Jessops UK

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Just flew up to Jessops (New Oxford Street UK) to grab some developer. Headed to the basement which used to be wall-to-wall chemicals, darkroom equipment and papers - all gone. On requesting I was led to a tiny shelf unit which had two bottles of developer on it and some fix.</p>

<p>If the big photo retailers are turning their toes up on the darkroom there is a window of opportunity for a specialist store here. In fact one already exists and is doing quite well by all accounts: Silverprint (Waterloo).</p>

<p>But shocked none the less: I practically grew up using Jessops as a photographer, at this rate they will just become another photo digi store competing with high street stores like Dixons: what's the point - we don't need two Dixons.</p>

<p>Ric</p>

<p>I am just a bit surprised they had any film stuff at all. I am fairly sure my local Jessops hasn't. As you say Silverprint are still going strong.</p>

<p>I'm lucky to live in a college town with a photography program at the university, and some of them still shoot a lot of film, so we have a great camera store; but in the USA, Freestyle (Film forever!) is still going strong (<a href="http://www.freestylephoto.biz/">link</a>) For a source for things like platinum and other exotic and ancient processes there is still the Photographers' Formulary (<a href="http://www.photoformulary.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1">link</a>) who sell all kinds of chemicals and supplies and also teach classes on older techniques [also through Amazon (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_photo?ie=UTF8&search-alias=photo&field-brandtextbin=Photographers%27%20Formulary">link</a>)].</p>

<p>Our local Jessops (Bristol) still has some b+w chemicals and materials. Jacobs, just down the road from them, dropped all b+w chemicals and materials then started stocking them again a year or so back. I prefer to use Calumet.<br>

There's a place in Birmingham called Ag Photographic (<a href="http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk">www.ag-photographic.co.uk</a>) who look like a competitor for Silverprint.</p>

<p>There is very little in my Jessops store which has a digital photo centre built into it. The service is abysmal. Last time I went there were 3 young girls just chatting amongst themselves. I needed advice of purchasing slide film. It wouldn't have been so bad if they said the knew nothing about it. However, they said they could not help me as they were in the digital section and could not move from there!<br>

There is also a moronic older guy who was keen on getting me purchase a Nikon body even though I only wanted to see Sony bodies.</p>

<p>Nothing about Jessops surprises me- its been years since they were worth a light and after having closed a large number of stores, I'd imagine that they continue to teeter along the edge of doom.</p>

<p>Incidentally for those visiting central London who may not want to trek south of the river to Silverprint, you might want to take a look at Process supplies on Mount Pleasant, about maybe 20 minutes walk away along Theobalds Road</p>

<p><a href="http://www.process-supplies.co.uk">www.process-supplies.co.uk</a></p>

<p>Process Supplies looks good - pity they are Mon-Fri though: Silverprint do a restricted hours service on Saturdays (no congestion charge). The New Oxofd Street Jacobs 'got rid' of all their darkroom stock years ago, talk about <em>knee jerk </em>retailing. About the only no-go area for digital is large format contact printing from 8x10" negatives I guess, they can parallel everything else but I will never accept a printer print as a photograph - it's a digital print - a photograph to me is a <em>photographic print </em>full stop. Yes the mainstream knowledge base is collapsing. I phoned Sony UK a year ago to ask them about the shutter speed on one of their products (cam), they did not know what a <em>shutter speed</em> was, since the majority of their products are now 'auto mode'. Sad days!</p>

<p>Ric</p>

<p>I use Process Supplies often (although I too wish they were open on Saturdays, sigh). They have pretty much everything you need for the darkroom--B&W and colour. Their prices are quite reasonable.</p>

<p>And down my way in Croydon, Mr. CAD carries a pretty good selection of film, black & white chemistry, a bit of colour chems, and some paper. Paper is actually cheaper at Process Supplies, but Mr. CAD's prices on chemistry are quite competitive...and the store is sort of a fairyland of exotic camera equipment. Mr. CAD is allegedly the largest retailer of second-hand gear in the UK, and they have a vast selection of darkroom kit on the premises, amongst an amazing variety of picture-making gear.</p>

<p>They are open on Saturdays.</p>

<p>Mr. Cad are a valuable resourse - they found an enlarger component for me on a Durst that nowhere else in the world could source!</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>Ah, Ric--so you know about Uncle Alex's garage sale (as the proprietor of another Croydon photo establishment teasingly calls it). Yes, if there is some bit of esoteric but vital photographic hardware that you absolutely must have, there is a very good chance that it lies within their vaults.</p>

<p>Thanks Bernard, my one criticism is their prices, but if I'm really stuck for something photographic I generally head off in that direction!</p>

