WTF? Not Even A Plug?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

A few days ago, and such a beautiful summer morning it was, I get an email from someone (a writer) who compliments me on my photographs, and asks if whether I'd be amenable to send one of them to illustrate a European blog (whose link was provided). It was implied there would be no payment for the  photograph.

Before emailing back in a caustic tone (as I usually do to such emails), or ignoring the implied message and provide the contractual terms and pricing tariff for the photograph required, I checked into this European blog and saw it was beautifully crafted...a sort of a compendium for fine arts, culture, photography and other high brow stuff...and if statistics were correct, has a decent readership. And it was based (despite it being in English) in a country from which I have no clients for my photo expeditions-workshops.

So I swallowed hard, and replied to the request, in essence agreeing to provide a photograph on the condition that it was (1) properly credited to me, (2) that my two main websites and this blog would be highlighted, and (3) a paragraph about me and my photo expeditions-workshops (a paragraph that I would write up) be added at the bottom of the post.

Yes, I know...this is a lopsided exchange, more advantageous to the European blog than to me. It'd get a lovely image for nothing...but I reckoned this could've advertised my photo expeditions-workshops to a 'new' country, and to a well-heeled demographic/readership interested in arts and cultures. It would have been a one-off thing...and perhaps it would've paid off...or maybe not.

The response to my generosity? Something to the effect that it would only be a copyright notice...and nothing more.

Whoa! Isn't that the ultimate chutzpah?

So readers of this blog post...what should be my response? I have my four-lettered response ready to go....but if you like, make your suggestions on my Facebook page.

POV: WTF? Will They Change?

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

"...the lack of grace by the surly keepers of the Cheraman Juma Masjid was jarring..."

I can hardly be described as a critic of Islam, since I've always been constructively supportive of its world-class religious traditions and its admirable moral values, and of Muslims in general. 

However, I must say I was spectacularly discomfited by the reception and attitude of the individuals involved in the Cheraman Juma Masjid; the oldest mosque in India and in Kerala's Kodugallur district. On one of the last days of my The Oracles of Kerala Photo Expedition/Workshop™, I decided to take my group to visit and photograph this historical mosque.

We were coming from an indescribable "high" from photographing the Bharaini festival of the Oracles, (not too far away from the mosque itself) for two solid days, and where we had been welcomed by the excitable crowds of worshippers, helped by self-appointed guides, and always smiled at. Not once was I (or to my knowledge, anyone else in our group) treated brusquely or rudely.

Not so at the venerable mosque.

I was brusquely gestured at by the security guard to go to an empty office...directive that I ignored. He wasn't pleased, and was nonplussed when I asked him if he was a Muslim. He wasn't, and the question stunned him long enough for me to continue walking towards the mosque itself....leaving him scratching his head.

The women in our group wore the required head scarves, but were prohibited from entering the main hall of the mosque, and shunted to a dingy side room where there was nothing to see.

Our driver, a Muslim himself, was roughly scolded by a couple of Islamic scholars who were passing through because he was removing his shoes where he shouldn't have. Actually, his "trespass" was about two inches in.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Now, here's my take on this. The Cheraman Juma Masjid is the oldest mosque in India and worthy of  pilgrimages and visits by Muslims and non-Muslims for its venerable history and status. It's also in dire need of donations and of funding. One would think that the peptic keepers of this moque would exude charm, hospitality and proffer a welcome mat to all visitors alike...in the hope of donations.

But no. Quite the opposite.

So here's what I would tell the keepers of this mosque, and beyond. Fatimah, the favorite daughter of the Prophet of Islam, prayed alongside him in Mecca. His wife, Khadija, was a self made business woman. To treat women of whatever persuasion as inferior is anti-Islamic and in direct contradiction to the actions and values of the Prophet himself. They can disagree all they want...they can risk a collective apoplexy...but that's the truth.

Here's what I would tell the two scholars who chided our driver. I would tell them that God is all forgiving, and it would have been more in keeping with Islamic traditions to be gentle if someone made an unintended mistake. And minding their own business would be even better, since it would avoid having others like me chiding them for wearing unkept beards, and lecturing them on real Islamic values.

