On: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 Nick Dunmur wrote:- > ............................................................however much > creative integrity one has unless we can set something in motion that is > aimed at all buyers of photography that re-informs the value of original > commissioned professional photography/imaging and counter-acts the 'it'll > do' approach. I realise that this attitude is all too pervasive in our > culture at the moment and maybe it's too big a nut to crack, but surely we > should be able to do something? > Maybe the discussions about this list to date on this thread reflect this > too.
It will take a generation before this global screwing of professional photography eventually sorts itself out. Until then, welcome to the ghetto. I was a working professional for 25 years before I finally packed it in earlier this year. Now I am back to being an amateur again - and it feels great. The last ten years were a relentless struggle with the forces of 'just good enough' and the only thing I could do was improve my photography only to no avail. Everytime I thought I was up to the mark, the goalposts would move again. Having seen the elephant sitting in the living room, I now live on State Benefits doing other things. The only work I can get - if I tried, would be London type high-end advertising at a day rate of between �2000 and �3000 per day! At those sort of prices clients have the divine right (or so they think!) to eat you alive. Otherwise, nobody wants to know - except for WalMart type prices. It simply is not any fun anymore, and the fact that I am at the height of my creative powers doing my finest work is meaningless in the face of such overwhelming mediocrity. Anyway, the most positive and constructive thing for me to do is to keep on practicing my photography as a form of cultural activism. I have plenty to talk about, plenty to share, and look forward to a future Pro-DIG with a broader remit to include the likes of me. Until then, I will continue to listen - avidly - as it so happens. William Curwen =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
