P.H.O.T.O - Photographic Industry Helping Others To Overcome

[danalec99]

P.H.O.T.O - Photographic Industry Helping Others To Overcome

This organization has just been formed for helping the photographers who has been hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Here is a quote by DWF founder Jeff Caplan who has been just selected to serve on the P.H.O.T.O panel:

09/08/05 03:26 AM

At this moment, the DWF has one mission, and one mission alone.

There are photographers in dire need at this moment along the gulf coast. They are not spending today editing last weekend's weddings. Instead they're far from their homes, wondering how in hell they're going to feed their families.

Their bookings are all gone.

The bride and groom- evacuated and probably never coming back.

The venues where they'd shoot the wedding? Destroyed.

Weddings. Portraits. Engagement shoots. All cancelled.

These people have worked damn hard, and their lives are ruined. Some are in shock. Their equipment destroyed. Their homes nothing more than rotting lumber surrounded by dank, dangerous and toxic floodwaters.

If we can't help them right now, then there's no reason to have a DWF.

So allow me to tell you HOW we can help, this very minute.

At its own expense, Zookbinders has filed all the legal papers and created a charity, and scores of photography organizations and companies you do business with have signed on to be a part of P.H.O.T.O - Photographic Industry Helping Others To Overcome.

P.H.O.T.O has a simple mission: To help photographers who are suffering the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. P.H.O.T.O will provide financial aid. Vendors allied with P.H.O.T.O will provide equipment. Some vendors will make donations. Others will help photographers with payments.

Please click one of the links below.

To donate to P.H.O.T.O. via Visa/Mastercard

To donate to P.H.O.T.O via Paypal

How do you know the money's going where it's needed?

First, the honorable people who serve as the foundation's board members: Mark and Leslie Zucker and Karyn Newman of Zookbinders, and Skip Cohen of WPPI.

By next week, they will form an advisory panel that will determine the disbursement of funds, and this morning I was invited to serve on that panel.

Applications for aid will be created in the week ahead, with the goal of quickly getting help to those in need.

We have pledged that to ensure that 100% of your donations go directly to victims, the DWF will cover all credit card fees associated with your tax-deductible donations.

So now, that the P.H.O.T.O Foundation's bona fides are established, it's time for me to ask for your help, on behalf of all the photographers who can't.

I beg you to make a donation to the P.H.O.T.O Foundation, but WAIT. Even if you've already given to the Red Cross. Whether your funds are limited, or you're doing great. Whatever your circumstance, before you click the links below, wait!!

Please.

Consider what your life would be like right now, if you were a New Orleans Wedding Photographer. Then consider how much you can afford to help people just like you who's lives were destroyed on one horrible Monday.

This is one charity where every one of your dollars WILL make a difference. Please click one of the links below.

To donate to P.H.O.T.O. via Visa/Mastercard

To donate to P.H.O.T.O via Paypal

The staff, the moderators, and I thank you from the depths of our hearts,
Jeff

Organizations who've pledged to work with P.H.O.T.O as of September 5th:

Albums Inc., Amphoto Books/Watson-Guptill Publications, Art Leather, Asuka Book, Auto FX Software, BIG Folio, Blossom Publishing, Blue Skies Marketing, Buckeye Color Lab, DWF (Digital Wedding Forum), DxO Labs, Epson, garyfongestore.com, GNP (Gross National Product), H&H Color Lab, Hahnemuhle USA, Hallmark Institute of Photography, Hasselblad, Kodak, Kubota Image Tools, LabPrints, Leaf America, LexJet, Marathon Press, Media Street, Miller’s Professional Imaging, nik multimedia, Nikon, PDIA (Professional Digital Imaging Association), Phanfare, Photovision, PMA (Photo Marketing Association International), Rangefinder Publishing, S.I.R. Marketing Communications, The Chilcote Company, The MAC Group, VPO (Virtual Press Office), WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International), and Zookbinders.

- Jeff Caplan

 

[bace]

Isn't there a huge opportunity for photographers to make money in Journalistic Photography?

 

[bace]

And why just photographers?

 

[danalec99]

And why just photographers?

At its own expense, Zookbinders has filed all the legal papers and created a charity, and scores of photography organizations and companies you do business with have signed on to be a part of P.H.O.T.O - Photographic Industry Helping Others To Overcome.

