RE: Finding supplies

Eric Neilsen (ejnasn@laplaza.org)
Sun, 18 Jan 1998 22:24:07 -0700

Joseph, I live in the northern part of New Mexico, and there are no reasonable photo stores for 70 miles, and they only have a small supply of items at high prices. The best way to get what I need is call the specialty suppliers of photo chemicals and have them ship Via Fed Ex or UPS. You might even get to the point where you find out were they get their supply and can buy direct from that source. The down side to that is that while they may have better prices, they don't have anybody that uses the chemicals in the way that you do, therefore no support when things go bad. So the juggling act of product support and cheaper prices begins. And through networks such as this, we all share our in roads to supplies and so it goes. Check the archives and I think you will find many references to paper suppliers, chemicals suppliers, film supplies, lighting suppplies......

We are fortunate in the Northern New Mexico area to have the Photo Eye book store, and now B&S, in Santa Fe. Artcraft , located in NY, is also a good chemical supplier for most silver and now non silver chemicals, as is the Formulary. Three or four suppliers of glassware and lab equipment have been mentioned in recent times. We are also fortunate to have Los Alamos close by for second hand lab ware. Sometimes low tech answers, and sometimes high tech answers can be found here in the Land of Enchantment. Happy Hunting!

EJ Neilsen

----------
From: Joseph O'Neil[SMTP:joneil@multiboard.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 1998 9:22 AM
To: alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca
Subject: Finding supplies

First off, I wish to thank everyone for thier splendid postings on the use
of Pyro. The net can be a great place at times for obtainign relatively
obscure information, and it sure was a help to me to read all of those
messages.

Here's a question that has alway nagged me. How do people find thier
supplies? For example, as far as I know (and I could be wrong), there is
only one place in all of Canada that sells PMK Pyro and printng out paper.
Most alt-process materials do not even seem to be commercially produced
anymore. Weird, but I suppose by today's standards, colour dye transer
could be considered an "alt-process".

I've found sites on the net that sell photo cehmistry supplies, but I am
jsut intertest how most people go aobut gahtering thier materials. Part of
my interst lies is the fact that I write article for a national astronomy
journal here in Canada, and one of my futre article ideas is how hard it is
obtain supplies and equipment for the serious amature. To me, it is
interesting to draw parallels to other (for lack of a better term) "unique
hobbies". I see two trends emerging in society. First, there seems to be
a return to "traditional" arts and skills - eveyrthing form home brewing of
beer to quilting to amature blacksmithing and on and on and on. Secondly,
despite there being a new shopping mall built on just about every major
street corner in the US & Canada, the actual range of mechandise avaialbe
for people to buy seems to be shrinking. In almost every case, supplies
for "traditional" arts are hard to obtain.

So, if you do not mind be wavering too far off topic here, how do people
gather thier suppleis together? Do they make their own, bug the heck out
of the local camera store to carry what they need, etc.
take care
joe

http://www.multiboard.com/~joneil
B&W, Large Format Images From Southern Ontario