Stock photography's role in the Fishing Industry
- This topic has 61 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated May 28, 2008 at 12:30 pm by
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I’m actually surprised as many magazines have survived as there are. I recall all too fondly buying every fishing magazine I could religiously. Often saving a couple issues to take with me on my yearly trips. Nothing I loved more than to sit on the dock, coffee/beer in hand and go through some magazines.
Now I buy one, sometimes two and as often as not its a case of hibitualisation and supporting my two favorites. Much the same way I refuse to gear, terminal tackle and the like online and only rarely buy anything more than clothes from Big Box like BPS, preferring always to support my local small shops.
With sites like this and others all the information one might need is available + features you cant get from magazines.
Ditto Photogrpahy.Luminous Landscape, Fred Mirandas, Nature scapes are just 3 I routinely visit and read. PS tutorials abound and on and on and on.
Really when you think about it there virtually no need at all to buy print anymore.
🙁I’m actually surprised as many magazines have survived as there are.
Really when you think about it there virtually no need at all to buy print anymore.
🙁I think the demand will always be there. There is something nice about having a good print magazine that you can keep around as a reference and can go back to re-read and it doesn’t get old.
This has turned into a well responded thread with a good discussion going. I’m glad I stared it!
http://society6.com/grainfarmer Fly Fishing and Landscape open edition Photography prints.
http://grainfarmer.vsco.co/ iPhone photos
http://instagram.com/chad_simcox InstagramThe Beck’s are not Professional Photographers. There pictures are nice and they sell but precious little creativity and photographic skill goes into what they do. Their pictures are the same over and over and over they have a formula and industry connections from their fly shop days and they know how to milk it. I believe their primary thing is hosting trips. Photography is a income producing by product of that activity. When Simms or whoever wants a professional result that will get them some attention they call somebody with a professional skill set like Tibor Nemeth or a host of others.
Just because someone has a decent camera and learns the basics and all of a sudden they declare that they are professionals. If they have a business card or if its in print somewhere it must be true. Just because I write this does make me a professional writer and by the same token the ability to take a picture dosen’t make one a professional photographer.
If the magazine stands are any indication there seem to be more magazines than ever. I think now is a great time to be a professional photographer if your professional. There is a lot of work that needs to be done by people that are creative and competent and want to compete in the market.
Ditto Photogrpahy.Luminous Landscape, Fred Mirandas, Nature scapes are just 3 I routinely visit and read. PS tutorials abound and on and on and on.
Really when you think about it there virtually no need at all to buy print anymore.
🙁Don’t forget naturephotographers.net, of which i am the editor-in-chief.
Well, I guess since I’m the only one around here who’s on the other side of this equation, I oughta wade in to the discussion.
David, I’m not sure what your definition of “professional” is, but I can assure you that the Becks make a large percentage of their income from the photographs they sell. Their photo business now supports three (3!) part-time employees in their Pennsylvania office. You can argue about the artistic merits of their work all day, but there’s no questioning their professional success. The big advantage the Becks have is a truly monstrous stock list—much of which they shoot on the trips they host—but equally important is their knowledge of fly fishing. The most difficult part of my job is finding photographs that fit the how-to content of the stories I publish.
For instance: a couple years ago, I wrote an article about fishing tandem-nymph rigs. I had illustrations for the second and third spreads, but I didn’t have an “opener”—an image to launch the story. I called Barry at 11am on a Monday and told him what I needed. He grabbed an angler, went down to the river a mile from his house, and shot some images. By 2 in the afternoon, I had four lo-res images to choose from. Because he could understand the specific fly-fishing language I was using, he got the shots right the first time. That sounds pretty professional to me.
As far as rates go, we pay everybody the same. Barry Beck makes the same amount as Zach’s little sister with the “lucky” shot. And our rates are published: Cover: $700, Spread: $350, Single Page: $250, 1/4-1/2 page: $100, postage stamp: $50. No one’s getting rich off us, that’s for sure.
I get discs from photographers all the time. Most of the stuff is, in fact, not very good. But some is. I ALWAYS look forward to finding new photographers who can offer a slightly different take on the sport. Feel free to send me a disc of lo-res images, or even if you really nail 1 perfect image, you can email me a lo-res.