Obviously the intention is to support our brethren in the photography industry.
There is always the Red Cross where you can forward your funds to if you are not keen about this.

Cheerio!
danalec99

 

[Alison]

And why just photographers?

There are a lot of charities helping out a wide variety of people. I'm sure Daniel chose to post this because this is a photography forum.

I can't imagine how difficult this must be for people who had their living as photography and now it's gone. I know how challenging it's been to build a business from the ground up. Thank you for posting this!

 

[bace]

Thanks for the info.

Brethren of photographers sounds a little pretentious to me. I'll give my money the Red Cross. Everyone needs help, not just photographers.

 

[danalec99]

There are a lot of charities helping out a wide variety of people. I'm sure Daniel chose to post this because this is a photography forum.

Exactly. Thanks Alison. This message is being posted on all the known photo forums as we speak.

Brethren of photographers sounds a little pretentious to me. I'll give my money the Red Cross. Everyone needs help, not just photographers.

bace, you are correct. Everybody needs help. But like Alison said, that is why we have umpteen number of charities (Red Cross, Salvation Army etc etc) around. And I am sure most are donating to those organizations.
Just like any other business, setting up a photography business is no joke. You will know the pain once you get around to it (that is if you have any similar plans). There are a lot of families whose sole income were from photography. I think it is great that this organization has just been formed catering exclusively to the photographers.

I merely posted this here because this is a photo forum.

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[bace]

I understand the goal, And i'm sorry if I sound like i'm being incensitive, but this just sounds very prejudice? If that's the right word.

It's like saying that the only people worthy or a photographers help is a photographer. That's on par (but less extreme) with white people saying they will only help white people? I think everyone in this situation is equal. Everyone has had their lively hoods stripped from them. I don't care who they are, or what they did for a living?

I'm sure this will do a great service to the photographers of New Orleans, but it's hard to start ANY business. Why would I discriminate, just because I can relate to photographers. (Which I find hard to do really. Money is easy to make in photography if you're actually good, and you market properly)

 

[danalec99]

I'm sorry but I am not looking for a pointless debate.
No one is forcing you to participate in this donation.

 

[Alison]

I'm not looking for a debate either. Personally I think that sometimes it's easier to donate when you can directly identify with the person, or group of people receiving the money. It's the reason that people donate to the SPCA (they love animals), or to a cancer society (they lost a loved one to cancer). It's not saying that animals are more important than people, or that cancer research is more important than AIDS research, it's just a cause that someone chooses to donate to.

I'm surprised at your last statement there:

Why would I discriminate, just because I can relate to photographers. (Which I find hard to do really. Money is easy to make in photography if you're actually good, and you market properly)

That's the whole point....the client base and the venues are all GONE. You can market all you want, but the weddings and portraits that you had booked, the money that you were going to use to feed your family is gone. I work for a large company that is donating money and time to help the relief effort. A photographer (or any small business owner) probably doesnt' have a large corporation with money to be able to stand behind them. Doesn't matter how good you were, if your studio is gone, your clients are gone and probably most of your portfolio and computer equipment is gone it makes it pretty tough to make a living.

 

[hobbes28]

Kinda like what would happen to the glow stick industry if all the little ravers were gone...

The point of this thread is to inform people that aren't narrow minded to think about fellow photographers in this difficult time as well as the others that have suffered through this disaster. It's an option for people who would like to help in some way but don't like the other ways out there and can see what it would be like to lose all of your client base in one swoop. I think it is a very good thing that these people are doing. I also think that if you don't have anything constructive to add to this conversation, you can just not reply to it. Nothing is worse than when someone comes in and takes a crap on a good subject of conversation because they want to think that everyone is being "prejudice". If you'll notice, the first line wasn't "don't help the others, help us"...

 

[terri]

Kinda like what would happen to the glow stick industry if all the little ravers were gone...

:lmao:

Choosing a particular group to help in a disastrous situation hardly makes one an elitist, Bace. It simply points to that person's special understanding of that group's particular challenges in such conditions.

 

[bace]

Personally I think the world would be a better place without glowsticks. But why bring that debate up again.

I see the point of the association. Let's just say (which I already did) that i'll be donating to something that helps EVERYONE in this situation.