A bit of nostalgia and contemplation

ShinySideUp

ShinySideUp

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I was sitting here contemplating my photographic past and a couple of names suddenly came to mind.

When I was new in photography in the seventies and Amateur Photographer magazine was a hefty tome each week, full of adverts for services and equipment, two names were up there in photographic supplies (among many others of course). I and a close photographic friend only bought stuff by mail order from either Jessops or Fishwicks, such were their prices. We all know what happened to Jessops and their ups, downs, then ups again but what happened to Fishwicks? A quick search on t'internet shows that they went bankrupt in the nineties but I wonder why. It's interesting how two companies with such an original following should take such different routes to success or obscurity.
 
It went the same way as jessops. or I should say the other way round. I think thay tried to carry to much stock and sold it to cheaply I must say I always preffred fishwick's
 
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I did too. I always liked (like) a good personal and professional company. I think Greys of Westminster is one although I've never had cause to buy from them, however if I lived in London I would certainly pay them a visit. My personal favourite high street seller of camera equipment is the London Camera Exchange (my nearest branch is Plymouth) as their prices match the internet and they seem to know what they are talking about. I bought my last two cameras from them, a D7000 and a D810.
 
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Never bought mail order. I used to love going to their shop and having a good look round. It was as good as a trade show. Grate wholesale department.
 
How about Mr Cad. When I moved to London I made a point of visiting them in Croydon and I bought a rather nifty enlarger and lens from them :)

I know they are still on the go and seem to have successfully moved online but I remember their ads in AP being full of small print goodies
 
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I remember Amateur Photography too, in the 60s, and the name that sticks in my mind is Victor Blackman. I think he was with the Express, and I can still recall some of his articles about the Nikon F Photomic, a Leica with a 35mm f1.4, a Rollei and Tri-X. Seems like a long time ago now, but he probably played quite a big role in kindling my interest in photography.
 
MartynK said:
I remember Amateur Photography too, in the 60s, and the name that sticks in my mind is Victor Blackman. I think he was with the Express, and I can still recall some of his articles about the Nikon F Photomic, a Leica with a 35mm f1.4, a Rollei and Tri-X. Seems like a long time ago now, but he probably played quite a big role in kindling my interest in photography.
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Yeah they used to do these lens tests on a ship on the Thames didn't they? Was it HMS Belfast at that time I wonder? We used to call it Armchair Pornographer but it was a really good read in those days. I don't really enjoy it now. Don't know if its me, the world, or the magazine that's changed.
 
I haven't bought a copy in ages but perhaps next week I will, just to see how the mag has changed with the change in times; you never know, I might be happily surprised.

Edit: Just looked at their website and the mag might well be worth a look.
 
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I went off AP ages ago.

My first and favourite camera shop was Wallace Heaton (Earls Court branch) my Exa 1a was the for me at the time the 'dogs' though I never could afford to get the pentaprism :(
 
It was nicknamed Amateur Pornographer at school when I started reading it in the late '70s. Didn't do any buying from the ads in it back then - no credit card! Was inspired to seek out kit and try to pester parents into buying it for me Dad to use on his bodies though! Never managed to get my sticky paws on the much lusted after Nikon and Hassleblad kit I wanted... When I came back to the hobby in the late '90s, the mildly titillating content had vanished and I could now afford some of my own kit. No Hassie but I do now have a decent Nikon based kit with much of it sourced from advertisers in AP, even if I do usually choose to visit their bricks'n'mortar shops rather than purchase blind over the 'net.

Not sure if Chris Howe (a local shop now no longer...) ever advertised in the mag but Mifsuds (a short drive away) still do and I have a feeling that the Devon Camera Centre (even closer) have run a few ads in the past. LCE also have a presence in town but are less helpful than the DCC IMO. I do use the mag as a source for prices which the DCC generally do their best to match but sometimes they simply can't - they can't buy the stock from wholesalers for some of the retail prices quoted in AP which makes me wonder the provenance of some of that stock...
 
Near to me, in West Drayton near Heathrow, we had the "Euro Foto Centre" discount warehouse.
To "enjoy" their discounted prices you had to pay an annual membership fee, so they earned money whether you were buying gear or not!

One of the other old time Amateur Photographer advertisers was Mathers, who are still around.
I also liked Jacobs, and was sad to see their demise.
 
Something else just came back to me from those days. I was a teenager and most of the gear advertised in the magazine was way beyond me, but I remember the local dealer grumbling that mail order was killing his business. A lot of people just used the shop as a source of advice, and a showroom, but ordered from the classifieds to save money. It all sounds very familiar, in the internet age...
 
Brian G said:
Near to me, in West Drayton near Heathrow, we had the "Euro Foto Centre" discount warehouse.
To "enjoy" their discounted prices you had to pay an annual membership fee, so they earned money whether you were buying gear or not!