How could I explain to the members of my group why we were welcomed with no discrimination at Hindu religious gatherings, but faced with surliness and boorish behavior at the Cheraman Juma Masjid?

I couldn't.

So the question of this post is pertinent. Will these delightful young boys who were so pleased to see us, and excitedly pose for us at the nearby Islamic medresa, change when they get older? Will they also be surly and unwelcoming to non Muslims?

And if yes, why?

POV: WTF? "Dear Travel Photographer Blog"

CLICK TO ENLARGE & READ

Oh, what fun! I received one of "those" cheeky emails again. I get a few every month, but this one in particular prompted me to write a WTF? post. It's been awhile since I've written one...I don't want to get rusty.

So yes, I got an email from someone assisting a travel photographer (possibly well known, but one I've never heard of...not that means much anyway) who asked me to post a banner and a press release advertising this travel photographer's 2012 photo tours. Yes, you read that correctly...a banner!! A banner of the photographer's photos on my blog!!

There are a couple of rather obvious gigantic WTF?s here.

The first is that I am a travel photographer who creates, plans and leads photo workshops, so why would I want to advertise someone else's trips? Yes, my photo workshops are certainly different from many others, since my niche is in combining documentary photography with travel photography throwing multimedia coaching in the mix, and generic or other travel photography tours wouldn't be real competition, but what's in it for me? Nothing. And why would I endorse photo tours I know nothing of?

The second WTF? is that there was no indication that if I were to do this, I'd be compensated in any way. There was no request for my advertising rates for example, nor an offer to reciprocate the favor on the other photographer's website/blog. No, it's "just do it for free".

I replied, as politely as I could, saying I wouldn't do anything of the sort, explaining why using the simplest words in the English language.

This brings me to a larger question, and one that has been raised by other photographers who author popular blogs.

Here's some statistics: The Travel Photographer's blog gets anywhere between 80,000 and 90,000 unique views a month. PDN's monthly print circulation is 20,000.

If I were to say that ad rates in photo magazines' and their websites are in the $500-3000 range, would I be far from the truth? I don't think so. Of course, rates depend on the size of the ad, frequency, color or B&W...but who reads print magazine these days? Not many, but many more read blogs...a lot more.

So why shouldn't individual popular bloggers expect and get similar revenue streams to advertise products and services? The Travel Photographer blog and other popular photography blogs reach a much larger segment of consumers than most photography magazines, and we are still played for suckers when it comes to adverts.

WTF?! Be A Sucker And Publicize A Book...For Free.

 

The pre-ordained order of my posts was upended!

It's been a while I haven't ranted, and I was a little worried I had lost my acerbity. But the gods of mean answered my prayers, and the provocation for ranting appeared in the form of an email...perhaps not as good as a live real event, but close enough.

And since nothing turns me on as much as an opportunity for a juicy rant, here's the story in some detail...

A few days ago, I got an email from a book publisher (its website claims it's the world’s leading publisher of books on visual arts) asking me to feature a just published book of images by a photographer, enclosing a bunch of pictures of the book, and some background material.

Now, I occasionally receive such requests from book publishers who inquire whether I'd like to receive a book, review it and then post comments. This time...nothing of the sort....no book to review, no freebie of any type...just do it because it would make the corporate publisher and photographer happy. Truth be told, I've seen the work of the photographer ad nauseam, and if I had been sent the book, it would end up being a door stop...or prop a rickety desk...if not worse.

That being said, I figured that it was perhaps an opportunity to make money....and with whatever paid, I'd sponsor a deserving photographer to attend the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop. So I drafted a sweet short email that went like this...

"thank you for the email. i'd be glad to consider it against payment for ad space. you can choose either a post about the book, or a side bar advert. Let me know if you want me to send you my rates."

The response came in rather promptly, and it said that the world’s leading publisher of books on the visual arts didn't have any budget for advertising at the moment. 

Funny, huh? No, not funny at all. They ought to be ashamed of themselves....because they do and must have the budget. If not, they wouldn't be the world’s leading publisher of books on the visual arts.

