The Meat Market

July 5, 2007 by pmelcher.

My father is a photographer. A happily retired photojournalist that not only took great pictures but also ran a few photo agencies, including Magnum. I grew up in this world: I was surrounded not only by the photographs ” of the best photo agency ever”, but also by the men, and women, who took them. It is easier for me to spot the one great image in a story than to tell my wife which dress fits her better.

I speak 3 languages fluently: French, English and photography.

When I grew up, I saw my father be excited when anyone outside of his trade would take notice. There wasn’t much exhibits in the fifties, and photojournalisms, even the likes of magnum, was not considered an art form and most photographers where talked about the same way as people talk about the paparazzi today. Pino Granata knows that and knows it very well. Therefore, when he points his finger at me, through the use of microstock news website Stockphototalk.com, I have to respond.

My father was always amazed when someone outside of his world talked about photography. Because it was a rare event. Capa, Cartier Bresson were far from being the beloved superstar they are now. The photo book industry was just emerging and no one dared do a photo exhibit. Finally, “normal” people took pictures of their families and the 2 worlds never collided.

I have never seen so many people with cameras in the streets. And they do not just take snapshots of their kids. They photograph their world and post it on Flickr. and they exchange, comment, compare, criticize. There has never been such an understanding of what photography is and what it takes to take a great picture. Some even license their images, finally bridging the gap between amateurs and professionals. And they finally understand what it means to be a photographer, one that sells images.

Those who use to just consume photography have a much better understanding of what photography is. And we should be happy about it.

An image that is not published is not an image. And to get your image published, you need someone to like it enough to pay for the right to use it for a limited time. That is photography. The rest is fine art.

Photojournalism and other form of photography are tied to money, whether we like it or not. Money is what pays for the equipment, the travel, the food and the books, that make that photo possible.

A good photo is always well rewarded. So even if we are not butchers, we have to live like them, in the same world. Not making money with your photography is not a sign of talent. My father always took pictures that people wanted to see. He had a family to raise.

Today, Mario Testini can afford to buy a multi million dollar apartment, Annie Lebovitz makes more than a million dollars a year in salary from Vanity Fair and some photo grants sometimes approach 6 digits.

What is killing this profession, Mr Granata, is not money. What is killing photojournalism is these so called specialists who scream loud and far that the art is dying, yet have never sold an image themselves. Those who create these photo festival, or now have photo industry blogs, those who curate exhibits or design books, the self proclaimed  guardian of the art. They have have never had a successful career in photography, yet they teach the world what a great photo should look like.

They are critics, like the food, book, music and movie industry already have them. They have “opinions”, strong ones. But when time comes for them to use photography, they do not pay, screaming poverty as if it was a virtue.

Getty brought photography to Wall Street. Corbis, through Bill Gates notoriety, made it mainstream. Multi million dollars investments are being made into companies whose main business is licensing images. This was impossible 10 years ago. And it something to rejoice about, not complain.

Finally, I see great images everyday. They might not be in magazines anymore. They are on the Internet. I can even see images taken by local newspaper photographers, like Todd Heisler, without living in that city. and there is great talent.

The medium is changing, the content is changing. It is being ingested and digested by huge volume of eyeballs who dare to compete. And where there is a high volume of people, there is a high volume of money. If you are really an European Socialist Dreamer, Pino Granata, then this should make you optimistic.

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