fondueman
Member
just doing my catchup taxes at the moment, for the last three years, NWM, and you are so right. while i "average" a living from my photography, there are moments in time that might last for months where many would not envy the so-called mythological luxury of living from your art... while i have never taken the dole there have been many close calls where i've eyed off that out of date can of baked beans in the cupboard...
but yes, it is a profession, for many of us, but earning a living from what so many out there perceive as a hobby sport (in remote regions), clients who are looking for a "professional" photographer are fewer now than in recent years, settling for the part-time achievers who use their cameras always on auto and deliver high res mediocrity. some get it right, though, yes, and hopefully from that some will grow to see to be professionals of a higher standard...there needs to be a next generation of photographers who can still use film but also who can use digital in a way that affects the consumer world of images the way (?) photography did in the 19th century and the first 70 years of the 20th.
i specialise in documentary archiving of social conditions and issues so my clients are small in number but are generally well funded by private grants and foundations (i've never shot a wedding!). there are rewards well beyond the financial but it is the financial that pays for the art-film and the comfy shoes. and now the slower lifestyle.
i'm not really going anywhere with this, i think the points have been made. and others will continue to disagree or disregard and be right in their own ways. art...and photography... is (are) as much a job as a passion. neither will ever disappear.
thanks for the discussion. it was enlivening.
but yes, it is a profession, for many of us, but earning a living from what so many out there perceive as a hobby sport (in remote regions), clients who are looking for a "professional" photographer are fewer now than in recent years, settling for the part-time achievers who use their cameras always on auto and deliver high res mediocrity. some get it right, though, yes, and hopefully from that some will grow to see to be professionals of a higher standard...there needs to be a next generation of photographers who can still use film but also who can use digital in a way that affects the consumer world of images the way (?) photography did in the 19th century and the first 70 years of the 20th.
i specialise in documentary archiving of social conditions and issues so my clients are small in number but are generally well funded by private grants and foundations (i've never shot a wedding!). there are rewards well beyond the financial but it is the financial that pays for the art-film and the comfy shoes. and now the slower lifestyle.
i'm not really going anywhere with this, i think the points have been made. and others will continue to disagree or disregard and be right in their own ways. art...and photography... is (are) as much a job as a passion. neither will ever disappear.
thanks for the discussion. it was enlivening.