For those who love analogies as I do, here's one that seems perfectly suited for the situation. I own a small modest building, and a large for profit conglomerate asks me to stick an enormous billboard for one of its products on the side of my building, and wants me to tell my tenants what a great product it is...and wants me to do it for free....and perhaps because they think I'm a sucker,  or because they believe they're entitled to exploit others, they won't pay for the privilege of using this space and for my time. An apt analogy, I think.

I should have suggested an alternative to the world’s leading publisher of books on the visual arts. In consideration of my hyping its book on my blog, it could market my own books, and peddle them on its own website and online stores. You see, it's because The Travel Photographer has no budget for advertising...just like you.

For all other buyers who are interested, my two books Bali: Island of Gods and Darshan can be found here. By the way, sales of these two books have exceeded my expectations (and were achieved without the support of the world’s leading publisher of books on the visual arts).

WTF! The NYPD Hates Chinese Opera?

Photo Courtesy The Gothamist

One of my favorite photographic destinations in NYC's Chinatown is Columbus Park, where large number of Chinese residents and non-residents congregate during the weekends to play xiangqi, a board game similar to Western chess, mah-jong, and cards while listening to cacophonous Chinese opera performed by two groups of amateurs (most of whom are senior citizens).

But now I'm seriously pissed off. Here's why:

The Gothamist recently had an article with a video featuring the NYPD arresting an elderly man at the park on May 8 when they tried to stop a group of senior citizens from playing Chinese music...presumably he was a member of the bands that accompany the singers.

It may have been caused by a noise complaint by a resident, but it's more likely that it was that these bands of amateurs did not have the requisite permits that all street NYC performers need to have before playing in the streets.

Having said that, there's no doubt the NYPD crossed the line in how its officers dealt with this. On The Gothamist site, there's a short video that shows how the Chinese and others were brutally dispersed...the use of mace and batons was threatened, and the man arrested was thrown to the ground, then handcuffed.

These amateur Chinese opera singers (more like classical Chinese karaoke in my view) were certainly cacophonous, and perhaps even discordant to Western ears, but they brought in a lot of tourists and residents alike, and didn't harm anyone...quite the opposite.

So it's either that the NYPD has no ear for Chinese opera, or they really have nothing else to do. Since Osama Ben Laden was killed last week or so, I suppose they can now focus their efforts on arresting harmless senior citizens who speak no or little English.

The NYPD ought to nab the marijuana peddlars in Washington Square Park instead...or the vendors of counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags on Canal Street...and leave me the Chinese opera singers to photograph.

I wrote a number of posts on the Columbus Park Chinese opera, but this one describes the setting, while this following audio slideshow I produced is of one of the bands.

POV: Hipstamatic...OMG! It Looks So Retro!

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved (Pseudo Hipstamatic LR Preset)

I've been scratching my head at the sudden flurry of Hipstamatic and/or Instagram "photography". I've seen well-traveled photojournalists and conflict photographers featuring images made with iPhones, and simultaneously processed using Hipstamatic or Instagram apps. Images from the Yemen uprising, the Egypt's Revolution, the Afghanistan conflict and Libya's rebellion are virtually flooding photo sites and blogs.

To me, these apps spice up photographers' standard fare...that's all. Certainly, the images do represent what photographers see and what's in front of their tiny phone lenses, but unless these images are able to be presented to form coherent documentary story-telling, I view them as a fad...a sort of fashion statement...or cute postcards without the scribbled messages in their back.

While the photos made using iPhones capture the instantaneous immediacy of events, let's smile at the retro, cool and Holga-ish look...but focus on how the photographer using an iPhone is able to present compelling content for viewers...or not. That's the litmus test.

In the long run, that's what viewers of photojournalism care about...content...not whether an image looks retro or not. And so should photographers. Pretending that using an iPhone loaded with these apps is the next new "photo thing" is silly...because it's not.

The above image was processed in Lightroom using a Holgalike-preset. The original is in the post below this one.

