Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/02/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]George (and the rest of the LUG,) Thank you very much for reading the post. Things are actually slowly changing for the better but at the speed of refrigerated molasses. There is movement but very little. As for technology, I really should have thought about my career path long, long ago when my dad, a printer, was basically relegated to being a xerox button pusher and deliveryman for the company he's worked for, forever. This happened in the late 90's and I was already in the Navy but doing the weather. Photography was only a hobby then, not an obsession like it is now. Hindsight is often 20/20 they say. I chose the military photography route because I was at a career point in weather where I was to either attend and advanced forecasting school and "doom" myself to sitting at a weather desk for at least the two following years writing DD175-1 flight weather requests for every movement that every aircraft in my area of responsibility would make. It was something that I had a year of experience doing and it was mind-numbingly tedious. Several hundred can be written inside an 8 hour or 12 hour shift. It's important work but I found myself needing something more and more creative at that. Being a photographer in the Navy allowed me a mobility within the military as well as the journalism community that only a few ever get to experience. I had a carte blanche coverage ability over whatever theater of operations I was in, as directed by the Secretary of the Navy. It was a great path and after my combat experience, it was one that I decided wasn't healthy for me to pursue anymore. Life was very easy in the Navy as far as having the things I needed. Bearing witness to some of the other things for the reasons I had to was not easy. I digress a bit. I know that it's a horrible market at a horrible economic time but I'm just hoping that something has to break for me because it's been so long that I have been pushing. Thanks all, Phil Forrest On Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:22:08 -0600 George Lottermoser <imagist3 at mac.com> wrote: > I agree with Larry on most of his points Phil. > I appreciate your sharing the story of your efforts and travails. > > You chose a career in photography (journalism and/or documentary) at > the worst possible epoch of its history; a time when experienced > professionals cannot find editors willing to hire or publishers > willing support their projects. The schools keep churning out heavy > competition for an extremely limited job market; a market where the > only the very best, most resourceful and tenacious will find success. > > The same can be said for so many other job markets as well. > The graphic design market has also been utterly transformed > by the technology, the decimation of print publications, and easy > access to global competition. > > With robotics and all the other technologies increasing productivity > It's become quite obvious that there are far more warm bodies looking > for "work" than there are jobs for them to do; > whether unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled or highly skilled. > > Attitude, tenacity, high quality networking and making every effort > to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right portfolio > and responses? will determine who will get hired or get their project > supported. > > Regards, > George Lottermoser > george at imagist.com > http://www.imagist.com > http://www.imagist.com/blog > http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -- http://philipforrestphoto.wordpress.com/ http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/philforrest