A couple weeks ago I mentioned cynicism in the context of a Conan O’Brien quote in my post called Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. I focused on how as a visual artist it is imperative to not get down, and one needs to adapt to circumstances to succeed. And really, one needs to abstain from a level of cynicism to do that. But when I see the type of exploitation of tragedy for profit some photographers are doing, it is difficult to not be cynical. I have nothing against photojournalism. I have nothing against people making money doing photojournalism. Someone needs to tell the story. But for photographers to market and profit from workshops that fly amateurs over to Haiti for the chance of a lifetime to cover a crisis at “ground zero?” That is unconscionable. Damn some people. Somebody explain to me how this is OK. The current state of Port au Prince does not make it some training ground for shutterbugs to hone their craft. In my previous post, I added a P.S.S. section where gave some of my thoughts on causes and the personal nature of how, why and how much it is that individuals donate. I don’t ever tell people what to do with their money. I trust most attendees to understand that they won’t be on vacation, that survival will be difficult there, and that ultimately they are there to HELP. But the first time someone digging graves says, “put down that fucking camera and pick up a shovel,” it’s going to be a shock. And they better do it, otherwise they’ll know they’re there for the wrong reasons. The photographers hosting these workshops? I already believe they are there for the wrong reasons.
This blog noticed Andy Levin’s workshop first, and if you sift through the comments there is some insightful discussion:
http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/01/have-100-eyes-lost-the-plot/
Andy’s cavalier response and attitude are displayed here in a follow up post where he thanks duckrabbit for the free marketing of his workshop:
http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/01/andy-levin-a-response/
$4000 to attend this guy’s workshop. After much bad press he added that 50% will be donated to Haiti. Nice of him :0/
http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2010/02/photojournalism-workshops-haiti-earthquake-intimate-group-workshop.html
Source and additional info: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victoria-fine/is-to-ethical-to-charge-p_b_451899.html
I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Damn some people. Well, now that I’ve gotten all worked up, I think I’ll stare at this happy and hopeful little cloud again for a bit and think about how it symbolizes the triumph of human spirit…at least that’s what I thought when I took it right? (Full disclosure, totally untrue. The full story another time ;oP)