WTF?! The Entitlement (or The Me Me) Syndrome

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Perhaps fearing I had mellowed, I was prompted by a number of readers to write an acerbic rant, a pontificating diatribe, a raging soliloquy about something and/or stuff that irritated me. I really had an embarrassment of choices...I could've ranted about the tourists who abruptly stop and just gawk on the narrow sidewalks of the West Village...I could've raged about the mindless people who walk while texting on their Blackberries and bump into me...or I could've complained about the combative mothers/nannies who propel their prams/strollers into my shins because I hadn't promptly jumped out of the way when we meet on the same sidewalks....or of course, about the dog owners who encourage their best friends to take gargantuan dumps near my building but don't clean after them; perhaps hoping that the unobservant step on it.

But these are small annoyances that are part and parcel with living in New York city, and are undeserving of a monumental rant...and also have nothing to do with photography.

No, my plump and juicy rant is on a misplaced sense of entitlement that some established photographers seem to have.

Let me begin with this preamble....I've started The Travel Photographer's blog four years ago, and since then, it attracted a healthy number of readers and visitors. It established itself as a blog to read amongst a certain segment of the photography industry, and earned me the attention of many photographers (pros, semi-pros and non pros),  photo retailers and industry experts.

It's no secret that I use this blog to publicize my photography and my photo~expeditions, however I mainly use it to give exposure to emerging photographers. Like me when I started some 10-12 years ago, these emerging photographers, especially if they're not Westerners, have a difficult time getting recognition for their work, especially in the environment we find ourselves in.

I knew no one in the photo industry when I started my photography...I knew very few photographers when I started The Travel Photographer's blog...and I started The Travel Photographer's Photo~Expeditions on a whim, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. To this day, I never asked a photographer or photojournalist for help in promoting my business....I never asked any of the hundreds of the participants who joined my photo~expeditions to refer my trips to their friends, family members, etc. I never uttered/wrote the words "if you know a friend or two who's interested in my trips or my photos, pass my name/website along". All I've done is slowly build the brand brick by brick.

I have no sense of entitlement...I am not entitled to anything...I do my own thing without burdening people with requests for introductions, for referrals, for links to my website/blog on others', for freebies, etc. With the exception of being part of the terrific Foundry Photojournalism Workshop "family", I haven't joined collectives...I haven't joined pseudo-clubs. I could have...but didn't. I am perfectly content with what I am doing and achieved so far.

It's perhaps because of this that I find the attitude of a few photojournalists-photographers to be really puzzling. They ask me to feature their work on The Travel Photographer blog...which I gladly do. Then they ask again...and again. And I do and do again. But then it hit me...why do they think it's okay to ask me to feature their work, to spread the word about their photo workshops and their inflated resumes...but have no intention of ever reciprocating that courtesy in any fashion? Is it because they have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement, a narcissistic personality disorder? Is it because they think they're doing me a favor? Is that what they think 'networking' is? I just don't get it.

Let me be very clear...the likes of John Stanmeyer, Gary Knight, Ron Haviv, Phil Borges, Maggie Steber, etc are the most gracious photographers I've come across (and none of them asked me for anything)....and I've had immense pleasure to showcase their incredible work whenever I come across it, and to learn from it....and I'm happy to continue doing so.  Many photographers (Chico Sanchez is one of those) are equally generous with links and coverage of my work on their own websites and blogs, and many others are appreciative of being featured on my blog. No, this is about a few others...some I met personally and others I didn't...who seem to think that I am somehow obliged to show their work, expected to praise it, and publicize their workshops/activities. This sense of obtuse entitlement drives me bonkers.

I repeat: I Am Not Obliged To Feature Your Work And Your Photo Workshops Because You Think I Ought To.

What I mostly do on this blog is publicize and give exposure to the work of emerging photographers...some of whom are in Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, etc....it's the work of those photographers that I care about, and what my readers appear to be interested in. And if I do feature the work of established and renowned photographers and/or photojournalists, once, twice or a million times, it's because I'm impressed by it.

Capice? Good...now let's move on.

End of rant.

WTF!? Waiting For The GF1...

On May 24, 2010 I ordered the Panasonic GF1 with a 20mm f/1.7 lens from Amazon for $812 (excluding NY tax), which listed it as being in stock. I chose the Super Saver shipping discount so I was charged nothing for shipping.

