Kate Osba writes a terrific blog, called This Is The What where she features interviews with photographers along with samples of their work. I’m very flattered to be included today. Read the interview here: http://www.thisisthewhat.com/2011/09/10-minutes-with-robbie-mcclaran/

Found via Stupid Photographer

Ken Jarecke’s excellent new blog post on Mostly True, on the odds a new photographer faces, rightly points out the difficulties we face in this increasingly challenging environment. His breakdown of cost of doing business compared to gross income and what might be left begs the question, why bother? If you hustle your ass off and still only make slightly more than a greeter at Walmart is this really a business worth doing?

I know many photographers who have asked themselves this question over the past couple years, some have answered, no. I’ve answered yes.

Over my career I’ve been fortunate to find a level of success that eludes many. Of course I’m no rockstar photographer, certainly don’t make NBA level money, not even NBA cheerleader money, but I’ve managed to support myself and my family reasonable well over the years. However, it’s never been more difficult than the current market and there are no signs that it will become easier. So why do it? Easy answer, the work.

I still love making pictures, I love the challenge of making something beautiful or compelling, of telling a story or describing a place. I love the characters I meet and the places I visit. There is simply no better job in the world, for me.

So while I might make out better driving a cab or pulling draft micro beers, I have every intention to keep hammering out pictures and finding clients to pay me for them.

Back to Mostly True and the notion that there are more people playing in the NBA than are successful as photojournalists and documentary photographers. My only guess why so many others try to buck the trend in the face of such odds is the same reason I keep going. We simply can’t imagine anything else. So of course it screws up the marketplace when hungry, not so business savvy, artists flood the arena, as is currently happening. Just take a look at guitar players, quite possibly an even less savvy, hungrier group than photographers. How many freelance guitar players make $50G out there? But the ones I know keep at it because they simply have no choice, they have to make music.

So here we are, music makers, treading water in an uncertain sea, hoping to last long enough to play a few more songs. At least a guitar floats.

When I first saw those bunnies on the cover of the New York Times Magazine I sort of chuckled and of course my youngest daughter shrieked how cute they were. Then I discovered the images were made by Jeff Koons, and I chuckled again. I’ve always had a hard time taking Koons’ work seriously. Looking through his catalogue I always get the feeling he’s having a laugh at getting one over on the critics and pseudo intellectuals of the art world. Even more so when I learned he hires out the actual production of many of his works to artisans or assistants. I have also been very outspoken in my disdain for his and other post modern artists’ (Richard Prince, Thomas Ruff) liberal theft of the work of photographers to use in their work.
So I remain confused why I like these pictures so much. Perhaps it’s the context of the story, their appearance on Easter Sunday or maybe I simply agree with Aubrey, that they are really, really cute.
The Magazine has been publishing some fantastic photography lately, as it almost always does. Elsewhere in the same issue see Tina Barney’s fantastic portrait of Norris Church Mailer. Or Ashley Gilbertson’s portfolio “The Shrine Down the Hall” from a few weeks ago. It’s a pleasure to have such a source for excellent, challenging imagery in this world of shrinking print media outlets.

Zoriah Miller wants to charge $4G to teach a workshop on Disaster photography. WTF? To be honest I haven’t read the entire output of opinions on this but it’s stirring up a shit storm on the various forums and blogs. There’s even a facebook page, “Responsible Photographers Against Zoriah…”

Here’s some more reading:

Huffington Post

Light Stalkers discussion

And Zoriah’s version of the story

Mike Floyd just sent me the link this morning to something called Pilfered Magazine, a photo blogozine exclusively featuring images stolen from various sources on the web and submitted by viewers. This month’s cover features an Irving Penn image. But beyond that individual pages don’t even credit the stolen photo to the original creator.

Their about page says:

“Its founders, artist Patrick Hoelck and creative director RUDJ, together with their team (Nate “Res” Harvey & Mia Van Valkenburg), have in the past spent hours surfing the web to put together presentations for various commercial ad and editorial jobs…and noticed the hours it took to gather images and felt it was time to have a massive image collective shared by the people, for the people.”

What a load of crap. Theft is theft whatever you want to call it and however fancy you want to design it.

Time magazine paid $30 for a stock photo which it used on the cover to illustrate a story on the “The New Frugality”. Is that frugality or publishers making a statement to “content providers” about the ready availability of cheap but acceptable artwork. It seems the day of reckoning is upon us when a culture of commodified “good enough” content has replaced well craft art in magazines and advertising. Can consumers tell the difference? Do publishers care?

Great article in the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-onthemedia22-2010jan22,1,3750639.column?page=1

Okay I admit it. I really have been calling it in and not putting forth the effort to make this worth reading. And to be honest I’ve been just a tad lost in regards to improving it.

But the thought occurred to me that perhaps I could spice things up by telling a few stories about some of the more, ahem, interesting shoots I’ve been fortunate to be assigned over the years. I mean this IS a glamour profession after all.

So why not start at the beginning. Way back in 1985, I was living in Dallas Texas trying to get started working as a magazine photographer. I went down to Austin and met with Fred Woodward at Texas Monthly and showed what no doubt was the thoroughly forgettable portfolio I had at the time. He didn’t have much to say about it but on leaving I gave him a copy of a small self published book I had produced a few years prior, called Atget’s Gardens. The book consisted of pictures I had made at Versailles one afternoon under the influence of cheap red wine and the notion I was walking in Atget’s footsteps. Here’s a couple sample pictures:

Well what do you know but Fred really liked the little book and damned if he didn’t call me for an assignment a couple weeks later. My first big time magazine assignment. And for a heavy weight art director as well.

The assignment was to photograph the car pound. The place your car goes when it gets towed. I shot 22 rolls of tri-x (that’s black and white film for any youngens that might be reading). Here’s the image that was published:

After that it was off to the races. My next gig was shooting the dog catcher:

Over the next 4 years I shot a number of assignments for Texas Monthly for Fred, Nancy McMillan, Kathy Marcus and DJ Stout. I can’t begin to tell you how fortunate I was to land those first gigs, as they opened doors for me in NY and elsewhere down the road. But the first was still the best. Thanks again Fred.

BTW, I still have copies of Atget’s Gardens for sale. 5 bucks.