Last night the "option" (reserving a date) became a "call" and all of the sudden "Maggie" will be jet setting first class to L.A. for a shoot over the weekend. Her new NYC agent secured this gig. Initially they did not want to pay much, but he negociated a nice healthy fee.
Maggie's old agent, Elite London, did not have many contacts in the U.S. or in New York. Their business was rather limited to mostly Europe, and other branches that cover other continents evidently don't get along. Not the most responsive either because they are kinda big.
So with travel Maggie found out that she had double booked. Luckily the second gig had not firmed up and they were able to reschedule.
From En Foco I did get the opportunity to get a portfolio review from them. I responded to the e-mail to sign up for this generous offer of support. En Foco has been around since 1974.
I take ownership that I'm not really a photojournalist, and I'm more of a street photographer who archives. I also consider myself a fine art printer, even though it is limited to only B&W. The New York Times Portfolio Review and also En Foco were both more aligned with photojournalism as their POV.
Anyways this exercise has helped me find my voice and my identity.
The next possible rejection is for a studio residency in Dumbo. About a thousand people apply for 17 studios, and from my data mining they are all fine artists that are painters, print makers, and sculptors. As far as I can mine not one photographer. Perhaps I'll be the first.
So here I am playing the lottery. I was taught in art school never to pay for an exhibit, but many do art fairs, others form co-op galleries, and many pay fees to stab in the dark.
I have three images for the L.A. billboard competition where the fees collected are used to pay for the public display of the selected winning images. This required permission for any model in my shots. I submitted a shot of the Highline at dusk that John is in. I hope he does not mind. Another is of "Maggie" coming down subway stairs at night in leather pants and a vintage S-Scott-A blazer and boots. My iconic panoramic shot of the Domino Sugar Refinery is the third shot.
I think the best possibility is the shot of Maggie. Perhaps not such a remote possibility. Also know it is a color shot. This is new for me. It is just that the color shot is better than the B&W image. I paid fees to submit.
For anyone interested "The Fence" has an opportunity. $35.00 fee for up to 5 images. The challenge here is that all winners present a social cause and story/narritive in the images. Possibility of having your work seen in now eight cities.
My way of entering these competitions that require money is there has to be a big reward like mucho exposure. My budget is low for spending money so the payoff has to be rather grand to be worth my while. As the weather gets nicer I won't have time to waste with this random stabbing. I'll be concentrating on my shooting shortly.
Cal
