> >When we had photo shops, not photo counters in a local Wal Mart. > > Photo counters in WalMart made photography available to a lot more > people. Not that I like WalMart, but that in itself is a great thing. Photography was always available to those that wanted it. All people needed to do is find a store and walk through the door. My point is there are far fewer real photographic stores these days. I have watched them drop like flies for years. Salespeople were hired if they understood photography; a Wal Mart salesperson doesn't know what a filter is unless they are in the furnace parts section. > >When many things were well known and widely used. And before digital where > >lazy people can do whatever it is they do. Digital has caused much to be > >lost and once gone, will never come back around. > > So have lots of things. If you'd like to go back to a life without flush > toilets, telephones, medicine to keep newborn death rates down, and > internet connections, you can do it in the jungle. Sign off now and go > back to that life. Otherwise, things change, it's the way it's always > been, things always change. We were talking about photography, not toilets and pills. You cannot seriously think I want a toilet free, pill free life, do you? Your argument simply does not apply. At one time, I could visit almost any photo shop in Utah and get reliable information, plenty of products to choose from, and I could count on a well stocked darkroom section. Hell, we stocked a dozen different enlargers, from Focomats to the 45MCRX. We also stocked perhaps forty different tripods and we had more than 40,000 filters and adapter rings in stock. I know because when we closed, I inventoried all of them. If you wanted a series 4.5 K2 and a 32.8mm adapter ring? We had them in stock. Or a 17.8 mm ring for that matter. We stocked most papers offered by Kodak and plenty of chemicals. Not to mention, films we never sold much of, like 828 and 110 slide films and almost every popular 100 foot bulk emulsions. Or sheet films, for that matter. It is not this way these days. There are no well stocked dealers in my state. When Leica introduced one of their gold plated wonders, we bought two. When Polaroid sold their instant movie system, we bought a dozen. We had in stock the Polaroid SX-70 and every accessory the day the cameras was released. We stocked new Bolex cameras even though video killed MP film. Bags? We had hundreds of brands and styles. We stocked the Linhof line, even though sales were slow. We wanted our customers to read about something new and visit us for immediate delivery. That is why we bought at least six of every new Hasselblads and Leicas introduced. When we started selling the Contac/Yashica line, we stocked every lens offered except the long length lenses that were too expensive. These days, you are lucky if you can find a roll of Kodachrome. When you ask about Kodachrome, the salesperson sends you to the "Paul Simon's Greatest Hits" bin. Bob