One of the other old time Amateur Photographer advertisers was Mathers, who are still around.
I also liked Jacobs, and was sad to see their demise.
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I used to buy from Euro Foto Centre. I remember they finally shut shop after being repeatedly burgled. My Durst enlarger came from there, but can't remember where my Bessler 23c that replaced it came from though. I also bought my Vivitar Series 1 35-85 F2.8 varifocal and Series 1 70-210 F3.5 zoom from a London shop near London Bridge tube, they used to advertise in AP. Later my Olympus OM primes came from a local Dollands. They were interesting days.
 
steveb said:
I also bought my Vivitar Series 1 35-85 F2.8 varifocal and Series 1 70-210 F3.5 zoom from a London shop near London Bridge tube, they used to advertise in AP.
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Vic Odden's
 
It's all coming back. Ron Spillman wrote articles. He died in 2003. I remember Victor Blackman once saying Ron looked like a Koala bear in his column mug shot.
Victor Blackman was on some TV show too doing photo shoots. No idea which show though.
I bought most of my gear from the AP ads. Haringey Photo Supplies had tins of 100 feet of 35mm film at good prices. Ready to roll your own cassettes.
 
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MartynK said:
I remember Amateur Photography too, in the 60s, and the name that sticks in my mind is Victor Blackman. I think he was with the Express, and I can still recall some of his articles about the Nikon F Photomic, a Leica with a 35mm f1.4, a Rollei and Tri-X. Seems like a long time ago now, but he probably played quite a big role in kindling my interest in photography.
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I still have a copy of "My Way with a Camera" by Victor Blackman, and it certainly influenced my photography back in those days and probably still today.

wooster said:
Yeah they used to do these lens tests on a ship on the Thames didn't they? Was it HMS Belfast at that time I wonder? We used to call it Armchair Pornographer but it was a really good read in those days. I don't really enjoy it now. Don't know if its me, the world, or the magazine that's changed.
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The ship was HMS Wellington, and it's still there, moored by Temple Pier on Victoria Embankment.
I believe the AP offices were in what is now the London Television Centre tower, directly across the Thames at Waterloo , so it was a simple job to poke a camera out of a window and shoot the test shots.
I always thought they were a very good test of a camera lens, to see how sharp the portholes on the side of the ship were.
 
Box Brownie said:
I went off AP ages ago.

My first and favourite camera shop was Wallace Heaton (Earls Court branch) my Exa 1a was the for me at the time the 'dogs' though I never could afford to get the pentaprism :(
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My fathers old Ensign folding camera came from Wallace Heaton, still has their sticker on the back, and I have an early Wallace Heaton Blue Book too, it makes interesting reading now.
 
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steveb said:
My fathers old Ensign folding camera came from Wallace Heaton, still has their sticker on the back, and I have an early Wallace Heaton Blue Book too, it makes interesting reading now.
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The old Blue Books were from what I can recall more than 'just' catalogues................................sadly I threw the last one away too long ago to remember when :( For sure I wish I had kept one or two.
 
Brian G said:
I still have a copy of "My Way with a Camera" by Victor Blackman, and it certainly influenced my photography back in those days and probably still today.


The ship was HMS Wellington, and it's still there, moored by Temple Pier on Victoria Embankment.
I believe the AP offices were in what is now the London Television Centre tower, directly across the Thames at Waterloo , so it was a simple job to poke a camera out of a window and shoot the test shots.
I always thought they were a very good test of a camera lens, to see how sharp the portholes on the side of the ship were.
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The major problem with using HMS Wellington was the weather - get a cracking lens but a crap day and the results could be lacklustre while perfect lighting could flatter to deceive when a lesser lens was tested. With AP being a weekly, tests had to be done quickly. Another problem was that the ship was floating so constantly moving slightly. The current targets are studio based with artificial lighting so are more controllable. IIRC they use a Sigma 105mm Macro lens when testing bodies.
 
ianp5a said:
You were beaten to it 6 posts earlier.
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Damn, I must pay less casual attention in future!

Indeed I used to buy from and sell to Fishwicks on occasions, just off the East Lancs Road. And every town of a certain size seemed to have a photographic shop. Wasn't there a Malcolm Snaith's? My first 'proper' camera was bought secondhand from a pharmacist who had a sideline in photo equipment.
 
Southport, circa 1979 and a couple of years ago. Central Studios moved location and was eventually taken over by Wilkinsons - and is still going today.

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There was another family owned camera shop (father and daughter seemed to run it) where my Zenith came from around '76 and where I bought my paper and chemicals. There was a second-hand shop that did a load of used camera and darkroom gear that was like an Aladdin's cave! Boots had a good photography department and I bought my Yashica FX2 from the Co-Op. That was traded in for a Pentax ME with Jessop's in Leicester (when that was where hey were) because they made me a better offer than Jacob's!

Times have changed all right.
 
