This is the second review I'm posting since my quest saw me needing to pick up inventory at The Shutterbug in Portland as well as in Salem. Most of my business was conducted at the Salem location and Portland was told to hold items, I paid for the items in Salem, and picked them up in Portland. This aspect of the transaction went off without a hitch.
Location is very small but well stocked, what impression I got of the staff was that they were friendly, helpful, and well informed, though keep in mind I basically popped in, flashed a receipt, the staff checked it, got me my bag of goodies, and I was off after some small-talk. Not the most thorough impression, so take that as you will, but the impression was a positive one.
Location itself is clean, well kept, fairly well lit, and obvious from the street. The store is a bit cramped with inventory which is the flip side of being well stocked, but fortunately the store wasn't too crowded when I showed up, as it wouldn't have taken too many people inside to make moving around a bit of a personal experience.
The above reasons are why I'm giving The Shutterbug (Portland) 5 stars, overall a great experience in the store with the staff manning it.
The only negatives I experienced I can't blame the store for and are not calculated into the score. That said, these negatives are worth discussing given the location of the store. This is to make sure potential customers have a plan if they intend to visit and are not familiar with the area. Let me emphasize the "not familiar with the area" part: if you already know the state of Portland and are comfortable dealing with it, you can stop reading here.
Parking is a pain, and you will pay for the privilege, but that's Portland's fault, and there is a lovely couple that runs a parking lot ("362 SW 10th lot" on the map) if you hang a right on SW 10th, one street past the Southwest Washington Street Graffiti Monument- I mean "park", gigantic "keep out" fences and all. It's a difficult turn to miss if you're looking for it when you take SW Washington past The Shutterbug's location going the only way you're allowed to go. This lot appears to frequently be full, but if you, like me, were only going to be there for around half an hour or less and drive a vehicle that can't get into a garage, they may be able to squeeze you in somewhere. If you drive a vehicle of a more conventional ride-height, there is a garage under the gigantic white building right before you get to SW Washington St (and thus The Shutterbug) via SW Broadway, which seemed to have spaces available. Check the street view on SW Broadway near the intersection with SW Washington where The Shutterbug is, the lot might not show up from the overhead but the massive white building and parking signs are very obvious from the street. If you can get in there, that's the ideal location to park.
I also can't blame the business for the state of the city around them, as that would be the governor's, mayor's, and DA's fault. That said, the surrounding area did not feel safe, which is a real shame as the area clearly could clean up very nicely. Given that, keep in mind that it's best to visit when it's bright out and the streets aren't too busy, so after lunch but well before the twilight hours is ideal in my view. It's harder be surprised by potentially predatory eyes when those eyes on the street can't hide in a crowd, so keep your head on a swivel, open your ears to the sounds around you, and don't get too close to the walls when walking in Portland: the opportunist can use the walls against you before you know what happened. For reference, I passed exactly as many sketchy tweaker-looking people as I did normal-looking people while going to and coming back from the store, which given the price of the items you are likely to acquire at a camera store, can a bit of a hair-raising prospect during even the best lit times of day. The further away you have to park, the more of sketchy-looking people you will encounter, hence my suggestion of any lot basically within 3 blocks or less of the store, or by a more concrete metric, about as far as you would be able to sprint to get to your car. This is not a trip for high-heels, loose, or novelty footwear, wear shoes you can easily run in without tripping, just in case. Realistically, you may just want to bring someone with you as backup for the streets if you're unfamiliar with Portland's "quirks", especially if you're picking up some serious equipment.
...Or ask The Shutterbug about shipping options, they were very accommodating in that regard during my dealings with them. ;)
Overall, a great little shop, in the middle of a city that has lost its way: 5 stars. read more