It’s nothing new really.
I do shop for a ton of things on-line. But major camera gear, I like to put my hands on and have a brick & mortar store standing behind it. Plus the ease of servicing.
With books, it’s usually a different matter.
Amazon is always the first choice, as the deal is the best, even with their vendors.
But sometimes you just can’t do it on-line. Sometimes, that book you wanted is out of print. And killer expensive.
Such is the case with this weeks giveaway book, Americans In Kodachrome.
Sure I ordered one for you, and was told there would be a confirmation once shipped. Even had ordered a back-up book on the subject, so the winner would be guaranteed an appropriate book.
The job wasn’t over though. The hunter and gatherer in me was not resting.
Today was spent running errands and visiting the book stores in the area. Who knows, maybe someone had a copy that was not in the on-line list.
And there was.
One of my favorite bookstores of all time, Hennessy and Ingalls in Santa Monica, who, for years, has had the premium collection of art and architecture books in Los Angeles, had one lone copy. And it had a brodart (plastic) protector on the cover. Perfect!

Wasn’t going for a sweeter price than list, this store had just what I wanted. Just what you wanted. That was all that was important.

The lesson here is two-fold: 1) everything is NOT online, and 2) thankfully book stores like Hennessey and Ingalls exist so we recommend your hearty support of them. When the top sellers go out of print, and we’ve discussed this before, maybe a store like this will solve your search.
Oh, yes. the irony is not lost on me that writing about a store online, with a link to that same store, while recommending a physical visit, is a bit well…ironic.
If you are in Santa Monica, CA. you have to get there. If not, support your local bookseller. At least some of the time.
Continuing on this walk, a stop into Urban Outfitters had to happen as they are fervent supporters of the photoworld, with a full line of Holga and Lomo products, plus books.
They even sell lomo film.
This other item though, was a new one. In a cruder style of Chuck Close, they had a pixel image paint set, where you upload a photo, the site converts it to pixels and numbered squares, and you ‘paint by numbers” with the enclosed grey scale paint and paint brush.
The biggest decision is which photo to use.
It comes from a company called DIYART, and goes for about $20.

We’ll share what comes from that little project.

The best news is that the winner of the giveaway book, is guaranteed the first choice book. Whew! I feel so much better now.