On a sunny July morning, a full of life crowd gathered in Bushwick to rejoice the grand “re-opening” of Photodom’s new storefront. Surrounded by household, mates, and dependable prospects capturing the second on every little thing from smartphones to classic movie cameras to Polaroids — and joined by the ever-cheerful Movie Buddy mascot — founder Dominick Lewis, holding his toddler daughter, reduce the ribbon on the beloved Black-owned movie and images store’s first ground-level location at 1717 Broadway.
All through the day, guests streamed by means of the brilliant and colourful 1,600-square-foot house, shopping gear, merch, and leases. A retro claw machine full of plush toys, movie rolls, and cameras drew a crowd. “It’s actually my birthday!” stated portrait photographer Den Alexander, who was making an attempt to win a Movie Buddy plushie. “I thought it’d be cool to check out all the merch and see everything laid out in person in a big space.”
A customer stands by a retro claw machine throughout Photodom’s July reopening.
Lewis, eyes gleaming, soaked within the second. “I just can’t believe we can fit this many people at the store at once,” he instructed Hyperallergic.
Based in 2014 as a tribute to movie tradition, Photodom took bodily type in 2020 after Lewis raised over $35,000 by means of a GoFundMe marketing campaign. The unique third-floor, 400-square-foot walk-up in a 1917 Bushwick constructing housed a small store, lab, studio, and artistic workspace. Now, backed by a 10-year lease, Photodom has moved to a extra seen location.
“I feel like it legitimizes us even further,” Lewis stated. “Having a retail storefront on the ground floor makes us more accessible to everyone, especially those who couldn’t make it up three flights of stairs in our old space.”
Photodom founder Dominick Lewis in 2024 (picture by Christopher Hart)
The build-out course of, which had been within the making for over a 12 months, got here with its share of hurdles.
“There wasn’t a way to avoid the 145% tariff,” Lewis stated, referencing Trump’s preliminary tariff charges on Chinese language imports. Per week later, he acquired some aid when delivery charges dropped by 10% because of China’s tariff changes.
The shop’s opening was additionally delayed by cargo ship schedules. Photodom’s order left China on Could 22 and arrived in New York a month later. As soon as docked, Lewis needed to coordinate transloading the products into smaller vehicles — a first-time expertise that required two separate journeys as a result of quantity of stock.
The unique Photodom retailer in 2025 (picture courtesy Dominick Lewis)
Past retail, Photodom has grow to be a hub for artistic training. The shop usually hosts workshops led by each Photodom employees and visitor instructors, together with the four-part program By Every Course of: Be taught to Develop Your Personal Movie and A.A. – Artists Nameless, an ongoing collection of images critique nights hosted by picture editor Wendy Correa. Its ongoing artist residency program, which hosts two artists every month, gives residents with entry to all of those companies for his or her use, creating house for experimentation, collaboration, and skill-sharing amongst rising photographers.
The newly designed house incorporates a studio, a gallery-ready format, and a full-service lab open seven days per week for growing 35mm, 120, and APS movie. Photodom additionally presents a complete vary of companies, together with digital camera leases, movie processing, and inkjet printing.
A DJ spinning and guests having fun with themselves throughout the opening occasion of Photodom’s new 1717 Broadway location
For Alexander, a daily for the final 5 years, the store’s standout characteristic is its distinctive in-house movie. “I like to buy film when I drop off film, and the selection just ain’t there at other spots,” he instructed Hyperallergic. “Photodom has its own brand. I really like their ‘Blue Dream,’ which has blue hues all over it, and I just got their newest film, ‘Super Nova.’”
“They experiment,” Alexander continued. “It’s not just that standard Kodak, clean and crisp — you get some variation.”
Photodom’s Juneteenth celebration in 2024
That deep buyer loyalty is mirrored not simply in repeat visits, however within the crowds Photodom attracts at its flagship occasions. An annual yard sale gathered over 2,000 attendees in 2023, wrapping across the block. The World Picture Day Picture Stroll challenges individuals to cross all three East River bridges in at some point. And in 2025, its Juneteenth Picture Stroll with I Am CaribBEING guided photographers by means of Little Caribbean in Flatbush, ending in a full of life mixer at Miss Barb’s.
Jean-Andre Antoine, an analog avenue photographer noticed on opening day with a smooth Ricoh, summed up what Photodom means to many: “As a camera lover, I’m so happy that Dom is here. When I need something specific, like a piece of equipment you’d normally have to trek to the city for, or a last-minute roll of film, Dom usually has it. It’s good to have them around.”
Photodom Tremendous Nova 400 movie
A big format workshop at Photodom in 2024
