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08 Tuesday Apr 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
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05 Saturday Apr 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
in≈ Comments Off on Parking Garage Woman, St Augustine, FL (Feb 2014)
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05 Saturday Apr 2014
Posted Commentary
in≈ Comments Off on Future of Still Photography
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Maybe the future of still photography is simply communication. Presenting a message or telling a story. Like movies, but without movement.
— Michael Grace-Martin (April 2014)
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05 Saturday Apr 2014
Posted Commentary
in≈ Comments Off on Nan Goldin’s Photography
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The thing about my work is nothing is prearranged, pre-thought, premeditated. In no way was I directing the pictures; they’re just fragments of life as it was being lived. There was no staging. When you set up pictures you’re not at any risk. Reality involves chance and risk and diving for pearls.
— Nan Goldin, 2003
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04 Friday Apr 2014
Posted Commentary
in≈ Comments Off on The Shifting Audience for Photography
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Since the advent of the Internet and cameras in everyone’s phones and electronic devices, the number of photos in existence has absolutely exploded (in a recent presentation by Yahoo!, it was claimed that as many as 880 BILLION photos will be taken in 2014 if we continue on the current trend).
Of course, they’re not all great photos. But lots of people get started taking photos with their crappy phone cameras (or whatever they have), decide they like taking photos, purchase better camera equipment (which has become quite accessible both in terms of price and supply), and put up their website or storefront and start trying to sell prints, photo books, and/or photography services.
In economics terms, it’s quite clear that supply is exceeding demand for photography products and services. Or is it?
While it’s true that there are are more photographers out in the world trying to sell products and services to an audience of non-photographers that isn’t growing as fast, photography–as a subject of interest–has exploded right along with the explosion of photos and picture-taking devices.
Camera equipment sales are up (e.g., Canon Celebrates The Production Of 250 Million Digital Cameras) and the sale of photography “How-To” books (based on my observation of their proliferation at bookstores) is up.
What this means to me is that the audience for photography is shifting from non-photographer consumers to photographers as the consumers. Not only are photographers interested in doing photography themselves, but they’re more likely to be interested in the photography being done by other photographers.
So how does this audience shift affect the person trying to sell photography products and services?
I believe it’s photography as a service that gets impacted the most. There are millions of people with professional or semi-professional camera equipment (which has become quite affordable to many people) out in the world trying to make a buck with their equipment (as a sideline or to help pay for the equipment itself) who offer their services at low rates because it’s not their primary income-earning occupation. This adversely impacts the professional photographers trying to make a living as a full-time photographer. (This is an old story now and I’m not going to get into it any more than this.)
However, photographers trying to sell prints and books still have an audience, though it may be shifting over to an audience composed more of photographers than in the past. Photographers like to look at prints and photo books from photographers they admire because they inspire them to take better photos.
Of course, there’s the question of whether people more generally are buying fewer prints and books due to photos being so freely available on the Internet, where photographers can see them and (as photographers) be inspired by them. That’s a separate (though not unimportant) issue.
The new opportunity that has surfaced for photographers is selling their expertise and know-how to up and coming photographers who want to know more about the practice of photography and how to make better photos. This expertise and know-how can be transmitted via how-to books and ebooks, photography workshops, and/or tutoring or portfolio reviews.
Not all photographers are interested in ‘transmitting’ what they know to other less experienced photographers. Some experienced photographers just want to keep taking photos and selling their photos or photo services and making a living (photographers tend to be visual ‘observers’, of course, who may not feel comfortable interacting with strangers or with putting their knowledge into words).
The purpose of this post is to observe what’s happening (at least from my vantage point) versus making any recommendations to anyone. Sometimes just making a few observations can help people know what they need to do on an individual basis.
More observations to come…
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03 Thursday Apr 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
in≈ Comments Off on The Oldest Wood School House in the USA, St. Augustine, FL (Feb 2014)
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Please note the well-preserved petrified child in the window…:p
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02 Wednesday Apr 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
in≈ Comments Off on Thru a Daytona Beach Neighborhood (Feb 2014)
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Last February, my family and I stayed at a hotel right on the Atlantic Ocean in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was where we stayed for about 2.5 days (out of the total 7 days we spent in Florida), and it was hands down the best part of our trip. You could hear and see the waves and seagulls from our balcony, and the weather was sunny and warm.
The hotel was right along the main road through town (Atlantic Ave) and–as you might imagine–it was all ‘lodgy’ and touristy on the ocean side of the road.
If you crossed the road and went a block or more over on the other side, however, you immediately found yourself in residential neighborhoods. So, I took a little walk over there with my camera one day.
I took photos of houses and some of the areas and buildings near the edge of the neighborhood/s where commercial activity encroaches.
Scroll down to see the photos against a white background, or click one of the images to see them larger and against a dark background in a slide show format.
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01 Tuesday Apr 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
in≈ Comments Off on Florida Scenic Highway A1A (Feb 2014)
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27 Thursday Mar 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
in≈ Comments Off on King of Beers, Daytona 500, FL (Feb 2014)
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I decided it might be fun to walk around and take photos on the grounds at the Daytona 500 Speedway during the week leading up to the big race.
As I wandered about, I noticed one alcoholic beverage company had a particularly *strong* presence there.
A naive person might think it strange that an alcoholic drink would have a strong association with an event where people are driving cars at speeds averaging over 140 mph.
But see, it’s not the drivers drinking the beer; it’s the fans in stands! Got that (silly you/me)?
Nope. See, the drivers don’t drink until after the race…and then they only drink champagne, and from a cartoonishly large bottle referred to as a “Double Magnum”, an “Imperial”, or “Mama’s Hollow Leg”*.
I just figure that drinking beer is a really good way to make watching cars go around and around a track 300 times (or whatever) really entertaining.
In any case, click on the images below to witness the King of Beers®’ presence at the Daytona 500 in life-like fidelity…
*(OK, I made that last one up. However, on a totally unrelated note: have you ever seen the Free Dictionary’s definition of Hiney? ->”Either of the two rounded prominences on the human torso that are posterior to the hips and formed by the gluteal muscles and underlying structures.” That makes me chuckle more even than actually uttering the word “hiney”..)
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27 Thursday Mar 2014
Posted MGM's Photos, Street
in≈ Comments Off on View of Henry B. Plant Park, Tampa, FL (Feb 2014)
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