Not a bad deal cost-wise since it saves me a little money, except for this: on receiving my order, Amazon emailed me its confirmation that the shipping date was estimated June 1, or a full 8 days after its being ordered.

Why? Does it take 8 days for an Amazon employee to locate the camera? Is it hiding behind stocked books? Is there a game of hide & seek going on? Would paying expedited shipping costs make the employee look any faster? Perhaps run instead of walk?

It's in stock and it's shipped from Amazon itself, so it's not from another Amazon affiliate or whatever they're called these days. And why not alert me to that "estimated shipping date" when I clicked on the Super Saver shipping discount?

Assuming that it will be shipped on June 1, it may be delivered a full two weeks from my order...a whole two weeks! I would understand if the camera wasn't immediately in stock, but it is...so what's going on, Amazon?

Ah, well...I hope I can test it in the streets of Istanbul in less than 3 weeks!

WTF Department: Ridiculous Bling

Here's a piece of ridiculous bling which ought to be filed in The Travel Photographer's WTF Department's compost heap, along with the Leica Hermes.

Found in this week's The New York Time's T-Magazine is a Yves Saint-Laurent travel adapter, which will cost $450 whoever is silly enough to buy it.

Mind you, the blurb tells us that fashion has come to the rescue of the stylish travelers who have had to use the "less-than-beautiful electrical doohickeys", especially since these come in cute fuchsia, black and violet leather bags.

A suggestion for the "stylish travelers": why don't you buy this doohickey from Kensington for $29 instead, and give the difference to a worthwhile charity? It does exactly the same thing and even looks the same. I realize it'll be tough without a colored leather case, but try all the same.

I have this Kensington adapter which I use everywhere I travel. Along with a locally-bought power strip, it's priceless. And if I need a pouch for it, I'll find one at the nearest Army Surplus store...it ain't gonna be in fuchsia though.

POV: New Luggage Rules For Photogs?

The news media are reporting that the incident on the Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit was certainly an attempted terrorist attack. This is causing extra security measures being implemented on all flights destined to the United States, which include body searches of all US bound travelers.

As I mostly fly Virgin Atlantic, I visited its website and it now (as of December 26) advises its passengers of additional security measures, which will cause traveling photographers considerable difficulties, especially regarding their camera bags.

The new regulations include restrictive hand baggage allowances for all passengers flying into all US airports, and have now been reduced to only one item of hand baggage.

According to Virgin, This item should not exceed 23 x 36 x 56cm, (approx 9 x 14 x 22 inches) and 13lb/6kg in weight, and should only contain the items needed during the flight.

Knowing the herd mentality of airlines, it won't be long before this restriction may be applied to all flights, in order to either economize on fuel or to generate fees on additional (or heavy) check-in luggage.

And here's the worst part of the regulations: "...should only contain items needed during the flight". This is not good news for us, folks.

Is the way forward to dump all our expensive gear in a Pelican hard case(s), check it in (and pay for it), and spend the flight praying that the case(s) and contents make it back to the US from wherever we are flying from???

And the coup de grace? From CNN's website: "There were no reported delays from Heathrow Saturday, but passengers boarding a U.S.-bound Virgin Atlantic aircraft were told there would be no in-flight electronic entertainment in the wake of the incident."

WTF Department: Do I Look Stupid To You?

I recently got this rather terse but pseudo friendly email the other day (it'll remain anonymous because I'm a nice guy) from presumably a very busy person who cannot find the time to type full sentences:

wd apprec. recg detailed itinerary info (hotels, meals, transportation, etc.) on your India tour.
excellent website.
thanks

What's wrong with this request, you ask? Nothing...except here's the deal. The person who emailed me this is married to a well-known photographer, and they both periodically lead photo tours themselves...and have been to India (and to that specific area) a number of times. That's what Google is for, isn't it?

So this is a rather lame (and arguably unethical) attempt to get the full itinerary I spend a long time researching, so they could either set one just like it (and charge double or triple what I do), or compare it to their own...refine theirs, re-price their costs, etc. A sort of industrial espionage!!!!

