How the public - and industry - sees photographers

[nmoody]

I liked this movie so much that I bought a copy.

Idiocracy - Rotten Tomatoes

The way of the world to come.

Sad but true

 

[Gavjenks]

Sad but true

it was an amusing and somewhat thought provoking movie, and I enjoyed it.

But it isn't very "true" at all. For example, how did those people survive for hundred or thousands of years or whatever it was if they couldn't even grow one single crop of food? The plants were supposedly just fine growing with soft drinks poured on them for 500 years, but then the 501st crop suddenly failed? No, the first crop would have failed.

Once you get stupid enough, your stupidity DOES start to affect your reproductive fitness. Those people would have all starved to death, and would therefore no longer have been out-producing the reasonably intelligent people.

There's a limit. Which is why it's just a comedy movie, not a serious, panicked documentary film full of expert testimony.

 

[412 Burgh]

And are you now going to recommend a bridge off of which I should jump too?

Actually your iPhone should be able to provide that information. :mrgreen:

Well.. I don't have an iPhone, so there! :greenpbl:

your iPad can!

 

[Ilovemycam]

OP, can't argue with anything you said. Just how the photo biz turned out. Pix phones / ink jet priners / digital cams fudged it all up (kinda) . On the other hand digital made it much easier for us to get great results and took a lot of the drudgery out of pix making.

 

[Ilovemycam]

And are you now going to recommend a bridge off of which I should jump too?

I feel like that sometimes!

 

[Pallycow]

speaking of iPad

This asshat decided to step in the way at the graduation I was shooting at this weekend. I even had the 100-400 lens on so I could be out of others' way and try to shoot around asshats like this. Doesn't always work.

 

[runnah]

speaking of iPad

This asshat decided to step in the way at the graduation I was shooting at this weekend. I even had the 100-400 lens on so I could be out of others' way and try to shoot around asshats like this. Doesn't always work.

Seriously, who takes photos with an I pad?

 

[o hey tyler]

Seriously, who takes photos with an I pad?

Pro photographers

 

[runnah]

Pro photographers

Bitches be tripping

 

[Ilovemycam]

I think the public does not think much about photographers.

What does industry think? I don't know. I never worked in the money end of it.

Bottom line is a quote from what I wrote in my book where I was talking about street photography....

'If I would get 1 keeper from a roll of 36 - I would be very happy. Sometimes, roll after roll were trash. But, as all of you who are photographers know so well, we keep on shooting through thick or thin. As photographers, we know no other way than to record our world as we see it.'

Being a real photographer can drive you crazy. What is a real photographer? Someone that eats, drinks lives and thinks about taking photographs by day and dreams about it at night. In short they are obsessed with freezing time. It does not matter if they are great or poor at it, the bottom line is freezing time is in their blood. We don't care if we have an outlet for our photos, fame or recognition...we just keep shooting no matter what.

In my own case I never thought about preservation until I lost all my work for the 1980's to 1990's in a flood. Then last Nov I was informed that my family will trash of all my photography when I die. So that was the only driving force to get some of it archived....40 years of shooting and I had never given it any thought until these things unfolded.

If you guys really want to get depressed with your photography efforts...try getting your work accepted to museums.



　
　
　
　


Here are a few shipments of my limited editon, hand printed books and 'junk mail' mini portfolios going to the UK, Canada, China and Germany. Close to $300 for USPS express, insured mail alone. No money for me, it is all donated.









This is what I send out for junk mail. A dozen letter size archival pigment prints on Hahn ultrasmooth rag paper. Sleeve em, 2 CD's, nice shipping package, letterhead, packing bubblewrap, outer protection bag, package tape, $18 - $19 to ship to Russia or Germany...it all adds up.









　
　
　

　
　
　
　
　
　
　
But it is cheaper than sending out complete portfolios. Here is a 30 print 13 x 19 portfolio, Pina Zangaro 13 x 19 alum print box, 2 CD's ready to be packed and shipped. $195 just for the FED-X to China.

Most of what I send out is all spec, No one ever replies to emails or letters. And even with sending prints on spec, you seldom hear anything. One museum sent back the prints and kept the alum box. The prints were not packed safely and they were all ruined. In this case the China museum responded to a sample $50 junk mail print shipment.

...but we keep on shooting through thick or thin.
　
　

 

[Gavjenks]

^ Can you explain more about why you are trying to send portfolios on spec to Chinese museums? That's very interesting, but I'm afraid the lack of any context is pretty confusing.

I've never worked with galleries or museums before. Is that standard practice to just cold call with photos? Versus calling and talking, or online portfolios first, or something?

 

[Greiver]

speaking of iPad

This asshat decided to step in the way at the graduation I was shooting at this weekend. I even had the 100-400 lens on so I could be out of others' way and try to shoot around asshats like this. Doesn't always work.

