Over the past month, I have been having an ongoing discussion with a number of well known and gifted photographers about different marketing ideas and new outlets for photography. Just because a photographer can capture an amazing image does not mean that it will ever sell. The times are getting tougher; every year there are more and more talented shooters creating beautiful images with only so many places to sell them. Up until about 10 years ago, if you were a photographer and could get your images into a big agency like Getty or Corbis, you could sit back and let them sell your photography for you while you were off doing your photographic thing. Not any longer. Most of the guys that I know who have been in the game for a long time have seen catastrophic declines in their agency sales. Other photographers that I know who were doing great on the art show circuit a few years ago have cut way back on the number of shows they apply to and the amount of driving that they are willing to do to get to them. How will anyone be able to continue shooting professionally without figuring out some new way of making sales?
One question I have been contemplating is, “How much blogging is required these days to be a successful photographer?” Everywhere I look on the web there is another blog-guru-photo guy that has done an excellent job of building up a following of photographers interested in what they have to say, even if their images are not that unique or challenging to create. My fear is that photographers who devote time to working in remote locations, but do not blog regularly, will become an endangered species just like the places and subjects that they photograph.
I usually travel for a few weeks each month which makes it impossible for me to blog every week, but I intend to be more consistent when I am home working. I will add at least 1 blog post each week to my website that will give my readers insight into the photo industry, my equipment choices, and my thoughts about trying to sell photography. I do not intend to become a discussion forum, but I do hope to share some of what goes on before, during, and after one of my expeditions. There are many great websites that offer photography information, and I have no illusions about becoming the go-to guy for everything. What I hope is that you, my visitors, will come back each week not only to read about my recent adventures, but also to learn from what I am doing (both right and wrong) and use it for your own photography ambitions.
The image I chose for this blog entry was created in July 2006 on a remote river rafting trip in the Canadian Arctic. Only about 300 people each year visit Ivvavik National Park in the Yukon, and almost all of them come to raft the Firth River. It is the land of the midnight sun, which means staying up all night to take advantage of the 6 hours of golden sunset light. This image was shot using my Fotoman 6×12 panoramic format camera with my 90mm Rodenstock lens, Gitzo tripod, Singh-Ray 3-stop Soft Edge Graduated Neutral Density filter, and Fuji Velvia 50 film at f22 and 6 seconds. I am in the minority of people still shooting film. I prefer the “life” of film for landscape scenes, plus I own a high-end Imacon (now Hasselblad) drum scanner which already fits into my workflow. I prefer the look of medium and large format landscape scenes when they are printed big compared to my Canon digital cameras. On the other hand, try taking my Canon DSLRs away from me while I am shooting wildlife or underwater images! The detail that is apparent in my 24″x50″ and larger fine-art prints is incredible and more than justifies dragging my anachronistic cameras around for the foreseeable future. I am sure that there are more than a few photographers out there who have not ever shot a roll of film. It’s not for everyone, but it is something different and it seems to work for me and my reputation.