We seem to be reminiscing about things and people from around 30 - 50 odd years ago, and it does bring back memories. It also makes me wonder what people are going to look back on 30 - 50 years from now, and what changes will have taken place by then. Some of us will still be around , others - like me - probably won't..!
 
MartynK said:
It also makes me wonder what people are going to look back on 30 - 50 years from now, and what changes will have taken place by then.
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They'll be reminiscing about how quaint digital photography was as they immediately transfer images from their eyes to one another on the Interbrain.
 
They'll be reminiscing about how they went to shops to buy food instead of having to go out an kill someone to steal theirs. They'll be reminiscing about breathable air, jungles, space to move, living beyond forty. Remembering the times when there was science and music and entertainment and going to the pub instead of grubbing about in the dirt while previously treatable cancers degrade and rot their emaciated, dirty bodies. Ah, turning the central heating on and not fighting for the last bits of dry wood for a warmish night in a falling-down building.

I'm glad I live now. I worry for my children but I think THEIR children have no chance of an easy life.

So, moving on to cheerier things -- I've got a new PC and my new camera is brilliant...and my new rescue dog now loves me. As for the future...f*** it, it's going to be too late for me.
 
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MartynK said:
We seem to be reminiscing about things and people from around 30 - 50 odd years ago, and it does bring back memories.
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It does. But once you reach a certain age, it does seem strange to hear younger people (such as our apprentices at work) talking about things from only thirty years ago as old fashioned.

That makes you realise you are no longer hip and trendy (do the cool kids still use that phrase?). Not that I ever was.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
It does. But once you reach a certain age, it does seem strange to hear younger people (such as our apprentices at work) talking about things from only thirty years ago as old fashioned.
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I'm sure we did just the same. WW2 seemed like ancient history to me as a child in the 1960s, yet it was less than 30 years earlier. Events from the 1980s seem like they happened yesterday to me now.
 
Time does not appear linear as we age (I'm 50).

When I was at school in the late 1970s and early 1980s, any reference to the 1960s seemed like it was way back in the distant past. The 1990s now seems like it was fairly recent.


Steve.
 
ShinySideUp said:
I did too. I always liked (like) a good personal and professional company. I think Greys of Westminster is one although I've never had cause to buy from them, however if I lived in London I would certainly pay them a visit. My personal favourite high street seller of camera equipment is the London Camera Exchange (my nearest branch is Plymouth) as their prices match the internet and they seem to know what they are talking about. I bought my last two cameras from them, a D7000 and a D810.
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I've used Greys in the past to buy Nikon Ais manual focus lenses before my eyesight started to go a bit, and the service was always first rate. Their secondhand section in the basement is like an Aladdin's cave of manual focus lenses.

LCE is my personal favourite as well, the Reading branch in my case, not only do they know what they are talking about, but they also take the time to build relationships with their regular customers.
 
Ed Sutton said:
They'll be reminiscing about how quaint digital photography was as they immediately transfer images from their eyes to one another on the Interbrain.
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and people will still be having the brainwave transfer method V film debate ( ilford still going strong , kodak back stronger etc etc )
 
I wonder how many DSLRs will end up being genuinely collectible? And which will be regarded as genuine classics. Come to that, I wonder how many will actually be useable.
 
wooster said:
How about Mr Cad. When I moved to London I made a point of visiting them in Croydon and I bought a rather nifty enlarger and lens from them :)

I know they are still on the go and seem to have successfully moved online but I remember their ads in AP being full of small print goodies
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They were pretty much my local camera store - all my darkroom kit & supplies came from them. The esoteric & developing stuff was good value, but even then their used cameras were fairly pricey. Their store in the Whitgift centre had a fair bit of Pentax 6x7 kit in, and I remember wishing I could afford it at the time. The guy who owned it (Alex) was always about in the Windmill road warehouse, and was interesting to talk to when he was relaxed.

The old AP magazine was OK for the first couple of years before they started to recycle all the same stuff, and after 3 years I stopped buying because it had become tedious.
 
ancient_mariner said:
The old AP magazine was OK for the first couple of years before they started to recycle all the same stuff, and after 3 years I stopped buying because it had become tedious.
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I suppose this is always likely to happen with almost every established subject; after a photography magazine has gone over the latest camera equipment and a few other topical things it is only left with rehashes of technique.

I have a subscription to New Scientist, however, and that never goes over old stuff: It's rubbish for photographic techniques though!
 
Nod said:
I wonder how many DSLRs will end up being genuinely collectible? And which will be regarded as genuine classics. Come to that, I wonder how many will actually be useable.
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I don't know enough about this to even suggest an answer, but I'd be interested too. I suppose it's possible to make any part for a mechanical camera, if you have the skills and/or money, but replacing electronics might be another matter. Anyone?
 
I presume the mechanical bits will be available in quantity, from all the cameras whose electronics have given up. In my experience, older electronic devices just seem to die. Many on the last day of the warranty. I can only imagine some electrical contact is broken between components. As there is no reason that components themselves should somehow die.
 
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