Hey John,
Pure and simple, your replacement is probably cheaper. I know the loss stings, it is hard to compete when it all about the bottom line. I am slowly losing my last UW client, largely due to costs. The U hired a couple of full time photogs a few years ago and have been encouraging the schools and departments to use them. And why not? They are pretty good, know the university’s branding guidelines and all work and rights are retained by the U. Oh and they’re free… The downside is they have a long wait list and occasionally refuse jobs. So my client works with me, partly because of our long standing relationship that dates back before his time at the U and because I am readily available. Somewhere in there the quality of my work matters too. But he is always grumbling about budgets, and we often have to haggle over the numbers. But he has always been very good about paying reuse fees and making sure any third party who want to use the photos we make understands they have to pay fees too. But it is matter of time until that gig dries up.
The shoot at the nursery looks like fun. I love shooting in nurseries. I had a plant client once. They grew smart plants. They were a startup and spin off job from my capital venture client. It was fun to shoot. The green houses were all like giant soft boxes and the light was gorgeous. Plants and portraits. It was fun work, I need to circle back to them and see if they need any updates.
Good to hear you got some work in the Arts Festival. Judging is always screwy. I don’t really submit work to juried shows any more. Too much trouble, not enough positive results. A friend of mine is trying to encourage me to share my work with where he works. He works for the city of Maple Valley and the have an “art” program in their city hall I think it is. I read the specs. Submit work so they can approve and if so, you get to use their wall space. You hang, take down and are responsible for most all advertising. And they made it clear they are not responsible for any damage or theft. They even indicated it is public space and the risk belongs to the artist… gee, what a deal. I think I will pass. I have plenty of these shows over the years and they are rarely worth the effort. But occasionally I still get snagged by the line… It will be great exposure. To that I say, Google me. Now there’s exposure.
Making photographs for fun is a great idea. I do it all the time. Keeps me curious, not to mention sane. I am putting the finishing touches on a portfolio about my work in the digital age.
Matted prints, linen covered lipped clamshell box, lined with Italian marbled paper. Groovy cover sheet and colophon. When I finish, I will share with whoever wants to see it, but otherwise pat myself on the back and stash it in my archives for some future art historian to find and dub me brilliant. Sounds good, eh?
No I just do what makes me feel good and try (note the word try) not to feel bad when I think I am snubbed or otherwise disrespected somehow. Or replaced by someone cheaper than me.
My dog just got a haircut and lies at my feet. At least he loves me.
Enjoy Mother’s Day.
m
When I thought of your birthday last night, I remembered the studio sale in May of 1994. Remember that? The one to raise money to get me to Spain and you a Hasselblad? I could have sworn I had a digital copy on my computer from years ago, and may have. But what did I call it? Plus the program that created it is long gone, heaped on the obsolete technological junk pile of history. I also knew I had the original flyer, the one I made many copies of to mail out. But where? I have a couple of file drawers of things to sort out and lo and behold, there was a fat file called old photos of Mel. Almost all film and there was the original film of you and me and subsequent flyer complete with pasted in silver print from the darkroom. A click of the iPhone and now it is attached for you see. 25 years ago. Amazing. Eh? So young and full of promise. And here we are, still standing, still making images. In and of itself, that is impressive.
