What are your photographic aspirations?

[victoriapio]

The world only exists because I photograph it. If I stopped, all of time, space, energy and mass would compress into pre-Big Bang nothingness. Billions of years of cosmological and bio-chemical evolution and millennia of human social, cultural and intellectual development would fold back into the pre-physical darkness of non-existence.

I would feel very guilty if I allowed that to happen.

Strangely, the poll doesn't have this option.

This is truely inspiring 😀

 

[victoriapio]

Different prospective

Different prospective

Different prospective:

I was fortunate to make a living off my cameras and typewriter/computer for more than 20 years. Nothing famous, just solid work (primarily outdoor photography, some professional underwater work too) for many major magazines, companies, agencies, etc.

Although I traveled the world, I was comfortably "broke" if you can be called poor with three motoized Nikons with a dozen lenses, Hassy, Leica and even view cameras in the safe. I usually had 100 rolls of Kodachrome, 20 rolls of Ektachrome (this will age me for sure) and about 50 rolls of Tri-X in the fridge. I rented a two-bedroom house in Austin, drove a Chevy Blazer. My total net worth (camera equipment aside) typically under $10,000. I used one credit card to handle all travel costs and billed that to clients.

Along with some friends I later started a river tour company and began making some real money (funny how that happens when you get out of photojournalism - in fact quite a few professional pjers call photojournalism "self unemployment" - and they are right!) .

These days I have evolved into a Public Information Officer taking photos all the time and also manage the City's TV station. Photography has become even more precious to me, leaning heavily toward pj type photos but I enjoy street photography and usually sell out my outdoor photo workshops.

My legacy: to take all the photos I ever want and to perhaps leave a Web site portfolio that some people will find "impressive". Now that I am making good money in my day job, I have no aspirations to make money with my photos at all. I couldn't stand the pay cut 😀

O.C.

 

[biomed]

I enjoy photography as a hobby. I briefly worked in a studio doing portraits, weddings, publicity photos and insurance claim work (some undercover for fraud). I don't think I would enjoy photography as much if I had to make a living from it, although I admire those who do. My passion is trying to capture what I see on film.

 

[JTK]

See examples of photojournalism with sound on www.soundslides.com...

That's what I want to be emphasizing by the end of 2008 (still photos, probably B&W, coupled with digital audio interview recordings, presented online and via DVD). No matter what, I'll continue to inkjet print, intending to do more portraits of people as I meet them, here and there.

I might commit totally to the soundslides idea if I was doing a travel adventure, rather than primarily laboring in my entirely non-photo career (which is itself fun beyond money).