Busted in B&H
Top Secret! Hush! Hush!
The train from the Metro Park station in New Jersey ends at 34th and 8th street in Manhattan, NY. As you exit the station on 34th Street, to your right is a well known iconic landmark, The Empire State Building. To the left is another well known, not quite so tall iconic landmark, at least to photographers. On the corner of 34th and 9th is B&H Photo.
Tom took me to the right. I had no idea where B&H was. Eventually, after we walked about a gazillion blocks up to Central Park, he decided to finally take me to B&H. We caught the subway back down. No way were we going to walk another gazillion blocks. In retrospect, I think that Tom was helping me out. He was making me tired so that I couldn’t put my hand on my wallet. But, he needn’t have worried, I didn’t have anything that I wanted to buy save for a few small items.
When we walked into the front door, it was an impressive sight. There was stuff everywhere. A photographer/videographer’s paradise. A quick check found that the store prices were the same as the web prices. I like it! As anyone who buys from B&H knows, it’s a Jewish owned business, as they are closed on every Jewish holiday, etc. Everywhere you look there were Orthodox Jews wearing Yarmulkes, or skull caps. It was nice to see a business that hasn’t gone PC (Politically Correct) and hidden their belief system just to make everyone comfortable. Quite cool.
As we browsed around, Tom explained how the system worked. You go to a counter, give them your stuff, they enter into the computer, put it into a basket, give you a receipt. They place the basket on the ever-moving conveyor belts located above their heads. The baskets move to the front and all of your goodies are consolidated together. If you move on to another place, want something else, you give them your previous receipt, they enter your new stuff into the computer, give you a new receipt, and away you go. At the end, when you are ready to leave, you give them the receipt, you pay, you get your stuff! How simple is that? No hauling stuff around the store!
Naturally, I was fascinated and, since I didn’t see any signs prohibiting photography, I took a couple of snaps. I saw one employee look at me, pick up the phone, and make a call; however, I thought nothing of it. I put my camera back in the bag and continued to browse. About 3 minutes later one of their security guards came by and told Tom and I that photography was not allowed in the store! I started to protest and tell him that:
Hey! I know Tom and he’s met and knows Joe McNally and he’s a big shot, so you have to let me take pictures! But, I decided against it and took the easy way out and simply said: OK.
Oh, BTW, that OTHER landmark, The Empire State Building is the other picture! 
So, above is an illicit photo B&H Photo. I’m happy to say that I wasn’t detained, questioned under hot lights, or tortured in any way. This photograph will self-destruct in 5..4..3..2..1
Well, I was wondering if Tom would take you to NY without stopping at B&H. Physical photography equipment stores (not counting limited consumer chains like Best Buy) are so sparse around these parts I’d probably be totally overwhelmed when first walking into something like B&H–just standing there at the door with my mouth hanging open.
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Ha ha. I went there for the first time in September. You should have bought something. Just buying something is quite an experience. Every line I went to I kept thinking “Okay when do I get my product?” Even after you pay you still have to go to another line to pick it up. Even so I really liked that system. And of course I loved the store.
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OK, I am so jealous!! B&H…that’s like a dream trip for me.
Of course, I wonder how big their film section is??
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@Teresa: I bought a couple of rolls of film and a sheet to hold negatives. It was an interesting buying experience.
@Micki: Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of that, but the film section is not very impressive, though they do have film of every type. It’s off in a corner to the left of where this guy’s picture was taken. I would imagine, though, that you’d be able to find whatever type of currently made film that you’d want.
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Thanks for the illicit picture that gives those of us who order from (but have never been to) B & H a visual survey–very cool.
Oh, and the empire state building very cool too (lol
)
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A photo store but you can’t take pictures very interesting Agent 99.
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That Empire State Building image is great – those sober regular patterns in their multitude are in my eyes a symbol for economic power and determination to step forward.
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Something very strange about no photography allowed in the worlds largest photography store.
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@Mark: That seemed to me to be the ultimate in irony. I would think that picture taking would be encouraged! Go figure!
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When I worked in NYC, my office was on 33rd just West of the Empire State Building. B&H wasn’t there yet, however. But at 32nd and 6th was Olden Camera, which was, in its time, better than B&H. One of the founders of Olden camera, Kurt Olden, had left the business and sold used cameras from an office down the hall from us. Great guy. Asked me every day whether I wanted this or that old camera he’d just gotten in. I wished I had said ‘yes’ more often. That’s a great part of NYC.
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Thanks for your visit and this feedback. We instituted the no-photos rule for security purposes, but this thread has made me consider it anew and I have asked our store manager to reconsider it also. Thanks again.
Henry Posner
B&H PHoto-Video
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