A sad day for CIncinnati Photographers

Today I was working on 7th St in downtown Cincinnati and I noticed the metal bars were pulled across the entrance to Provident Camera. The sign in the window thank past customers and directed us to a well known photography store across the river.

Provident Camera had been in business for as long as I could remember. My grandfather bought gear there, I had bought gear there, every serious photographer I knew had made at least one trip to Provident Camera. It was the store that was a little more expensive than the big box but had real customer service. Their employees probably knew more about cameras than most of the photagraphers that walked through their doors.

I sensed it coming. About a month ago I called to ask if they had the Nikon GP-! in stock. "No" was the quick reply. Any idea when you might get it in? "We probably won't." and that was it.

Lately when I called to look for any gear it was never in stock and they never had any plans to carry it. On a photo shoot about a month ago I told another photographer how low their stock was and we both agreed that one day we would walk up and the doors would just be shuttered. That is exactly how it happened.

Part of me wishes they had given some notice. Had a going out of business sale, anything really so we could say our goodbyes. It didn't work out that way so I will say my goodbye here. Goodbye to the last real camera shop in the tri-state.

Cincinnati Art Museum

On Wednesday nights The Cincinnati Art Museum is open until 9pm. I like wondering the museum at night, it is much quieter and less crowded. That relates to me having a lot more time taking photos without people walking into frame.

I have a Macro lens I traded for and it is TACK SHARP. Unfortunately that means it is also easy to just barely miss the right focus. So I took a lot of great shots but some of them didn't turn out so great. The lens definitely has a learning curve but here is one of my favorites.

The Hermit