzed out, in a different location, with none of the same charm, or whiff of fixer.

 

[sdotkling]

McGuinness Camera, Nashville Tennessee, circa 1972: Doc McGuinness was a pharmacist, who had a serious Leica problem that took over 3/4 of the drugstore. I was a wanna-be photographer in Nashville, trying to break into the album-cover world, and McGuinness was my supplier of everything photographic. Well, my business was not really a business and, since I was running quite a tab at the shop (and otherwise starving), I asked Doc for a counter job, which he agreeably provided. Anyone who was anyone in Nashville wandered into McGuinness at one time or another, from dentists looking for Leicas to professionals trading Nikon and Hasselblad bodies, to the occasional country music star looking to repairs a weird old Kodak. I continued to run up a tab, in spite of my modest salary, and finally left Nashville broke and disappointed still owing Doc $400. He died a couple of years later, I heard, and the place went to his rather fetching daughter.
Nostalgia is a disease, isn't it?

 

[mike c]

Camera's where expensive, but they had a lot of them, film and paper was cheap though and they had a lot of the stuff..