Phil Monahan
Editor
American Angler
9 Church St
P.O. Box 810
Arlington, VT 05250
802-375-6528
phil.monahan@gmail.comAny other questions?
Phil
Oh yeah, and the new editor of Fly Rod & Reel is my friend Joe Healy.
I hate to hear of the type of emails that Zach received from “pro” photographers. I would venture to guess that they are insecure about their own abilities if they would criticize forums such as this and others. The more the merrier, I say.
Richard, OUCH you smacked my hand! Phil thank you for your thoughtful response.
People believe what they want to believe or whatever suits their purpose or makes them money.Richard, OUCH you smacked my hand! Phil thank you for your thoughtful response.
People believe what they want to believe or whatever suits their purpose or makes them money.David, that comment was certainly not directed toward you. It was commentary on those who believe the open exchange of ideas on forums such as this are killing working pros. That’s just crazy. I don’t recall you saying anything about that.
Working professionals who have relied on traditional stock photography as their primary business model are hurting, no doubt. But as in any business or business sector, markets and buying habits change. Opportunities and the appetite for images are still there, stronger than ever.
I have been active on several fly fishing forums for about 10 years and left them because I just got sick and tired of some of the bickering that went on. It seemed that most of it stemmed from who is better and who wanted the most attention but it was just a handful of people that did this routinely. I even lost my passions for fly fishing, for about a year, as I remembered it as once a true gentlemen’s and/or gentlewomen’s recreation. I love this site as for once, I see people acting like gentle men and women again. It actually helps me to feel the passion of the sport again and get away from the over obsessive challenge of inferiority complex’s in believing that a persons character was measured on the total count of the day. It is great to not see any of that on this forum!
I agree that the email Zach received is disgusting! I also believe that if a person wants to call himself or herself professional: SO WHAT! Why all of the bickering over who has more time in or knows more about all of the algorithm’s and engineering features of the equipment that they use? I am a firm believer that the only thing that matters is the quality of the final product. I don’t like using the term “professional” but I know that I have to in order to market my business. Yes, my business is a business and it is separate from me as I put my heart and sole into it but it is not I. As it must be attended to separately, with deliberate diligence.
Hey guys –
I appreciate what you are saying, but I don’t want this thread to read like we are beating up on David or those who may agree with him.
On that same note, I will not allow myself the arrogance of thinking that I am better than anyone else as it is only my last image that I must compete against.
I know a guy who is a professional musician.
I called Barry at 11am on a Monday and told him what I needed. He grabbed an angler, went down to the river a mile from his house, and shot some images. By 2 in the afternoon, I had four lo-res images to choose from. Because he could understand the specific fly-fishing language I was using, he got the shots right the first time. That sounds pretty professional to me.
In a recent discussion I had with someone about what separates a ‘pro” from a “wannabe” like myself, that to me might be the single largest trait that separates us.
Do I have an eye? Dunno, would like to think so, time will tell.
Can I produce dynamic shots? Sometimes, atleast Id like to think so.Can I do so on demand, no matter the circumstance, weather, lighting, time constraits, in my comfort zone?
When I can do all of the above. When Im comfortable accepting money up front for as yet taken pictures (assingment) then and only then might I think of myself as a Pro, no matter how little or how much I net/get published/get paid per image (if at all).
Phil about those low res images. Does that include from us Canucks to?
Just kidding..maybe in time 🙂Okay, enough bickering. Now who’s sending me brilliant fly-fishing photos? I promise to look at all of them.
Thanks,
Phil
On another note, would you guys be interested in having my Photo Needs list for each issue published here? Zach’s on the mailing list, so he could put it up when he receives it. (Of course, he’d be inviting competition for his own work.)
And I welcome submissions from all corners of the globe–even Canadia. Now that it’s so easy to send hi-res images via FTP, I invite our brothers from the Southern Hemisphere to get in the game. When it’s January here and I need a specific angling image, the guys and gals in NZ and Australia have a big advantage over the competition.
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