first of all, i have to say that i love my audience here ….there were such thoughtful comments from all of you who wrote….so good in fact, that put together, they pretty much mirror what i was going to say anyway!!! great quotes from picasso and harry callahan and terrific personal experiences…thank you….
since all of you basically wrote my piece for me, i will just add a couple of thoughts…i was so pleased that none of you put networking in first place!! i honestly thought some of you might….sometimes i do meet emerging photographers who do want to put “the cart before the horse”….they want to meet the “right person” before they even have anything to show that “right person”…for sure, if you have something to show , it will be seen….
where the word “networking” really kicks in is when a photographer shows his or her work to an established photographer or an editor or a gallerist, the “word” quickly spreads in our little world….whenever i see inspirational work, i quickly tell all of my friends in the business to be on the lookout for whoever is the author….most of us do this….why?? because any elevation of our craft is good for all of us…nobody wants to work in a vacuum…..great work begets great work…when i see an important body of work, i just want to “high five” the photographer….your best “agent” is the “word of mouth” from your colleagues….forget the design of your business card…
some of you gave “percentages” of the talent/hard work quotient…..and luck came in there too….or maybe fate?? i have always bristled a bit when people tell me how “lucky” i am…..actually, i too feel really lucky….but, i also feel that i have worked really hard to be “lucky”….knowing when to be lucky…or “recognizing luck” when i saw it….
and maybe the most important factor of all….getting back up off of the ground after you hit hard…..dusting yourself off….climbing back up on the horse when you are in no mood to ride…in my case, this single factor has kept me going forward more than anything….whatever combo of hard work/talent i may possess, would be no good whatsoever without this sheer perseverence…..and this you need to keep forever, no matter how many books you publish or commissions you may have….
when was in undergrad school i was surrounded by a lot of “super talented” fellow students…mostly in the painting classes….but some actors, musicians and sculptors….i felt totally overwhelmed and inferior to these talented artists….for one thing, i could not even draw….i still can’t draw…i could see clearly that there was no way i could do what they did….i knew these colleagues would “make it”…it was obvious….they were so so creative….
graduation time…..everybody split…..we were all suddenly “out there” in “no man’s land”…no more late night discussions, over 10 beers, of how great everyone was going to be!!…soon all of us went in different directions…..i went off to grad school, out of circumstance, more than as a result of any “deep thought” or careful research….pure luck i guess….i tried to keep track of some of my friends…i lost some forever and kept in touch with a few……
but what happened?? i heard that the most talented actor in our school was now selling life insurance….he was totally brilliant…..as good as any actor i had ever seen…..and my favorite painter in school and the “most likely to succeed” student in the whole art school was teaching art classes in a grade school somewhere….where in the world had this youthful idealism gone??? i was so so disappointed….now mind you , there is nothing wrong with selling life insurance and teaching young children art is a nobel cause, but i just thought these two in particular had a different fate….
in the roller coaster ride of my life both past and present, what i see are artists with talent who also never let go, never give up, work like total maniacs and are very very very careful with the work they do and put “out there”….i think you must take whatever you have and by whatever means you have it and make sure that the work is at some point displayed, printed, published in a way that reflects whatever talent you may have…10 copies of a hand-made book perfectly done to your satisfaction, are better for you in the long run than a poorly published photo in an international magazine….
everyone has poorly published pictures sometimes…but, here is where the percentages for me come in….you must be “80% artistically selfish”….if you have clients to satisfy, to put food on the table for your family, then that is just fine….but, you must also always have a personal project of some kind going or be “lucky” enough to have your “talents” recognized by someone who will pay you to do “your own thing”….but ulimately,you are the only one who will ever give yourself the really perfect “assignment”….
please understand that i have totally earned my living as a professional commercial photographer….i am not at all arrogant with someone who is paying me to do work…..whatever income i have is from someone buying either my time or my archive….but, since my first job out of grad school at a newspaper to professional commissions i do now, it has always been and will always be a struggle….no less now as a so called “established” photographer…how can this be?? well, if you are going for that 80% percent i mention, you will suffer…it will always be a balancing act between keeping editors pleased and knowing you have to do what you have to do…as a “client pleaser” i work all the time…..i do not let up…..i make sure that i “deliver”….but, i also always have a larger view…..a long range book to dream about…..individual little slices of which i am proud….remember no large “funder” of your time and your work has your overall career in mind…why should they? they have another and important and worthwhile agenda….if you understand their agenda, you will not have to abandon yours….
one of the “super-talents” in my school was also my roommate….masaaki okada was from hamamatsu , japan….masaaki could draw and paint like none i had ever seen……and he “introduced” me to art history for which i will ever be grateful……masaaki did the layout on my little self published book “tell it like it is” (see archived story under “work in progress”)….but i learned more about another thing from masaaki than art appreciation….he taught me the concept of not making anyone “lose face”….in the west, we tend to think “i win, you lose”….in the orient rests the original “win win” concept by which you totally immerse yourself in what someone else wants and/or needs….not what you want….you must still “know” what you want, but you get it by understanding what the other person wants first….this concept has allowed me to be “professional” and still get my 80% “artistic selfishness”…well, ok, 75%!!!
i have another whole piece or pieces to write about professionalism and . personal work.. and another whole discussion is out there on documentary and the art world….i will save that for later…i have already rambled too long and i did not intend to stray from our topic, but thought some of this would relate….
ok, one last thought…..in general, you do have to take a hard look in the mirror…..you must be very honest with yourself and decide if you have at least some “natural ability” and something to “say’ with your work…you should have dreams that are way way way out there, but also figure out realistic ways to make them come true…..you must be the “can do” type……take care of your loved ones first, and then work like hell….your “success” should only be measured by you….only you know your potential, only you are the judge….
remember those 10 hand-made books i mentioned earlier??…..i am working on them!!!!
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