Going to D.C. - Good shops?, galleries?

[holmburgers]

Hi y'all,

So I'll be traveling to Washington D.C. this week and I'm curious if there are any good shops that specialize in film, darkroom and/or used gear. I'm not gonna have access to my own transportation, but if it's in the city, I'd love to hear about it.

Also, I'm curious about galleries or museums where I can find some famous prints. I'm particularly interested in seeing dye-transfer, carbro & cibachrome prints.

But mainly, I'd like to know of some cool shops that will permit me to waste my time & money in them

Thanks,

C.H.

 

[lightwisps]

Hey, if the let me out of my hospital room, I will be roaming around as well. Maybe you, me and wife could meet up somewhere?

 

[holmburgers]

Well, that honestly probably wouldn't work out. I've got a pretty tight agenda, but I appreciate the offer. Why are you in the hospital?

 

[Pinholemaster]

The DC camera stores don't have much other than new digital stuff to buy. Penn Camera has some used gear, but I rarely see anything worthwhile. Check anyway.

Phillips Collection currently has a Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit. http://www.phillipscollection.org/exhibitions/current/index.aspx

I don't see any photography listed on display at the National Gallery of Art. But come May 2, they'll have the photos of Allen Ginsberg. http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/index.shtm#permanent

The Smithsonian Hirshhorn has something that sounds interesting: http://hirshhorn.si.edu/exhibitions/view.asp?key=19&subkey=411

The National Portrait Gallery has an Elvis exhibit: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/exhelvis.html

Could be worth a hoot.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Shops in DC for camera gear? Well, Penn Camera still has a smattering of used non-digital gear, mostly at their E Street shop. This is just a block or so from the National Portrait Gallery/Museum of American Art, which is about the best photo collection in the city. That's your best bet for seeing anything other than vintage black-and-white museum-wise. I'm not sure if the Kathleen Ewing gallery is still open to the general public or if she's now just by appointment only. There are a number of commercial galleries in the Gallery Place/Penn Quarter area (same general area as the NPG/MAA) and another bunch in the Dupont Circle and Logan Circle/14th Street neighborhoods (accessible by Metro). Worth checking out also is the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda (Metro Red Line to Bethesda, walk up Wisconsin Avenue about 2 blocks, go into the courtyard behind the big office tower). I don't know what she's showing now, but she does show photo work.

 

[holmburgers]

Awesome, good stuff, thanks guys

 

[yurihuta]

Check Penn Camera's website, as they recently put up their entire used inventory online. Keep in mind there are a bunch of locations and as was mentioned previously the E Street store is nice a close to the museums (the 18th Street store in DC is also reasonably close), so if you see something you like they can send it to the store of your choosing for evaluation - although it takes a few days for it to move.
Dead Link Removed


The other store in downtown DC to check out for some used gear is Pro Photo. No online presence, so you have to show up and look through the used gear display cases. They sometimes have some really neat pieces, but that is all relative. I bought a Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L from them in the past, and they had two for me to choose from. Other times it is slim picking for me, but nonetheless interesting. Some medium format used, some 35mm film used, some digital used. They do repairs on site and sell film 35mm, 120 (that is what I use) and some darkroom chemicals and gear.
Pro Photo
1902 I Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 223-1292

 

[TSSPro]

I was at Penn's Est shop Sat the 13th of March. They had some decent Nikon used glass, bodies and a few d2xs. Cool to look at while passing through. Couldnt find a cable release to replace the one I have been using for years that finally crapped out in the middle of the Nat'l Cathedral :-( oh well, still a fun stop off. I ended up at the International Spy museum, across the street from the portrait gallery and saw they had a Yuseff Karsh replica, but never made it across the street to the gallery where the good stuff was at. Best of luck in DC

 

[holmburgers]

UPDATE: I went, I saw, I conquered.... not really. But I checked out Penn Camera (near the Spy Museum/National Portrait Gallery) and it was pretty cool. Lots of darkroom stuff & some neat used stuff. However, I definitely recommend Pro Photo, as suggested by yurihuta. It was way cool, and had some really unique stuff. Leicas, 8x10 stuff, an old Nikon Rangefinder, dirty box of old filters ($2.50 for a Y2 filter) and so forth. Plus I found a Tenba insert that fits perfectly in my Timbuktu messenger bag, thus transforming it into a discrete camera bag. They also had lots of darkroom supplies.

Thnx for all the suggestions...

Oh yeah, and I got health care passed while I was there (apparently)