Note that the fellow is not asking for just the itinerary...oh no, it's an in-my-face request for details on hotels, meals, transportation and even the etc (just in case he forgot something). In other words, the whole friggin' enchilada.

He doesn't even mention that he's interested in joining my trip, which is what people on the level normally do.

I savored the drafting of my response, and then emailed it to him saying that (1) the Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition™ had been sold out for over 4 months (with a long waiting list), and (2) I screen who joins my Photo~Expeditions™, and finally that his request didn't pass the stench test.

I am disinclined to withhold information from peers and friends if and when they ask for it frontally and honestly...and I try to help whenever I can. There's a number of photographers in the photo tour business who can attest to that.

However, that doesn't mean that I will share the one-of-a-kind itineraries and other stuff that I worked very hard to research and develop. Get that, Mr. Husband-Of-Well-Known-Photographer?

WTF Department: Leica M7 Hermès

From the British Journal of Photography comes the news that Leica M7 Hermès edition has just been announced representing a collaboration between Leica and Hermès Paris. My readers may be interested to know that only 200 units will be available...and to make it even more exclusive, only 100 will be in orange and 100 in a green.

The Leica M7 Edition Hermès will be available in the UK from December 2009 from authorized Leica dealers at the suggested retail price of £8550 (or $14,000).

I really (I mean really as in seriously) hope to come face to face with whoever has such a camera dangling around his or her neck. It's not about the jaw-dropping price (although that's a stunner), but about the crass ostentation that it exudes. I'm reasonably certain that Leica has done some market research, and knows that there is a minuscule number of people who may be attracted to the Leica M7 Edition Hermès.

I have some ideas as to what demographics these people may belong to...but I still would like to see one, and then roll on the floor laughing.

On a more sober note, I suppose that this is more of a collector's item, like a great vintage wine or whatever it is that people collect these days. It's not really a camera that'll be used much. After all, the leather cover might get scratched!

Rant: Email Newsletters

I use Campaign Monitor to send my (almost) monthly newsletter, which informs my subscribers of my new photo galleries and forthcoming The Travel Photographer's Photo~Expeditions™. Although these newsletters are only sent to those who subscribe through my sign-in box on this blog, I still get a spam notice, or even two, once in a while.

So here's the rant:

1. The mailing list for my newsletter is by subscription only. In other words, the person wanting to subscribe has to fill in his/her email address and his/her name in the sign-in box.

2. Upon doing so, each subscriber gets an auto-rely from me thanking them for subscribing, and saying that they can unsubscribe at any time by clicking a clearly marked link on the newsletters.

3. So why report my newsletter as spam? Even though I have a minuscule spam rate, it's annoying. Sending a newsletter costs me money, and if subscribers change their minds, the unsubscribe option is there! So use it, for heaven's sake!

The definition of spam from Wikipedia is this: "Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately."

Obviously, my newsletters are neither unsolicited or indiscriminate.

So is it illiteracy? Confusion? I'm mystified.

The Purge: The Travel Photographer's Newsletters

I've sent out my June newsletter yesterday, and realized that it was about time to purge my ever-growing mailing list of subscribers that no longer open my newsletters with regularity. Through my email marketing service, I get an update as to which emails do not open my newsletters, and I've already started to remove them from my list.

The criteria is simple. Subscribers who haven't opened any of my four newsletters of 2009 are either not interested any more, or have moved their email addresses or haven't opened them in that length of time. Consequently, they are being removed from the list.

What triggered this review and purge is an expanding list which costs me money to send, and I have no intention of keep sending newsletters to recipients who no longer open them. Because of the number of subscribers, this purge is a laborious task which I may not complete before I travel to Morocco in a few days, but it'll be done.

I use Campaign Monitor for my newsletters, and it's a pay as you send system. I found them to super dependable, responsive and they don't tolerate spammers.

By the way, if any recipients no longer wish to receive my newsletters, all they they have to do is click on an unsubscribe link in each newsletter. I prefer you unsubscribe than not read them.

POV: White Judges Only?

Here's an issue that came to my attention via the excellent blog Duckrabbit, which in turn noticed it on the Reciprocity Failure blog.

