the photo community
Today’s business talk is about the photo community, a constantly growing, shifting entity that has similarities to years ago and many differences. This has been on my mind recently as I’ve watched photo labs and camera stores disappear from the local landscape.
Twenty five years ago I worked in a downtown Cincinnati camera store, a great place for a young man with dreams of becoming a professional photographer. Career connections could be made (along with a modest living) and being surrounded by all the toys of the trade made it fun to go to work every day.
During the day (when not waiting on customers) I played with the new equipment and shot tests in the store. Breaking for lunch meant grabbing brochures and literature and reading about what I’d just been using. The biggest downside was that my paycheck generally went right back to the store. With great used equipment constantly passing under my nose, how could I resist? A Nikkor 55mm f1.2 or a clean Hasselblad C might be my monthly “score”.
Looking back now the fondest memories aren’t of photo equipment, it’s the many characters I met in the store. There were regulars that came in at lunch every day. It was obvious they shared my obsession but had suit-and-tie jobs that allowed them to buy better lenses than I could imagine. A procession of professional photographers all came through the store and lifelong friendships were formed.
Eventually I graduated from retail sales to photo assisting in commercial studios. One of the important assisting jobs was to rush film back and forth to the photo lab. Some days it felt like I never turned my car off, just so it would be ready for the latest processing emergency.
Photographing most jobs meant shooting a color test of E-6 transparency film in preparation. Then the film for the actual job would be shot and delivered to the lab in batches. You didn’t want to send everything through in the same film run because, in the rare event that a processor would screw up, you had to have a backup for the job. Most jobs necessitated multiple trips back and forth.
It also meant killing time at the lab front counter waiting for processing, hanging out with the lab workers and meeting and greeting fellow photographers as we all passed by: “How’s business? What’s happening? Have you tried the new Fuji film?”
The photo lab was the center of local photography, it’s how we stayed connected. Today, with digital cameras, online ordering, big box stores and inkjet printing, local camera stores and photo labs are steadily shrinking in numbers. It should be pretty obvious that I miss those days of being tightly connected on a local level.
The photo community has certainly changed but has far from suffered as a result. A much larger community is now open to everyone with a computer, regardless of location or talent level. The internet connects us all in a broad way that the local store or lab never could.
A few weeks ago I made the acquaintance of renowned photographer and educator David Ziser through his always informative blog. This was especially interesting because we both live in greater Cincinnati and are separated by only a few miles. Perhaps we’ve passed each other in a local photo lab over the years without knowing it. When we finally did meet for the first time it was through a computer keyboard.
And how many of us have an interest in black and white photography? At any hour, day or night, regardless of location, we can hop online and connect with Brian at Epic Edits to learn how he shares this particular passion. I learned he’s even begun shooting more film to help influence how he approaches digital photography. In return I can share photos with him (and you…and you…) from my current black and white photography exhibit, “Forgotten America”, regardless of where we’re located or the language we speak.
But there is parity in the universe and sometimes you have to give a little in order to get. We’ve given up a little of the local connection, handshakes and shared coffees as a result.
In honor of “back in the day” I’ve invited area Cincinnati readers to visit my studio and hang out for an hour or two one evening. If you’re in the Cincinnati / Blue Ash area and feel like dropping by the night of Tuesday, June 10, from 7-9 p.m., we’ll have the lights on for you. Just send a note through this contact form so we’ll know to expect you.
And if you’re not in the Cincinnati area but have a photo group, feel free to mention it in the comments below. You just never know how people might end up connecting.
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An interesting read. I’ve never had good experiences going into a “pro” photo lab, certainly not to learn anything or peruse the latest gear (unless I want to see an old Nikon at about 500 bucks more than I could get it on Amazon). Granted, maybe the labs in Buffalo all suck…they did drive me to develop my own film and buy a negative scanner, so I guess they’re not ALL bad.
I do have an online buddy who works at B&H and just comes up with WILD gear to play with….I envy him, though he says he hates the job.
Whenever I meet local photographers here (I shoot for a local paper, so I get around), my attempts to be friendly usually get ignored or I get an attitude and some talking-down to. Maybe it’s because I’m young and they see me as “one of them” (ie, a young guy with a MkIII there to take their livelihood or something). I suppose that’s the nature of the times right now. I only get positive interaction when I can network online with guys from other areas - when we can get right over that “business” issue and just talk camera tech or technique.
I think what you’re talking about is also a much broader social issue in America. I don’t think it’s just the photo labs/stores that have lost the “hangout crowd.” I remember hanging out in comic book stores as an ubernerd kid, and I don’t think much of that happens anymore, either.
The idea of community certainly has changed, though I’d like to think it’s improved overall. Flickr offers more inspiration than any local gallery, online forums have a very diverse membership, and being able to get tips and interact with professionals like yourself, David Hobby, and Joe McNally really opens new doors.
That said, it would be great to connect with some of the local players in these online venues. You’ll have to let us know how the open house goes!
In the meantime, would any other Philadephia-area readers care to raise their hand?
I mentioned your get together in my blog, for what it’s worth.
Our sense of community has been changing with techology’s advances. The telephone made it easier for extended families to talk to one another. My family is a good example of it. My mother and father grew up in North Dakota and Minnesota and they each had three siblings. All of my aunts and uncles moved to different areas of the country from Boston, to us in South Carolina, to San Francisco, Seattle, to Pt. Barrow, Alaska. They’ve been able to keep in direct touch though because of the telephone.
Now we have the internet as a communications medium. For the first time people from divergent geographic areas can find, meet, and communicate with each other. No phone numbers needed. For example, my wife has friends in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, France, Germany, etc. through some internet boards that she participates in. She has met some of the Americans and Canadians from those boards, but it isn’t like she will physically meet the others anytime soon.
At the same time that these revolutions have been happening, our day-to-day lives are becoming more scheduled due to those same revolutions. There is less time for local community interaction. In some cases, there are fewer of those local venues in which to meet like the local bookstore, photolab, deli, or five-and-dime store.
It isn’t happening to just the photography community. It is happen to all communities in one way or another. I wonder what would happen if a municipality were to attempt to have an open dialogue via the current internet options. Municipal blogs and forums might be an effective way to try to get people interested in community interaction again.
Well, just a few thoughts.
Good observations. I really like the idea of municipal blogs and forums, that just might be the way to get local involvement from people with hectic schedules. I’m sure we’re just scratching the surface of possibilities with this new technology. Hopefully we can retain what was good about the old ways while incorporating new methodologies.
That’s interesting, Rich, about getting the cold shoulder from older pros. It’s unfortunate but I understand where they’re coming from, the playing field is changing fast. Somebody told me once to “create, don’t compete” and that helped my perspective a lot. There’s not much time to worry about what somebody else is doing if I’m working on getting better, myself. And believe me, there’s plenty I can work on.
Comic book stores…there was a great interview on NPR this morning about a book on Jack Kirby, the great artist from Marvel Comics’ golden age.
As for Flickr, it really is an amazing resource that has forever changed the photo community. It’s easy for professional photographers to view that kind of abundant imagery as a threat. Then when you dig around a bit you’ll meet the nicest people and see the coolest things. Tomorrow’s guest post is from a fine art photographer I met through Flickr.
Yo, Philadelphia, where are you???
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