It was sad news to hear about the departure of the Jessops brand from the high street on Friday. It really seems like the end of an era. For many years Jessops did all our printing for our social photography down in Bournemouth and I would go into the branch and chat with David, Lynne and Joe who are always helpful and cheerful. Then the reports started coming in of financial problems and there was change in the way people did their shopping with the internet becoming the dominant force. People would come on my courses telling me they had gone into their local Jessops for advice then bought on the internet because the price was lower. I can’t say I blame them as I have done the same but the writing was on the wall for the high street camera shop. Lets hope some of the small shops can keep going as it is going to be difficult to see and get an opinion on equipment. Maybe the larger camera and lens makers like Canon, Nikon and Sigma etc will get together and run a store promoting their products in the larger cities in a similar way to Apple. It certainly works for them as the London stores have proved.

I send my best wishes to all the staff at Jessops who deserve better.