On River Street in the heart of downtown Milford, in an old bank building that came with its own vault, you will find Milford Photo, the camera shop that has called 22 River St. home since 2000. These days some of its most enthusiastic customers are young people shooting film.
When Jesse Thompson was a teenager delivering newspapers, he wanted “a cushy inside job” and “a way to get in out of the cold,” according to Milford Photo’s staff page. So he applied at a downtown camera store. He never really left. Today the staff page lists him as owner and manager, and the Hartford Business Journal’s New Haven BIZ noted in 2020 that the building came “complete with vault.”
Two teenagers at Milford Camera
Founder Jim Wilson has a similar story. A lifelong Milford resident and Milford High graduate, he took a summer job at Milford Camera in high school. “It was meant to be just a summer job, but it ended becoming my career,” he told the Milford Mirror in 2021. He worked there 24 years and became general manager, then opened Milford Photo downtown in 1995 and moved it to the bank building in 2000. The store’s website notes he was named Business Person of the Year in 2001.
Thompson started at Milford Camera after school in eighth grade. “After college, I really didn’t know what to do and of course the camera store was always there,” he told New Haven BIZ. “I suppose it became something that I couldn’t get away from.” He became Wilson’s co-owner in 2016. The website calls him “the townie’s townie,” and his Milford Photography Group now counts more than 9,900 members.
‘It really was like starting over’
Digital cameras upended the business of selling gear and developing film. “It was painful,” Wilson told the Mirror. “It really was like starting over again.” Then came smartphones. “Smart phones have been the biggest technology to hit us,” Thompson told New Haven BIZ. The store’s answer was to become “more of a boutique kind of place,” with mid- to upper-level gear, classes and personal service.
The film kids
Then something nobody predicted. “Film is back big-time now,” Wilson told the Mirror in 2021. “The young people are getting into the creative aspect of it, so now we do a lot of developing now. It’s crazy.” In 2020, Thompson put the average film customer at “about 22 or 23 years old.”
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The store leans into it. According to its film services page, 35mm processing has a four-day turnaround, and conventional black-and-white is still hand-processed in-house, which takes about a week (Ilford XP2 is the faster black-and-white option). You can even mail film in. The Milford Photo Film Club gives members a free 35mm roll of the month, 10% off developing and scanning and in-stock 35mm film, first access to limited film, and a free scan on your birthday. The staff page calls PJ Pane the store’s resident “film guy,” and Anastasia Fasnakis, who joined after nearly eight years in a portrait studio, helps customers with analog photography and fine art printing. Negatives from develop-only orders are held for three months, so there is no rush to pick them up.
What to try
New cameras and lenses, with real advice
The sales floor is lined with Nikon, OM System, Fujifilm and Sony gear, and the store also buys and sells used equipment. General manager Ivan Miranda has 17 years in photography, and customers mention the staff by name. Bring your questions; that is the point of shopping here instead of online.
Brand demo days
Every so often, manufacturers set up shop inside the bank. The website lists Canon, Sony, Fujifilm and OM System days, where reps bring the newest gear to test-drive and the store adds a 10% trade-up bonus when you trade old gear toward a new camera or lens. Watch the events page for the next one.
Classes and the photo competition
Milford Photo runs classes and one-on-one lessons, and its open-theme photo competition is taking entries now: $10 a photo, deadline Oct. 24, with an online exhibition Nov. 14 through Dec. 31. First place wins a $200 gift card and a ProMaster tripod. The rules say the work must be your own, with no AI.
There is more behind the counter, too: 4×6 prints from 29 to 49 cents, posters up to 40×60, passport photos, framing, video transfers and camera maintenance.
What locals are saying
Milford Photo holds a 4.6-star rating across 264 Google reviews. A few favorites:
Went in to see if I can sell my Sony A7IV, ended up leaving with a new lens instead 😄 the staff is wonderful.
— Doan, Google review
The staff took the time to guide me to the right product for my needs. Everyone was friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely happy to help.
— Cruz Roofing & Siding, Google review
I am always super grateful for the staff… He truly took his time to explain everything to me from my shutter, exposure, lens…
— Cristal, Google review
I just got a bunch of art prints made from photos, and the quality is incredible.
— Jesse, Google review
Asked why photography lasts, Thompson told New Haven BIZ: “These pictures then become talismans for the future… It’s about memory.” Wilson says it more simply: “Our main business is just memories, that’s what we are here for.”
KEY FACTS
Business: Milford Photo
Address: 22 River St., Milford, CT 06460
Hours: Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Sun.
Phone: (203) 882-3415
Prices: 4×6 prints 29–49 cents; 5×7 $1.99; 8×10 $4.99; posters $30–$150; photo competition entries $10 per photo
Web: milfordphoto.com
Founded: 1995; at 22 River St. since 2000
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Photos: Lead photo by Jesse W. Vlacich via Google; Milford Photo via Google; Google Maps contributors via Google; Photo courtesy of Milford Photo (milfordphoto.com).
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