BradfordEye's Welcome page is dedicated to Bradford's oldest Photographic Retailer
BRADFORD CAMERA EXCHANGE
19 North Parade Bradford BD1 3JL
Contact Bradford Camera Exchange on
01274 729144
Scroll down to learn more about this well established Bradford Photographic Retailer.
Bradford Camera Exchange & ProAM IMAGING
Bradford Camera Exchange is situated on North Parade at the top end of Bradford. The business has been in Bradford since 1934 and is the only privately owned photographic shop in the city. The store has a wide range of digital cameras including SLRs and compact digital cameras. The shop is renowned for its high end range of secondhand equipment both film and digital,along withan extensive range of accessories, darkroom equipment and telescopes in their ever-changing stock turn-around. Equipment not kept as a regular line can be ordered. Should you wish to part-exchange or indeed sell any of your of your photographic equipment, subject to make and condition, this can also be accomodated.
Contact Bradford Camera Exchange on 01274 729144
The entrance from North Parade showing the new equipment display on the right and the secondhand equipment window to the left.
Their new stock equipment window featuring compact digital cameras, and SLR'S, plus a comprehensive range of Binoculars. Bradford Camera Exchange also stock Telescopes and of course if an item is not in stock and you'd like to order, then this they will do also.
Bradford Camera Exchange made their name in good quality secondhand photographic equipment some years ago, and today is no different. With a constant turnover of equipment, then it's no wonder this window is regularly watched by many of their customers. The old TV advert "John Collier John Collier the Window to Watch" could easily be applied to this window. As the banner says,"Modern Precision Cameras Purchased for Cash", no change there then! Bradford Camera Exchange has been purchasing good quality equipment for years. Drop in, should you have any surplus photographic gear to sell!
And here's just a selection of photographic equipment on display. All the items are priced, and staff only to willing to demonstrate for you. Should you wish to part exchange, then this can also be arranged, with an on the spot quotation given within a matter of minutes. Managing Director John Greenwood is always available and on hand to advise. Please to remember, this company was founded by his father Alfred Greenwood (FRPS and past president of the UK's oldest photographic society, Bradford Photographic Society ) back in 1936. There are not many companies in Bradford from those days, least of all a photographic company.
Situated at the rear is the photo processing arm of Bradford Camera Exchange, ProAm IMAGING. This award winning part of the company offers a most comprehensive service in both film and digital processing to both amateur and professional alike, including an online picture upload service. Without going into detail as to the other services they offer, why not give a look at the price list below. As far as I'm aware, they're fairly up to date but I would check first with the shop, or click on the link to be taken to the ProAm IMAGING website www.proamimaging.co.uk
Above are the price lists showing the various photo processing services of ProAm IMAGING,or if you prefer click on the blue link to take you to their website www.proamimaging.co.uk
Daily Express photographer and Amateur Photographer columnist (passed on)Victor Blackman cuts the tape for the opening of Bradford Camera Exchanges' 1986 50th Anniversary Show held at what was then The Norfolk Garden Hotel. On Mr Blackman's right is Edna Greenwood (Director), next to her is fellow Director, sadly passed on, Des Verity, and on Mr Blackman's left, is current Managing Director John Greenwood.
Bronica representative Ken Carroll features in the lefthand picture, sadly passed on. Interestingly Ken lived in Bradford and not to far away from myself in the 80s. The chap in the background is a slightly younger Bradfordeye, studiously reading a price list for one of the many people who attended the show. The righthand picture show the crowd early on, but believe me you would have great difficulty late on during the day, indeed alot of people came direct from their place of work.
Bradford Camera Exchange director Des Verity, Courtney Lighting studio.
receiving a long service award from fellow
director Mabel Bruce.
Mrs Mabel Bruce and Victor Blackman visit the CZ Scientific stand with company representative in attendance, Alan Beal.
The Ilford sponsored Ford Focus RS 2000 driven by Radio 1 DJ Mike Smith The car proved to be a good crowd magnet as the show progressed through the day.
Mrs Mable Bruce (Director) Telegraph & Argus Photographer Dennis Flatt, Minolta representative Richard Farrar and Managing Director John Greenwood, judging pictures for the company's 50th Anniversary held at the Norfolk Garden in 1986.
Well I think the clue to the year is clearly marked on the window, yes 1979, Bradford Camera Exchange was still at the 24 North Parade branch situated next to Table Decor. And it would be a few more years before they would move over the road and take over the vacant building of what was March The Tailors, a much larger shop and with plenty of space to install a print and film processing laboratory, which they did! It's called www.proamimaging.com click on the link, to visit this award winning film and digital processing lab, One of the clever things done regarding the design of this store was the Arcade, in which you could shelter from the rain as you cast your eyes over the company's extensive range of new and secondhand Photographic Equipment, an inspired idea, yes! And you don't need to walk around the building to access ProAm IMAGING , just walk through the shop! If you'd like to see more snow pictures from the 70s and 80s, just click on the blue link! Bradford Snow 70s 80s
John and Janet Greenwood
John Greenwood 24 North Parade 1970s
Bradford Camera Exchange North Parade 1970s
Bradford Camera Exchange 24 North Parade. As you can see from the display, there's a comprehensive range of photographic equipment. Names such as Fuji Hanimex Yahica feature large. Unusual for this display is the abundance of Fuji Single 8 cameras. Fuji was imported by Hanimex UK, and whilst they went on to manufacture an excellent range of M42 screw SLR cameras', later stocked by the company in some measure, their cine cameras had caused some stir in the industry, taking on the might of the Kodak empire with their Super 8 cartridge film system. Many in the industry felt the Fuji had the better system, especially given that the Fuji had a metal gate to hold the film flat, as opposed to the Kodak system that had the gate in the cartridge itself, leading many to believe that a manufacturing fault in the cartridge could lead to an out of focus film, due to it not holding it flat enough. This to my knowledge never happened but there was a number of articles written in the photographic press about the possibility. One of the big advantages of the Fuji system was the possibility of being able to backwind the film, thus allowing to the film maker to double expose the film, this is used in many cinema films for fading from one scene to another. I've found a link should you wish to know more about this 8mm film system.
