Bradford Camera Exchange
Bradford Camera Exchange is situated on North Parade at the top end of Bradford. The business has been in Bradford since 1936 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 with an 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 photo equipment then, subject to the make and condition, this can also be accommodated.
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.com
The picture below is one of many taken on North Parade when I was working at Bradford Camera Exchange. The pictures were taken in 1979 and show a little of the severity of that winter. I've dedicated a gallery to this series of pictures "Bradford Camera Exchange Winter 1979", the gallery can be found on Gallery 1. I've been asked to do one or two talks this coming Autumn /Winter about the website and its pictures. I am grateful to the Proprietor and Managing Director of Bradford Camera Exchange, John Greenwood, for his sponsorship of the printing of the pictures for this project. Click the link to see more. Bradford Camera Exchange Winter 1979
Below are pictures showing Bradford Camera Exchange situated in Victoria Square in the 60s. The shop was just over the road from the world famous Alhambra Theatre and below the old Odeon cinema which was situated on Manchester Road. The documents before show a wriiten record of the firm's early days, mentioning Removal and Expansion with a little poetry thrown in. Pictures of the Odeon can be found on BradfordEye's 60s gallery. No doubting the history of this Photographic store then (back to 1936), but it's not stood still, with regard to what's on offer in the way of digital technology, both in equipment hardware and processing.
Grateful thanks to John Greenwood (Proprietor and Managing Director) for his trust in letting me have the use of these pictures and documents.
  
Above: Bradford Camera Exchange pictured right on the Victoria Square roundabout. The building at the rear of the picture, dominating the surrounding buildings is Bradford Town Hall.
Above: Another view of Victoria Square showing the Bradford Camera Exchange shop on the right hand side of the roundabout.
The buildi ng on the left was the Mechanic's Institute, sadly pulled down in the 70s. The empty unit next to the shop on the left hand side would house Bradford Camera Exchange prior to the opening of the shop on Market Street in 1971. This would trade under the name of Janet Green specializing in Mail Order,supplying filters and accessories as well as selling new and secondhand equipment, the shop was also well known for its high volume film processing , this was out sourced to a company, Worth Photofinishers in Keighley, and later Alpine in Sheffield.
Forwarding developing and printing to other companies ceased, when John Greenwood opened the first and only Kodak processing laboratory in the Bradford area, at the rear of the North Parade premises in Northgate. Kodak Photopoint was its trading name later to be renamed ProAm IMAGING now a well known National Award winning company with a reputation for high end qu ality printing and processing. The Market street shop was managed by fellow Director Des Verity, who later moved to Halifax where the much larger premises of the renamed Janet Green shop would allow for greater expansion in the Photographic Mail Order line. Just as an aside, the name Janet Green was the maiden name of John Greenwoods wife, prior to them getting married in 1971.Sadly, Des passed away in January 1995, Greatly missed by all who new him!
On the right is 24 North Parade, from 1964 Bradford Camera Exchange would trade from there, finally moving to the vacant "March The Tailor's" shop on the opposite side of North Parade in 1983, which of course they still reside. See first picture on this page.
 
Alfred Greenwood Joe Bruce
 
Mabel Bruce and Alfred Greenwood
Pictured left is the Architects drawing of what would be Bradford Camera Exchange "Victoria Square" shop. This was situated at the bottom of Manchester Rd, just over from the world famous Alhambra Theatre.The left hand picture shows a display case at the 24 North Parade address (now Table Decor), showing a wide selection of cameras, of the time.
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