Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Since 2007

Recommended reading

Jim Grey
17 comments on Recommended reading
1 minute
Kodak Six-20
Canon PowerShot S80, 2010

💻 We all have a first-job story to tell. Here, J. P. Cavanaugh tells his. He was a supplicant to the King, but only for three weeks! Read My (Very) Brief Career With Burger King

💻 I remember when Fry’s opened. It was an electronics wonderland! I remember the last time I bought something there, just a couple years ago. A new laptop, in an emergency, when an old one died. The place was a wasteland. RIP, Fry’s, which closed for good this week. Om Malik shares his remembrance. Read The Death of a Retailer

📷 Olli Thomson lists seven things he doesn’t do now as a photographer that he used to do. Read Then and Now

📷 Yashica’s SLRs don’t get the attention they deserve. Thus, I’m sharing arhphotographic‘s review of the Yashica FX-2! Read The No-Nonsense Yashica FX-2

📷 Alex Luyckx reviews the Rollei Supergrain developer — which develops any black-and-white film in the same amount of time, with consistently good results. Read Developer Review Blog No. 14 – Rollei Supergrain

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Comments

17 responses to “Recommended reading”

  1. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    I was never a fan of Fry’s…as a retail advertising guy from way back, I considered their advertised prices, which you couldn’t actually get unless you belonged to their “customer loyalty program”, to be a form of bait-and-switch. Since I refused to join and be bombarded by e-mail, I had to look at the price and decide how much more it was really going to cost me in order to be worth the trip. The last two times I went there in Indianapolis, they were “sold out” of what I wanted, and you’re right, the person on the floor didn’t know anything and kept playing with his phone. And speaking of “trip”, it was on the other side of the city from where I lived, and in Indianapolis, that’s a 20 mile round trip! The madness of a city that’s 134 sq. mi. larger than Chicago!

    Can’t say enough about Yashica, tho. I had an FR as a back-up camera when I owned a Contax system back in the 80’s (the CZ lenses were still the best 35mm lenses I ever owned), and for my uses, the FR was every bit as useable at far less money that the actual Contax body.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Only reason I went to Fry’s for that laptop was because I was in Fishers already! If it had happened close to home I’d have gone to my nearby Best Buy.

      Reply
      1. Andy Umbo Avatar
        Andy Umbo

        Funny you mentioned that. When I was in Zionsville, I used to go to the Best Buy on Michigan, and they were great there! When I needed an “over the air” antenna for my digital TV, a multiple-pierced alt gal helped me out and she couldn’t have been more knowledgeable and accommodating to an old “duff”! I then kept going back there for other stuff! Shows you how much the “help” makes a difference!

        Reply
        1. Jim Grey Avatar
          Jim Grey

          That BB is where I bought my TV. It was a real splurge for me at the time, it was a pretty nice one. Got great advice from the salesperson there as I chose among a few options.

          Reply
  2. J P Avatar
    J P

    I will miss Fry’s. It’s not that I went often but when I did it was because I needed something specific like a particular kind of cord, adapter or oddball component needed to make some new device compatible with my old audio/video/computer devices. I often wasn’t quite sure what I wanted but knew that once I saw the shelves I’d know it when I saw it. I can still do that but it’s a 2 day minimum process now to do it online.

    I wonder what’s in store for the local building. I remember when it opened as The Incredible Universe electronics and appliance superstore, then it became the used car superstore. It made a perfect Fry’s, but as noted in the link those days are over.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Radio Shack was that place for me. I can’t tell you how many doodads and gewgaws I bought there over the years.

      Reply
      1. Andy Umbo Avatar
        Andy Umbo

        Plus One for the “Shack”! The little one in my neighborhood had enough stuff in bins that it allowed me to rewire a Uher microphone with their specialty plug, to use with a 1/4 phono! Long gone out of my ‘hood now, and much missed!

        Reply
      2. Dan Cluley Avatar
        Dan Cluley

        I have heard of Fry’s but don’t think they had any in Mid-Michigan. Sounds like a combo of the good parts of BB & Radio Shack. Besides the “Shack”, the place I miss was a local Mom & Pop computer store that sold used hardware & software. I don’t suppose I bought a lot there, but it always fun to discover something you didn’t know you needed.

        Reply
  3. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    My experience is similar to JP’s. My first “real” job was after my freshman year at Rose in a small local factory, operating a grinder. I don’t recall what I was paid, but am pretty sure it was more than minimum wage of $3.35. I still use a pair of wire strippers I had made that were not quite in spec because the wheel needed dressed. Three week later I was off to do drafting for $9/hr.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      You did very well then. The most I made per hour before starting my career was $5, as a courier.

      Reply
  4. arhphotographic Avatar
    arhphotographic

    Thank’s for the mention. There are more to come😊

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  5. tbm3fan Avatar
    tbm3fan

    A big Fry’s is just a 12 minute walk from me towards downtown. Of, well, I only went to them once in a blue moon so no big loss for me.

    Yashica, very much overlooked on anything other than a TLR. Being an underdog they were the second manufacturer I collected after my Minoltas. Have acquired all their rangefinders and all their screw mount SLRs. In their bayonet mount only the FRI, FRII, FX-D, and FX-3 Super which are the only significant ones in their many C/Y mount cameras at least to me. They were once super dirt cheap. Only knock against them is I am not a fan of that over/under green and red light meter system.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I’ve owned a couple Yashica SLRs, but they’ve been broken. Someday I’ll find one in working order and give it a proper review!

      Reply
      1. tbm3fan Avatar
        tbm3fan

        You don’t seem to have a lot of luck with SLRs. I can only recall getting one SLR that didn’t work out of dozens upon dozens upon dozens and it was a FX-D.

        Reply
  6. marcusterrypeddle Avatar
    marcusterrypeddle

    Another great list. I especially enjoyed Olli’s article about how he’s improved.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I liked it too. Great transparency. I like reading about that kind of thing.

      Reply

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