I would have called them out on that. I mean really? You can afford a 700 dollar crap-tablet but not a P&S to use instead? Ugh.

 

[runnah]

I would have called them out on that. I mean really? You can afford a 700 dollar crap-tablet but not a P&S to use instead? Ugh.

Well you have to been seen using your extra large iPhone.

 

[The_Traveler]

It seems a bit arrogant of us (and I use the second person here quite deliberately) to declare that the masses are "wrong" here.

Well that would be the first person plural (us), and I didn't say that they were wrong.
I think their taste is undeveloped, vulgar and horrible.

As much as I like Charlie, his links are giving the wrong impression.

SAT scores are lower than they have ever been... nothing "WRONG" there! Average Scores for SAT Tests Drop | PBS NewsHour | Sept. 25, 2012 | PBS

Because SAT's are essentially culturally biased tests of knowledge and a wider spectrum of students are encouraged to take the tests, the average grade could be seen as getting lower. But that's an artifact of the sampling of the population.

Drug and Alchohol abuse are going crazy... nothing "WRONG" there! Prescriptions for alcohol addiction soar by 70% in the last decade | Mail Online

The increase is prescriptions to counter abuse could mean only that those abusing are seeking care more.
Here is a quote from the National Institute on Drug Abuse where more and better stats can be found.

Illicit drug use continued at elevated rates in 2010, after rising in 2009 to its highest level since 2002, according to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Nearly 9 percent of Americans aged 12 and older—an estimated 22.6 million people—reported using illicit drugs in the month prior to the survey.


The survey, released in September 2011, showed that marijuana use was the major driver of the higher rates over the past 2 years; past-month marijuana use rose from about 6.1 percent in 2008 to 6.9 percent—representing about 17.4 million people—in 2010.


Cause for Concern A rise in marijuana use drove up overall illicit drug use from 2008 to 2010, while use of cocaine fell and use of hallucinogens
The survey also disclosed that use of cocaine fell from 0.7 percent in 2008 to 0.6 percent in 2010, extending a favorable trend that began in 2006–2007. Use rates for hallucinogens and prescription drugs used nonmedically were similar to those for 2008 and 2009.


Rates of illicit drug use in 2010 varied by age, with the highest (21.5 percent) among young adults, aged 18 to 25, and the lowest (1.1 percent) among seniors, aged 65 and older.


Rates of alcohol use in 2010, including binge and heavy drinking, were similar to those for 2009. But drinking among adolescents, aged 12 to 17, declined from 14.7 percent in 2009 to 13.6 percent in 2010. Adolescents also reported a decline in the use of tobacco products, from 11.6 percent in 2009 to 10.7 percent in 2010.

Violent crime increasing! Nothing "WRONG" there! U.S. violent crime up for first time in years - CNN.com

Again, misleading link.
According to the FBI

Overview
In 2011, an estimated 1,203,564 violent crimes occurred nationwide, a decrease of 3.8 percent from the 2010 estimate.


When considering 5- and 10-year trends, the 2011 estimated violent crime total was 15.4 percent below the 2007 level and 15.5 percent below the 2002 level.

There were an estimated 386.3 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011.
Aggravated assaults accounted for the highest number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement at 62.4 percent. Robbery comprised 29.4 percent of violent crimes, forcible rape accounted for 6.9 percent, and murder accounted for 1.2 percent of estimated violent crimes in 2011.
Information collected regarding type of weapon showed that firearms were used in 67.7 percent of the nation’s murders, 41.3 percent of robberies, and 21.2 percent of aggravated assaults. (Weapons data are not collected for forcible rape.) (See Expanded Homicide Data Table 7, Robbery Table 3, and the Aggravated Assault Table.)

All that being said, my point is that the ubiquity of smarter cameras and lower technical and economic barriers to being involved in producing 'art' means that the quality pyramid is getting large at the bottom and more people with less talent, desire and scruples are chasing the art dollar.

 

[Pallycow]

One of the "paid" photogs for the event was around, he and I crossed paths several times as we both seemed to want to use the "good" spots. lol. naturally I let him get his in first as he was hired to do so, and many times he stepped aside so I could get in...which was cool of him. Was not an arrogant prick like many usually are at these gigs, as we talked gear and stuff between speeches....

During the iPad shoot, she got in his way too as we were side by side taking turns as they came down the exit aisle...and I said to him rather loudly "boy...that iPad chit up in the way sure makes it hard to do your job doesn't it ?" to which he replied...loudly...."yeah..it sure does...iPads are always in my way while I'm trying to capture the kids I'm PAID to capture" lol

There really is no point confronting such people. They think they have just as much of a "right" as we do...and to a point they are right. It is more of a common courtesy thing really. To which, you cannot educate the general public on randomly. So you just have to learn to work around them, then make fun of them on the net later.