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.