Black Pearl

Just under three months ago I took a very similar shot to this just before we were about to fill a brand new flagship store with stock. Today I took this shot only this time we were gutting it ready for the end - such a waste of a fantastic retail experience.

High horse? **** you! I buy from brick and mortar retailers because I value customer service above anything else. Don't get me wrong I'll purchase some things like music and movies etc online because I'm simply purchasing a box and I don't need to talk to an assistant to do so. But - I would rather buy hardware face to face. All my Hi-Fi comes from a local specialist, they are not the cheapest but they have been there for as long as I can remember and the service I get is outstanding. Last purchase was a pair of speakers. I phoned them to make sure they had them in stock and was asked if I wanted a demo. I did, was asked what my other gear was and would I like it ready at a particular time. I went in, it was set up and I had a good listen with various discs and various cables. There is no way on earth I would have bought speakers online, regardless of the savings as I wanted to hear them first. Reviews and internet sites are no use what so ever for purchases like this but i know the dealer is struggling because of online discounting. It's a crying shame that people (as they did in Jessops) will go in, ask advice, have play and then go away to buy elsewhere. Personally I think this behaviour is disgusting and they should be ashamed.....a concept that is increasingly lacking in todays society. The electricals in our home have all been bought from local stores, big chains yes but local and with staff that have been brilliant. Our various TV's were purchased after going into a couple of stores to see them, try them and to talk to staff about what we should look for, what constitutes a good product and what they would recommend. Never, not one single time, did I think about buying from the internet because I wanted to see what I was purchasing. I could repeat that tale a dozen times with the same outcome. Did I pay more? Don't know and don't care. To me customer service is king.

Off to work I go.....kind of. I have to go in over the next few days to oversee the return of stock to a central warehouse, making safe the premises and removal of items such as the lab. Bit like clearing a house after someone has died I suppose.

I could try and set up a photography firm but its a dying business as more people have digital cameras. I'll go hell for leather looking for a job, not proud if it pays the bills. The other manager at Metro has lots of contacts so there is hope. If he, I, we get in somewhere we'll get the team in with us if earthly possible.

Thanks all. High street retail problems aside its a shame the name and stores have gone. In the North East there is now only 1 camera store (in Sunderland) so essentially if the average person wants to buy a camera, get advice or simply involve photography in their pastime they've had it. That's goes for me too. When I come to buy my next camera I honestly don't know what I'll do, I won't buy online so I'll be forced into Currys (assuming they still exist) and hope I can get the model I want. Strange times.

Closed the doors at 4:30. That is the end of Jessops.

Edited

I've no solid info as yet. State of play is the company is being run by the administrators who have issued guidelines as to what we can and can't do. These are being reviewed constantly but while in place are set in stone and nothing we can do will change them. Not all of this will be seen as positive and unfortunately Jessops is going to take the brunt of it even though it isn't us making the decisions. When I say Jessops what I actually mean is the staff, I have had an emotional roller coaster of a day. Some people have been fantastic, really amazing and I thank you and them all. I've had messages here, on other forums/chat sites etc and I've had people taking the time to call into the store to say they were devastated by the news and that they hope all will be well for all affected. Unfortunately both myself and my staff have had to put up with people who have come in simply to be nasty, first customer this morning came in to get a refund on a voucher he knew in advance he couldn't get. He shouted, swore threatened and ended up saying he hoped everyone in the store lost their jobs, their homes, wives and entire future.....his voucher was worth £15. The rest of the day has swung somewhere between those extremes. I fully understand their frustrations but our hands are tied and threatening staff who are looking at a possible loss of a job is unfair to put it mildly. Oddly Jessops have just had one of the best trading days in months with massive like-for-like growth and huge numbers across the board - I hope that sends a strong message to any investors that UK customers still have enough confidence to not only come into town centres and retail parks but to be told of our problems, be warned of return issues and still part with cash. I've had a sleepless night that I guess will be the first of many, my staff are suffering the same. I can only hope the powers that be sort something out between our supply chain, investors and the bank so the company can continue in some shape or form. What shape if any that will be is out of the hands of the staff so all we can do is continue to put money in the tills, give the very best service we possibly can and try to stay positive. BP

From the Administrators: Edward Williams, Rob Hunt and Matthew Hammond of PwC were appointed joint administrators of The Jessop Group Limited on 9 January 2013. Jessops is a major high- street retailer of photographic equipment and growing on line business. Turnover in the year to 31 December 2012 was £236m and Jessops operated from 192 stores with around 2000 employees throughout the UK. It has a well-known brand, strong reputation for service and a significant national footprint. However, its core marketplace has seen a significant decline in 2012 and forecasts for 2013 indicate that this decline would continue. In addition, the position deteriorated in the run up to Christmas as a result of reducing confidence in UK retail. Despite additional funding being made available to the company by the funders, this has meant that Jessops has not generated the profits it had planned with a consequent impact on its funding needs. This was exacerbated by a credit squeeze in the supplier base. Rob Hunt, joint administrator and partner, PwC said: “Over the last few days the directors, funders and key suppliers have been in discussions as regards additional consensual financial support for the business. However these discussions have not been successful. In light of these irreconcilable differences the directors decided to appoint administrators and we were appointed earlier today. “Our most pressing task is to review the Company's financial position and hold discussions with its principal stakeholders to see if the business can be preserved. Trading in the stores is hoped to continue today but is critically dependent on these ongoing discussions. However, in the current economic climate it is inevitable that there will be store closures.” Finally, at present Jessops is not in a position to honour customer vouchers or to accept returned goods.