PDN (Photo District News) has recently announced the results of its Photo Annual 2009 Contest, and also introduced its readers to the 24 judges who adjudicated this hard fought contest. So far so good...however here's the rub: all 24 judges are white. Yes, you've read correctly....all of them are white persons.

Stan Banos at Reciprocity Failure continues his criticism by suggesting that the reasons behind this range from indifference to blatant passive racism. I don't know if I would go as far as to describe it as passive racism...perhaps it is, but my gut feel is that it's principally because of pervasive cronyism in the photography industry...a sort of comfortable "you scratched my back so i'll scratch yours" kind of thing. Of course, it may well be that only whites can scratch white backs.

Anyway, enough about what I think, and let's get someone make serious money by entering duckrabbit's competition and be the first who comes to PDN’s defense and answer Stan Banos' question as to ‘what possible, plausible excuse could exist for an all white jury from a publication of such influence?’.

A tough question to answer. Will Holly Stuart Hughes, the editor of PDN be that first responder? I hope so.

Note (June 10): Well, Holly Stuart Hughes did respond on June 9 to the various bloggers who raised this issue. Her reply is elegant and gracious and I believe is genuine. It can be read in full here, but here's an excerpt:

Yesterday some blogs circulated a note about the fact that of the 24 judges of the 2009 PDN Photo Annual contest, all of them are white. It's a valid point ,and one that everyone who works on PDN’s contests has given a lot of thought. While the lack of any judges of color wasn’t intentional, it is regrettable. Thanks to the huge number of entries it draws from around the world, the Photo Annual offers us our best opportunity to see a wide range of work from different perspectives. We should make sure our judges represent a wide range of perspectives as well.

POV: NYT & Its Posed Photo

©Zackary Canepari/The New York Times-All Rights Reserved
The New York Times's editors published an unusual apology on Friday. The apology relates to a picture appearing in a May 5 front-page article about the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which showed a silhouetted Taliban logistics tactician, holding a rifle (above). The Times subsequently learned from the photographer that the rifle the Taliban tactician held was not his, and claims that had it known this information at the time of publication, it would not have used the photograph to illustrate the article.

PDN Pulse asks if its readers think this is over the line?

I don't think this is a major issue at all, especially since Canepari seems to have clarified the situation. Frankly, had the editors of The New York Times been half (nay, just one-hundredth) as meticulous with the blatant lies and obfuscations propagated by the Bush Administration which led to the Iraq fisaco as they are now with Canepari's photograph, as a nation we would have been the better for it, and we wouldn't be where we are now.

We all recall The New York Times published lies about the Iraqi's non-existent WMD program as fed to it by members of the previous Administration and their newspaper cronies, and subsequently "apologized" for it.

Update: For another take on the story of the staged picture, read Daniel Sheehan's post on his Photo Blog. He quotes Washington DC photographer John Harrington's view that Canepari "is likely to be persona non-grata at the New York Times, and his journalistic ethics will also likely give other editorial publications pause to hire him."

Of course, the editors of The New York Times who sold us sordid lies about the reasons for our occupation of Iraq are (with the exception of Judith Miller) not personae non gratae. Go figure.

Another Update: I knew my friend Asim Rafiqui would write of the New York Times' silliness in his The Spinning Head blog. He writes this:

"We are supposed to forget that this is also one of a number of American newspapers whose journalists failed to ask even the most basic of questions and failed to examine even the most public of facts during the build up to the invasion of Iraq. Their ethical reporters were on the front lines of journalistic jingoism, helping sell the war to the American public."

Rant: Canon 5D Mark II & Battery

I haven't ranted for quite a while. No, correct that...I haven't ranted about a photography matter for quite a while. I've ranted about lots of stuff on this blog and even more off this blog....so it's time for a nice rant about Canon and its marketing wisdom.

If I recall correctly, the Canon let it be known that its 5D Mark II would be available at major photo retailers by the end of November 2009, in time for the holiday season. Now we know that Canon dropped the ball on that one, with the 5D Mark II still unavailable at B&H (although it's currently taking pre-orders according to 1001 Noisy Cameras), Crutchfield is out of stock, while Amazon has one for sale but at a premium.

