Jo Keller’s Custom Photolab in Spenard was an essential stop for professional photographers in Alaska.
End of the roll: Anchorage photo lab will close after nearly 40 years, bowing to digital imaging and the pandemicJo Keller , owner of Keller 's Custom Photolab, said the business will close on Christmas Eve after nearly 40 years.
Keller’s will take its last orders on Dec. 18 and close its doors for good on Dec. 24. Keller, 66, said her desire to retire was also a factor.Keller said she has been thinking of shutting down since the death of her husband and business co-founder, Dick Keller, about four years ago. The couple had been married 39 years.
“I was a competitor, but the amazing thing was Jo was always so nice that we pretty much helped each other instead of looking at each other like a threat,” Pederson said. Jo Keller keeps her humorous holiday cards from Keller's Custom Photolab in a scrapbook at the business. For years, the Keller’s lobby was a crossroads for Anchorage photographers, many of whom would linger to drink coffee and swap stories as they placed and picked up their orders. Keller said she enjoyed being part of the problem-solving process for creative professionals, many of whom were her friends.
“In some ways, it was kind of like a bar. People would randomly run into each other, get to catch up on clients what they’re doing. Stuff that doesn’t happen now,” she said. “I feel photographers are a lot more isolated from each other, except on social media. But you don’t have that contact, just being in the same room and just bouncing ideas off each other.”Keller said the turning point was 2003. That’s when the quality of digital cameras left photographers with few reasons not to adopt them.
“It’s like a trend. It’s the retro thing. Everyone’s buying these film cameras and there’s not any real teaching out there for them anymore, so they’re learning the hard way,” she said.Keller’s stopped processing slide film about a year and a half ago, and black and white film about a year ago, due to low demand. The pandemic further complicated business problems and machinery upkeep.
Film Keller Business Photographer Photographers People Dick Pederson Lot World Years Hills Custom Time Kind Customer Customers Way Imaging Johnson Town Demand Technology Lab
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