Berkhamsted Imaging

Berkhamsted Imaging is done.

So (in our by now entirely predictable and unapologetically oh-so-self-aware way) let's start with what this post - what these last few words - might be.

It could be a long-winded oscars-style acknowledgement of all the good people we've known and the friends we've made. (Yawn)

Or, it could be a collection of entertaining yet uncomfortable home-truths about how a minority of entitled, whine-y twats blight every business these days. (Nah)

Or, it could be a wistful treaty on the power of memory, of loss and of transience; deftly interspersed with film and pop culture references and bowdlerised snatches of the lyrics to "My Way". (*Drake point*)

Maybe that wouldn't be a waste of our time. Or yours.

So yeah, we're closing. Simple as that. No drama. No fanfare. Just "pan to the curly, yellow frame around the peephole and role the final credits" closed. In fact, chances are, by the time you read this, the shop will have already closed. You know, as in closed, Closed. As in, shut, Shut. Finito. Over. 1987-2024. RIP. End of.

Some of you will be sad about that. Most of you will be mostly ambivalent. But, we're happy. We've done it because we want to. It's time.

And, if we have regrets, they're too few to mention.

We're proud that we helped a generation (or two) make the best of their photos. That in some small way we helped you hold on to your memories; those fond recollections of moments past but not lost. We were, as you may recall, weirdly keen on that.

So, there it is. Done.

In six month's time, we'll be a barely remembered footnote in the history of an unremarkable high street in a small suburban town situated somewhere in a mostly inconsequential county.

And, if there is a point to these words, then perhaps that is it.

That even 37 years, an entire working lifetime, as a stalwart of the town - with all the late nights, the stresses and aggravation, the desire to serve and to be of service, the sheer unrelenting necessity of having get up and do it all again tomorrow and even the miles and miles of smiles - don't ultimately amount to hill of beans in this crazy world.

And if that point is a point worth making, then perhaps by now it should also be clear that we're not doing it for us. But rather, it's for you, good people of this town. And, for once, our message isn't wrapped in allegory or hidden away behind this our final curtain.

This time, we'll just come right out and say it.

Don't let your ego deceive you. Your stuff, your job aren't actually that big of a deal. Don't let them define or consume you.

Instead, make memories. Fond recollections of moments past but not lost.

Trust us. Nothing lasts forever.

So long.

Be good.

Sorry, we're Closed

P.S. 14th Sept 2024 : We're gonna leave the site up and functional for a bit. We may even open the doors of the shop for a couple of hours a day for the next week or so. But, needless to say, none of our usual services are available anymore and we're not promising anything.