Most of us have an innate fear of scarcity. The prospect of product being unavailable when we want (or need) it is a powerful marketing tool which spurs consumers to research where the product is available, and purchase. I believe this is what Canon is doing.

I was extremely lucky in having found one when I visited B&H and just asked the salesclerk for one. So here's what I think: Canon makes this camera available to retailers slowly and selectively. The more there's a perceived scarcity for this product, the more buzz there is (like this post)..the more buzz the more publicity. Am I hearing justified complaints that this strategy is disrespectful to its customer base? The answer is yes. Am I hearing that Canon through this strategy is, as one of my friends recently wrote me, helping non-mainstream retails stores to really soak us? The answer is also yes.

Now to top off the rant, let me mention the battery: the LP-E6 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion for the Canon 5D Mark II is also on back-order (the favored euphemism for not available) at mainstream retail stores...however may be occasionally found at other stores for a hefty premium. Another soaking.

Two days ago I ordered two spare batteries from a non mainstream online store, and I'm still waiting a confirmation of my order...

UPDATE (February 3): Having seen that the batteries were listed as back-ordered on the online store Digital Foto Club, I called to inquire as to the status of my order. Steve, the employee who took my call, told me they had received Canon shipments the day before but he would check and let me know if it included the batteries. A short time later, Steve did call to say the batteries were not expected soon and that he'd go ahead and cancel my order through Buy.com (which was confirmed).

I think that's excellent service from Digital Foto Club...honest and straight forward.

PDN + Canon?

I received my PDN November issue yesterday, and was surprised to see its cover was a Canon advertisement for the EOS 50D. Now, I'm all for magazines to make money from advertisers, but to have PDN's cover taken over by an ad is annoying, and a turn-off.

To be clear, PDN still has a regular cover, but it's covered by another cover: the Canon ad, and ripping it off damages the issue.

A note to PDN people: I like PDN (not always, but most of the time) and Canon is my brand of choice, but this is not a good idea and certainly not one that I'd like to see again. I have to thumb through enough pages of ads as it stands to get to articles and features...so another ad layer is not welcome. I don't know if this gimmick is only for subscribed issues or for all issues in circulation.

This is worse than the ads that appear before multimedia presentations because I paid for the magazine and this ad doesn't go away after 15 seconds. Since I really don't want to have a Canon ad in my face whenever I reach for this PDN magazine, I tore it off.

Rant: The New Yorker

The New Yorker magazine has stirred a hornet's nest for what it calls a satirical cartoonish cover that shows Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama dressed in a Taliban-like garment, and his wife Michelle — dressed in camouflage, combat boots and an assault rifle strapped over her shoulder — standing in the Oval Office. To add insult to injury, artist Barry Blitt added a portrait of Osama bin Laden on the wall, and the American flag burning in the fireplace. This cover is tasteless, repugnant and offensive on all levels.

I read that The New Yorker's editor says that the cover is satirizing rumors about Obama — including rumors that he's Muslim and anti-American, and defended its choice, "saying its readership is sophisticated enough to get the joke."

This is so out-of-touch (and dismissive of our intelligence) that it beggars belief as to how these people at The New Yorker think. I hope readers will find the so-called "joke" so unfunny that they cancel their subscriptions, and demand their money back. That'll be really funny.

Rant: G8's Shameless Behavior

Here's a rant that has nothing to do with photography, but has everything to do with lack of decency and disgraceful behavior.

As we know, the leaders of the so-called G8 nations are having a summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. While the G8 summits are usually conspicuous by their meaningless proclamations, this one was touted as an important meeting to discuss the world's current food shortages.

So as reported by the Times of London, we learn that the G8 summit has cost almost $600 million, enough to buy 100 million mosquito nets for the African nations whose population are still afflicted by malaria. This is bad enough, but I think the most repulsive is the news that the G8 leaders discussed the international food shortages during a sumptuous eight-course dinner banquet, having already eaten a five-course lunch.

What is the matter with these people?

Times of London's G8 Leaders Feast