March 21, 2020
I am startled by the light, how it curves around my subject and is upon me with subtle warmth. My chosen subject is illuminated in pure wondrous revelation.
Just a few minutes ago the landscape was dull without a pure foundation of details struggling to be represented until the sunlight broke through the clouds. This was the final ingredient that elevated my chosen subject before me into art.
My intuition ignored the intellects preconceived construct of the scene before me.
I sensed the possibilities of mother nature and her ability to change light on a whim and this particular subject demanded that I wait and set up my equipment to capture the beautiful light being revealed over the scene toward sunset.
Without patience we tend to ignore the primary subject and go for the easy snap shot so we can move on gliding on a surface facade without depth and originality.
Photography is our means to extend our lives. Photographs tell our story and allows us the ability to remain alive for our families and buyers of our work. For our image creation is our means of an after death resurrection.
The importance of creating a legacy of images is a freeing of oneself to just live your life as best you can and let others see and discuss your work after you are gone.
But what is happening now in the photo industry is the commodifying of images as a product like ground meat. And the proliferation of images in the market place reduces the respect images once had in the hey day of what I call the iconic expression, the truth of our lives through the integrity of the photographers work.
Especially when there is an over saturation of image cliches and redundant images being taken.
Photographers once had the respect of the people but now are seen as glory seekers taking images of anyone and anything just to capture something without a purpose or a cause just for chance of making some money.
Photographers are creating an epidemic of run and shoot photography. A carless attitude toward the creation of great imagery. In order to make important imagery you first must become entwined with your subject, studying the details and the composition that will best express your connection with your subject. And give the viewer a sense of being present when the image was made.
Without a personal vision that is unique and visually powerful you will become part of the shoot anything club and call it a good days work.
Being self-centered just exasperates the loss of momentum in understanding the patience that is required just to make one exposure.
The new generation of photographers are seen as worker ants as they roam this world seeking images without purpose, just snap shots of details they hope will sell for pennies.
These mega agencies couldn't care less about their photographers. Why should they care for there are 100s of millions of shooters that give their images away for free and the ones that hook up with an agency gets virtually nothing for their efforts? But for new photographers it is an ego trip just to see your image taken in by the agency and then to receive in your bank account virtually nothing. You are not going to be able to make a living on your images like you could beginning in the 1980s and ending in 2008, when the economy collapsed.
Anyone can take snap-shots but these won’t pay your bills.
I better qualify this by saying that the condition of photography as an art form is dying. Everybody is a photographer and everyone has access to photo agencies gobbling up images just to sell them for peanuts. Why would anyone want to supply their images to a photo agency that takes 80% of your efforts without demanding from their buyers a higher price for their photographers time and efforts?
Because once again it is not the image, the image is not that important, it is the volume of image sales that makes a difference. Lets get real for a moment, if you don't know you're being suckered by putting your images in the mega agencies as RF then wakeup! Any agencies that spouts off about how you will get your return through volume sales, run for hills. The agency will make their profits and you the lowly photographer will be the ones that lose in the transaction. They will gain because 80% of any sale will be theirs and tell me how many times will your image will sell that even come close to equaling what the mega stock houses receive for every sale.
Stock sales are lowering the quality of images being created. Anyone now is a shooter with the ability to submit their work to the mega stock houses is free.
Simply put the photo agencies now don’t really care about the photographers, only the images they create,
which will be sold for less than a candy bar.
Some photographers know how to create and sell stock images and do make a good living submitting their work but they are the few amongst the millions
of shooters taking snap shots of anything and submitting these run and gun images to the mega agencies and getting really nothing in return.
We need to separate our image making from the control of the super agencies. We must create unique images with purpose. Exploring the outer world and reflecting on what we feel and see and bringing our vision forward, realized through our photography.
I will be creating photography books and putting these online. This isn’t new but at least it moves me away from the photo agencies that have lost all respect for the people that make them billions. To them we are just workers on the conveyer belt line putting our photography efforts in small boxes that are later sold with coupons at the stock house grocery outlet.