A slide projector promotion in the window of Bradford Camera Exchange 1970
The above picture shows the 24 North Parade shop. As you can see from the window display, there was a big push for the slide projector, in this case Hanimex, an Australian company marketed in the UK by Hanimex Uk. The big selling point with this range of projectors was the Rotary slide magazine, this was very popular with the public as it allowed 120 slides to be put in the magazine, useful, as you didn't have to change over after every 36 slide, as with the more conventional straight cartridge slide system. You can imagine how popular that was with photographic clubs, who at the time were very big on slide competitions. Kodak also had their version called the Carousel, I believe this was the original rotary slde concept, this held 80 slides and was a more upmarket professional version, instead of pushing the slides in front of the projection lamp, it used gravity to drop them in front of the lamp. A far better system, but very expensive for the man on the street at the time! The British version was the Gnome, made in Cardiff and a most robust dye cast machine, but somehow they could not overcome the Hanimex marketing machine, with its slick UK marketing and good dealer discounts for bulk buying.
I have to say to anyone who has trawled through the site, will have come across a young Bradfordeye pictured in E & M Hazlehurst Chemist on Toller Lane, this was my first job and coincidentally Hazlehursts' was also a Hanimex main agent and Tasco Telescope agent also, so there was a link to the two companies of which both I would worked for. Even today Bradford Camera Exchange sells Telescopes, something you don't see in alot of Photographic stores, still carrying on the tradition since the 60s!
Notice of Bradford Camera Exchanges' move to 24 North Parade June 22nd 1964, as advertised in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus June 19th 1964.
Another view of Bradford Camera Exchange,13 Little Horton Lane Victoria Square, the white coloured building left of Atkinsons . What's also interesting is above Atkinsons is the Chamber of Trade. The picture gives a real feel of the 50s especially the Capstan cigarette sign on the left.
The above two pictures were taken at the Victoria Square shop situated at the bottom of Manchester Rd. The picture on the left showing a showcase full of cameras of the time (50s), mainly consisting of folding bellows cameras taking 120 620 and 127 roll film, along with a few 35mm cameras. The majority of cameras imported were subject to punitive import tax. The British camera industry was still a dominant force which would change as the imnport tax was relaxed allowing the German camera industry to gain a foothold, resulting later in the early 60s the Japanese camera industry to do likewise. The British Reid 35mm camera based on the screw thread (39mm) interchangeable Leica. The Reid had the same interchangeable lens mount and came fitted with an excellent Taylor Hobson 5cm standard lens. This was then accepted as the pinacle of British camera engineering along with another interchangeable 35mm camera, the rather eccentric Periflex with its periscope reflex viewfinder, this was an excellent piece of design, affording TTL focusing via a periscope which was set over the film plane but shot up when the shutter was released, this allowed for accurate focusing, but alas priced itself out of the market. Secondhand Reid's command quite high prices with the Periflex fetching alot more than when I was in the trade back in the 80s.
The picture on the right shows a good range of enlargers, makes then would include MPP Envoy Gamer and De Vere. Black and White prints were the order of the day then, with slide film not really getting a real foothold till the 60s. The camera clubs, both Bradford Photographic Society and Bradford Club held print competitions, not only against each other but around the local district, this of course then would be in the main Black and White prints, so you can imagine the better camera shops would carry chemicals, photographic paper, and all the hardware required to further your interest in this fine hobby. Camera clubs in particular were the driving force in raising the status of photography, mainly having inter club competitions etc with black and white prints being in the main as far as competition went, slide film didn't really get a hold in the clubs till the 60s, mainly the cost and quality. However when both those came within reach, slide competitions in the clubs took off, with both men and women embracing the lower cost and quality , and lets not forget, these people were not interested necessarily in the mechanics of film and print processing, so in a way it opened up a whole new era for these members. With this new medium within the clubs, memberships rose, which gave photo dealers the confidence to stock more hardware, slide projectors, screens and later into the 70s the means to add sound to a slide show along with the ability through various devices to fade seemlessly from one slide to another. Yes slides had come to stay, well at least till the nineties anyway!
I've posted a link to one of the oldest clubs in the UK if not the oldest, Bradford Photographic Society. Click on the blue link http://bradfordphoto.org.uk/ The other is Bradford Camera Club, this site gives details along with other clubs in the YPU area of their address meetings, etc click on the blue link. http://www.ypu.org.uk/clubs.htm
Bradford Camera Exchange Victoria Square
Bradford Camera Exchange Victoria Square 1950s was just the other side of the roundabout from the world famous Bradford Alhambra Theatre, from where this picture was taken, just below the Odeon cinema (demolished late 60s) on Manchester Road. The picture on the left shows a graphic from the architects drawings showing how the finished shop frontage would look. Quite modern for the time!
VIctoria Square 1950s
Situated right of the roundabout is Bradford Camera Exchange. The imposing clock tower dominates the scene as indeed it still does today, however sadly, all of the buildings in the foreground were demolished in the 60s, leaving a very different view of Bradford today.
Alfred Greenwood Joe Bruce
Edna and Alfred Greenwood Mabel Bruce and Alfred Greenwood
