Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/07/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Jul 3, 2013, at 12:20 PM, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote: > For every artist who is exhibited, I know 10 equally talented artists who > never found an outlet. Look at the LUG. The Gallery is replete with > excellent photographs, most taken by "non-professionals" whose pictures > will be seen only by close friends and on the web. Ted, Tina, and some few > others have managed to break the barrier but there are plenty of other > LUGGERS whose work is equally as good. > > > In my day if you wanted to get paid for taking pictures, you did one of > two things. You worked for a media outlet, newspaper or magazine, or you > tried to establish an independent freelance or "professional" business. > While some "professionals" managed to live quite nicely, most barely > scraped by or failed completely. I bought most of my cameras from failed > professionals. Sometimes "security" is better than starving. Larry, We seem to be talking past one another a bit; not unusual as we've had different experiences. I began my visual art career at 14, in 1960, as an assistant in a successful commercial studio. The studio catered to Advertising Agency and Corporate Clients. Between 1967 and 1972 or 3 I earned my living, and my way through college as a free lance photo journalist, and graphic designer, selling to local newspapers and magazines. Since 1973 and through the late 90s I managed to earn fairly well doing a combination of; editorial photography, corporate photography and graphic design, gallery shows and print sales. Each of those markets has had its ups and downs over the years and decades. In every case protection of the right to use and license the work remained important; not only to me but to all of my peers working in photography, illustration and graphic design. At the height of my career I was a member of both ASMP and the Graphic Artists Guild. Both organizations have worked tirelessly at protecting and valuing creative work. My first wife, of 25 years, also made a good living as a fine art painter. I have many friends who are professional artists, photographers, painters, sculptors, metal workers, and musicians. I know how the art markets have worked historically as well as currently. Tina's career or mine or many others do not fit the model that you seem feel is the only rigid view of how things worked "in your day" "my day" or "to day." We could discuss any creative market in terms of blue chip international "history book" success, regional success and/or local success; as well as several other parameters and paradigms. Regards, George Lottermoser george at imagist.com http://www.imagist.com http://www.imagist.com/blog http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist