Stamford Photo Services opens in St Leonard's Street

A new photographic shop has opened, providing customers with a place to discuss digital, film and printing services with an expert.

Stamford Photo Services has been set up by Nick Gibbon, who runs the business with his father, Eric.

Nick, who had been employed at Homebase in Stamford, had already planned to set up his own business. When he was made redundant as a result of Homebase store closures earlier this year, he turned his aim into a reality.

Stamford Photo Services occupies the former Olive Branch Inn at 3 St Leonard’s Street, the former pub having been Stamford Strings violin shop and Loomes of Stamford clock and watch shop in recent memory.

Inside, Nick offers film developing and scanning services, photo printing from film and digital files, and can take and print portrait, passport, ID and Blue Badge photos for customers. He also offers colour and black and white photocopying, and stocks film for cameras.

The former Stamford Welland Academy pupil, who attended sixth form at Bourne Grammar School, said: “We can provide more care and attention and a service that is bespoke to each customer’s needs.

“This might be helping people to choose the right finish for their prints, or a friendlier and easier option than using a photo booth.

“The nearest places that offer a similar, face-to-face service are in Bourne or Peterborough, and for people who are less mobile that is not very convenient.”

While Nick, 20, is the photographic expert, Eric, 61, has had a career in IT and computing that enables him to support customers on the digital side. Although he cannot promise to be able to retrieve all ‘lost’ digital photos, he stands a better chance than most when things go awry.

Both father and son also offer digital assistance to enhance photos, so that they can be enlarged, printed or given a different tone or effect.

Stamford Photo Services, which opened on May 8, uses some of the equipment that Andy Stretton had employed at Stamford Photo Express in Broad Street.

Andy closed his business at the end of March for health reasons and now works from home, turning negatives, prints, slides and videos into digital files that can be more easily stored, saved and shared.

Stamford Photo Services is open from 9am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays, and has a website under development at stamfordphotoservices.co.uk