Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/04/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Apr 9, 2008, at 9:57 PM, Nathan Wajsman wrote: > Before we all jump on the newspapers for cutting back on their photo > staff and using free images from readers, consider the double of > triple whammy they have been hit with: > > 1) Loss of readership, as older readers die off and the younger > people get their news from the web or TV or wherever, but certainly > not from the newspaper. > > 2) Loss of advertising revenue, as the classified business that used > to be the bread and butter of many local papers has migrated to the > web. > > 3) The rise of free newspapers--maybe not everywhere, but certainly > in the last few places I have lived they have been around for > several years. In the Netherlands there are 3 or 4 at any given > time. Even Alicante, with its 400,000 people, has its own edition of > "20 Minutes" and "Metro". These papers are not NYT or The Guardian, > but they are good enough for many people who only want a quick read > in a convenient size when sitting on the train to work. > > So, with those economic forces hitting them, it is perfectly > understandable that newspapers have to cut costs where they can. I am rather surprised that you are defending papers as noted Nathan... necessary !? just to stay alive... garbage in/garbage out.... if the readers can supply the photos, maybe they can also supply the news and editorial content, Steve > It is a matter of survival for them too. At the same time, we should > not forget that traditional broadsheet newspapers were never the > bastions of great photography in the vein of Life magazine etc. They > were printed on cheap paper, your hands got black from reading them, > and the reproduction quality of the images was pretty bad. Let's > face it, in a daily newspaper photography is secondary to the words. > > I know photographers who do advertising and other commercial > photography, and they are doing OK. > > Having said all of the above, I sympathize with the professional > photographers losing their livelihoods, and as an amateur who takes > pretty decent pictures, I would not dream of giving them away for > free, except to friends and family. > > Nathan > > > > On 10-apr-2008, at 5:33, Alastair Firkin wrote: > >> Ted, this is the true situation indeed. It will turn, when people >> begin to want better results, but the "gear" is allowing many >> people to make recognizable images in even bad situations. In our >> local paper there are now 3 weekly articles on photography every >> week: this in tne TV guide section. Photography has NEVER been so >> popular. >> >> --- tedgrant@shaw.ca wrote:Unfortunately I'm wasting my breath and >> typing time because nothing will >> change. >> >> What does have to change is professional photographers no matter >> who, have >> to move with the times and go with the flow in finding another >> discipline of >> photography where they can earn a decent living. WHY? Because >> whining about >> all the free stuff isn't going to change as long as you have the >> hordes and >> hordes of digi-shooters who claim to be photographers when they >> wouldn't >> know a good photograph from a dung heap! >> >> But they sure as hell know how to make digi operated electronic >> exposures >> of nothing! >> >> ted >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > Nathan Wajsman > nathan@nathanfoto.com > General photography: > http://www.nathanfoto.com > http://www.greatpix.eu > http://www.frozenlight.eu > Picture-A-Week: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws > Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog > Book: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/128276 > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information