Business Ender

Why is there a need for professional photographers? Does that need even exist?
It is a question that needs some addressing, and is becoming more and more unavoidable.

I would venture to say there have been more photographs made in the last five years than every year since the invention of photography combined. That means the span from 1814 to 2004 yielded less images than the period from 2004 to 2009. 90 years compared to 5.

There has been a barrage of images. This has dissolved the careers of countless professional photographers, and has thrown an industry on it’s own head.

So what? This post’s message is replicated over a numerous amount of blogs and message threads. At this point it would only perpetrate further the communities pessimism.

Photography is dead
Photography is dea
Photography is de
Photography is d
Photography is
Photography i
Photography
Photograph
Photograp
Photogra
Photogr
Photog
Photo
Phot
Pho
Ph
P

But it is something I deal with conceptually constantly. In Alec Soth’s lecture on Thursday this point was discussed, and no real solutions came out of it.

It was a shock to hear one of art photography’s favorite children talk about being discouraged.
I talked to Miguel Gandert after the lecture and he gave me some of the best advice yet. Miguel seems to be into photography like the enthused beginner, who at 16 or so finds the camera to be a cool tool to get photos of friends and bands playing. It’s that beginner’s enthusiasm that these days seem so far away. To me it looks like that feeling was never lost in Miguel.

He told me, “You do it because you love it.”
And that might just be the best answer.


From the old days (relatively speaking) when my brother and I would be really bored at home at night because we lived in the country, and we got into doing weird flash photos.