Respectfully yours

At 20 years old, VISA pour l”Image seemed like  an old lady. This was not a celebration of years to come but a reminiscence successes past for the organizers. Not much was seen there that would make anyone looking forward for 20 more years of VISA. The exhibits where more of the same, extremely talented photographers that we have all already seen.

The first day I got there, a poor girl, 17 years of age, jumped from the top of the Castillet, committing suicide right in front of hundreds of  VISA participant, quietly sipping a beer. I just happened to be close by and got there minutes after she had jumped. Not knowing what had happened, I just first saw the  rows of pale and white faces sitting a the Terrace of the Cafe la Poste. It was quite a dramatic vision. It would somewhat set the tone for the rest of the week.

The Palais, where all the agencies set up shop, was emptier than last year. Not in visitors, but in booth. Raises in prices, general cost, not sure what was the reason. But certainly part of it is that most agencies do not really see the value of having a booth anymore. More of the same photographers showing up, lesser quality and the ability to see anyone portfolio online at anytime makes this an expensive and useless exercise. Since, over the years, less and less magazines are sending their photo editors to search for new sources of images, having a booth is becoming pointless. From many conversations, those that where there this year are strongly considering not coming back, at least with a booth.

However, the yearly show of the Corbis and Getty stands next to each other happened once again. And again, the same result. A completely empty Corbis stand next to an extremely busy Getty one, overflowing with activity, from morning to sunset. Some images would periodically fall off the wall of the Corbis stand, making their appearance even more pathetic. Finally, the announcement that they where going through yet more layoff in France and moving from the center of Paris location to the suburbs did not help.

Strangely enough, none of the photo community platforms where formally present. No Alamy, no DRR, no Photoshelter. One would think that with such a volume of photographers present, it would be a prime destination for the recruitment of new members. Either they do no believe photojournalism is important for their growth or they are just saving money. Who knows.

Apart from that, the Palais was buzzing with its usual activity of agency people catching up on trends and news, while exchanging tips about the future. A lot is going on the French market, for example, which will certainly affect other major markets. But more on that later.

Violence was certainly omnipresent. Not just in the images displayed but all around us. There was a photographer mugging, a first in my knowledge, and after that, we were constantly protected by groups of the french riot police. It did not prevent more violence to erupt, fortunately not involving VISA participant.

The best and most incredible event of this year VISA was probably the projections open to everyone, on a giant screen, in the Place de La Republique. The attendance was spectacular. It seemed that the whole city of Perpignan was there, forgetting the comfort of their homes and TV, to sit and watch great images. At a time when everyone screams the death of photojournalism, this was a nightly slap in their mouth. And it should make us wonder. If people are so hungry to see great photography, who is really killing photojournalism ? The public enjoys it, photographers are producing it, agencies are making it available, so why this slow disappearance?

Far from the argument of who is the best photographer and who should win what prizes, locals where enjoying seeing the world the way it is. And that was probably the most powerful moment of this years event. It just showed with the advent of digital, file sharing, and all these cheap yet powerful cameras, people seem to have a better understanding of how hard it is to take a great picture. And enjoying them even more.

It was a year with no great surprises. Those agencies doing well are doing very well, with or without Getty in their markets. Everyone complained about lowering prices and the ever growing threat of subscription model set forth by Getty. However, there seems to be plenty of valuable space for the agencies with imagination, brains and quality. Some agencies have seen there best year ever in 2008 and are very optimistic about the future. That is what one should remember about this years festivities. VISA might be becoming an old lady, the market, however, is just a toddler.

Some violence in VISA :

This entry was posted on September 10, 2008 at 6:14 am and is filed under license, magazine, technology, photojournalism, slideshow, corbis, france, editorial, getty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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