Bit confusing this one - Adobe have been on the net and said its not free and that you still need an existing serial number but others are saying you can get round it and install a fully legal copy.

Got a couple of them, pretty accurate and handy when I'm out with one of the vintage film cameras for the day.

Link to the photography if you want to see what its like: http://www.joeyl.com

A warning first. This is quite long and the lads may come across as a bit yoofish - but I'd urge you to make the time to watch it and to enjoy not only the photography but the videography.

Loved that shot when I first saw it - well done.

Not one picture every day for a year - one second of video every day for a year. Brilliant, fun and I'd image very hard work.

Been searching the music, got it playing on SoundCloud now. Again thanks I've had a brilliant night enjoying this.

Just settled down, glass of wine, headphones plugged into the Mac and watched the whole video - thanks for posting it was amazing.

I do think things could slow down a little. Nikon currently run about a 4 year upgrade path on their better bodies and this is probably about right. Its the lower level bodies that get chaged on a very fast cycle and recently they have been changed for more pixels and not more real world features. The thing is its easy to sell a consumer a camera on its pixel count. That is why a D3200 has 25mp while an enthusiasts camera like a D7000 has 16mp. It drives me insane that this is happening because its not gaining anyone anything. You end up with limited iso ranges, slow processing of the resulting enormous files and a clogged up hard drive. I can't think of a single situation where my 12mp D300s has ran out of pixels, it just gets on with the job of producing fantastic images almost regardless of what I throw at it...or throw it at.

It came about from a discussion on another forum where there was talk about kit lenses and the assumption that they were rubbish and therefor no one could take a decent picture with one. I tried arguing that there is more to the quality of an image than the optical performance of the lens but I was shot down by the 'enthusiasts' who insisted there is no point in taking a picture unless you use the very best gear you can afford, use the lowest iso and only ever take pictures when you're camera is bolted to a sturdy tripod. It got me thinking about how we approach our hobby and what the gear we have to hand is actually capable of if we make the effort to learn its every quirks and features.

Kind of - I use a 16-85mm which is the 'standard' zoom for the D300s.

Yeah, I am sort of shooting myself in the foot.

Todays sermon, read by Rev. B Pearl comes from the Book of Aquisitions. GAS thats Gear Acquisitions Syndrome, or one of its many peculiar forms such as NAS (Nikon Acquisitions Syndrome) or CAS (Canon Acquisitions Syndrome) can afflict even the most level headed among us. How many of us, right at this moment, could list a bit of gear that they 'want' neigh 'need' to get more from their photography? Probably everyone one of us. I'd bet we all have a mental list of 'things we'd buy if we had the spare cash' Its a particularly odd affliction and one that can be put to bed very easily by asking another simple question. "How many of us know how to get the very best from the gear we have?" When I say the very best I mean that. To be honest what I'm referring to today is lenses, or at least I'm going to narrow GAS down to a slightly more manageable problem to deal with. There is much said about lenses and there is much to read online about performance, capabilities and a whole host of other variables plus a whole lot of old cobblers too. Lets start with the much maligned 'Kit Lens' That evil of modern photography, that bit of glass that the vast majority of us buy with our cameras that gets such a bad press. There are whole forums worth of talk about how they are rubbish, how you need to 'upgrade' before you can take a decent photograph and how they are almost the Devil incarnate. Its all cobblers (I like that word) because if we stop and think for a minute its not really the optical performance of the lens that makes a great photograph. How many people's immediate thoughts when they look at a photograph will be 'That's not as sharp as it could be' or 'Look at the chromatic aberrations on that' Probably less than 1% and probably much, much less than that in reality. What people look for in a picture is emotional grab, the light that was captured, the colours, the expression on a face or very often a memory triggered. Absolute optical quality will be so far down the list that it becomes irrelevant but as 'enthusiasts' it often becomes the most important thing. We obsess over pixel level detail, we get all antsy about colour fringing and perish the though that we might have a line that isn't straight whether it be a horizon out of kilter or a building with a bulge. We obsess over it and spend so much time thinking that we 'need' another 'better' lens that we don't spend the time to get the very best from what we have. Who can, hand on heart, say that they have pushed their basic lens to its absolute limits. That they have worn it smooth by going out and shooting everything in sight with it. Can we all walk along, see an image in our minds and know with absolute certainty that we could get it into a stream of digital one's and zero's without the need for a wider, longer, brighter, sharper lens on the front of our cameras? Do we need another lens or do we actually need to learn how to get the very best from what we have? Go out today and take some pictures. Go out today and open your eyes to what is all around you and shoot, shoot and shoot some more. Really concentrate on what you are looking at and don't think 'I wish I had' instead think "what is the very best way I can capture the feeling I am getting from this scene with what I have' I guaranty the results will be better than you have ever achieved. Here endeth the sermon. Prasie the lord of Acquisitions!

Its a lens that I understand why Canon shooters want but really its no use wide open and it costs a small fortune. A 50mm f1.2 might be easier to use day to day but even that is overkill in 99.9% of situations. For the sort of money you're looking at for the mad bright primes I'd recommend a 24-70mm f2.8 L

I think they might draw the line well before they reach £1700

Nice lens but in a crop body it's too long and needless expensive because of an aperture you'll never be able to use. Get a 50mm f1.4 instead.