I'm up. Before the sun. It's 5:30 and all the thoughts rolling through my head woke me up. Damn them. Sleep is underrated.
I'm looking over pictures from this past year. Grayscaling everything. Contrary to Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" the world does not look worse in black and white. In fact, sometimes it's the only way I see it. The only way that makes sense. Stripping away all the impurities. Getting down to the core. I don't want to make pictures that rely on color. I always hope that the content overrides that. To me, that's what B&W does. It allows you to focus on the essence of the moment.
I'm a tough editor. Critical eye. I should listen to my own advice. Things are way too center-weighted. Way too safe. Note: take more risks. Make more opportunities for myself. Live. Push. Grow.
My friend Sol and I were just having an interesting discussion, thankfully not about my growth, but that of others. It seems as though right now, the kids coming up through the pj ranks are better than ever. They're leaving the womb with camera in hand. Their prodigal. They are seeing things light years ahead of when we saw them. They are damn good at such a young age.
"All creative activity requires at least some time to mature," says cultural critic (and one of my favorite authors) Malcolm Gladwell. "My biggest worry about the way hype works now is that we're in danger of discovering people before they are worthy of being discovered."
This quote hinges on my fear for photojournalism. What happens if these kids peak too early? What if the world of pj chews them up and spits them out before they've had a chance to make a difference? What happens when they burn out and move on?
We've already been seeing it happen. Look at Chad Stevens. He won the 1997 CPOY, had some amazing internships, and his stuff was great. Last I heard he was a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI think Chad is the wrong person to use as an example. His teaching, his own projects and work with MediaStorm continue to be exceptional as far as I can tell. His path is simply different than might have been expected.
ReplyDeleteyeah, chad, lisa is correct. chad stevens is with mediastorm now and continues to do good work in the field. he's just redefined himself over the years.
ReplyDeletethere are plenty of other examples though.
Peter McCollough just sent a post to APAD that gets at what you are talking about. But it's hopeful to hear him talk about feeling the pull again.
ReplyDeleteOnce something is inside of you, it's nearly impossible to separate it from yourself. Even if you try to leave it behind for awhile to get over the burn out or the bad taste in your mouth left by "the industry," it will call you back, and the calling may be stronger than it was before. I have a hard time believing that someone who has felt that can put down their camera, or whatever instrument they use, for good. I have faith that those coming up the PJ ranks who can wade through the bullshit and keep trying to grow in spite of it will be alright, they just may not be working in the familiar channels.