<p>Ric</p>

<p>Yeah, I understand you on that. I haven't bought any major pieces of photographic gear from Mr. CAD for that reason...I generally rely on eBay for that. Or <a href="http://www.croydonphotocentre.co.uk">High Street Radio</a> in Croydon. Despite the name, Reg Roach has been selling Leica (and other high-quality) gear there for about 50 years.</p>

<p>He doesn't have a huge variety of stock--certainly nothing like the cornucopia at Mr. CAD--but it's good stuff, his prices are reasonable, and Reg is willing to haggle and will entertain serious offers. Something that Mr. CAD is famous for <em>not</em> doing. Have a look at the website, and see if they've got anything of interest.</p>

<p>I do, however, buy lots of my chemistry from Mr. CAD, if I don't have time to run into Central London to Process Supplies, as the prices are generally only a little higher--and often even less than Process Supplies. Occasionally Alex will buy up the stock of some poor photographic establishment that has gone under, and clears out film and chemistry at bargain prices. And even their absolutely fresh stuff is priced very reasonably.</p>

<p>Thanks, yes I know that shop: they actually suggested I visited Mr Cad's several years ago. I was also interested in Cad's ciné equipment but again it is quite highly priced and I never actually caught sight of anything in there which really captured my attention. I'd probably spend more in Cad's if they let you browse but I seldom get inside the door without an assistant being over in a flash: never mind!</p>

<p>But as I say, without Cad's I'd have a virtually useless Durst 609 enlarger and now it works a treat! ;)</p>

<p>I've used Mr Cad a few times and always found them a bit pricey. But as said above they do carry some really out-of-the-way second hand stuff. So I'd recommend them with the proviso to check prices carefully. As far as the assistants are concerned I have always found them helpful and happy to let you browse among their astonishing array of gear if you ask nicely. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>we don't need two Dixons.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Or even one!</p>

<p>Jessops.</p>

<p>Just say no.</p>

<p>Ever since our local pro shop closed a couple of years ago, Jessops had kept a small, but useful selection of B&W materials and chemicals. The chemicals at reasonably competitive prices as well, so I would pop in when I was in town to pick up dev or fix.</p>

<p>I called in at the weekend, and what did I find. The shop is now what I suppose you would call a digital printing "booteek", selling a few digital cameras on the side. I asked if they had any DD-X in stock, and the assistant said he would get the keys, and we could see what they have.</p>

<p>He then leads me over to an under-bench cupboard that has all of their film, paper, and chemicals piled up in it! No DD-X, but one bottle of XTOL, lying on it's side on top of a pile of paper!</p>

<p>I got this warm, fuzzy feeling that they really cared!</p>

<p>I felt like an alien in Jessops notwithstanding the polite helpfulness of the staff who all seemed to be in their late teens early twenties. The interior of the London 'mega' store now resembles a film set out of Stanley Kubrick with laptop-type consoles at little work stations springing up out of the floor like white polypropylene toad stools. I'd have felt less out of place in a space suit.</p>

<p>Before Christmas, Jessops in The Trafford Centre (Manchester, UK) was selling off all of their darkroom equipment.<br>

I popped in there again a couple of weeks ago and they seem to have changed their mind and completely restocked.<br>

I'm wondering whether it is down to the individual store and the local market. There are a few colleges around here that have well equiped darkrooms and the students are encouraged to use them.</p>

<p>It's weird. I used to run a photographic darkroom in the 1990's but it received only grudging support from the powers-that-were of those days; yet I walked into a college only several years ago and b/w darkroom developing was a healthy option on the syllabus.</p>

<p>Whatever you may say about Jessops, they are a photographic presence on the High Street in the UK and many people are introduced to photography by them. It's easy to be snobby, but think how much shop space costs per square foot in New Oxford Street. Devoting such expensive space to black and white processing gear would never see a return on investment. Getting rid of such esoteric items is not "knee jerk retailing" or "teetering on the edge of doom", but sensible economics. Black and white processing is a minority interest and you guys have the internet to satisfy your needs.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Alan</p>

<p>If anyone interested in photography seriously regards black and white film developing as "esoteric" I suggest they may have lost the plot. But they are in good company - we no longer study ancient languages with blueprint grammars because it is no longer 'politically correct' to do so, despite the immense advantage gained in terms of all future languages studied. The same is true for manual cameras and dark room processing - the student gains a firm foundation in the basics and heritage of photography, a philosophy which is the antithesis of the<em> 'point'n'shoot' </em>school of photography (check out Flickr [<em>groan</em>]). Accordingly I am quite content to be in a minority, I am in excellent company.</p>