Gallery Pick of the Week
Instead of just showing pretty pictures only, here we have space for contributors to discuss their images every week.
This is a great opportunity to get some insight from the original photographer and the content is entirely open. It could be anything from the personal feeling of the photographer about the image to any photographic techniques or location knowledge he/she would like to share with our visitors.
Gallery Pick of the Week > July 2010
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The VCR Principle, 22/7/10, Rob Gray The fact that the wild places depicted in their 2025 calendar were the last 13 remaining wilderness areas may go unnoticed, and when 2026 arrives and there is no calendar it’s too late. |
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Insult to Photographers, 15/7/10, Rob Gray I received an email the other day requesting that I submit a tender to photograph all the images for the brochures of a large travel company. At first it looked like a dream gig... |
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Photographers and Tourism are in the Same Boat, 8/7/10, Pele Leung I could not imagine how we would choose our holiday or travel destinations if photography does not exist. Perhaps drawing and words can be the substitutes but they are relatively inefficient... |
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The lone moments at Cape Schanck, 1/7/10, Pele Leung With numerous accidents reported recently of people being swiped away by massive waves near rocky coasts, I took a plunge to photograph Cape Schanck after hours. Standing at some coastal corners, I could felt the power of the merciless ocean. |
Rob Gray - The VCR Principle, 22/7/10, Rob Gray
Years ago I owned a VCR and, with several years computing experience, I was even able to program it. When I was in danger of missing a good movie I would set the VCR to record it. I don’t recall ever actually watching one of those recorded masterpieces but it didn’t matter. All that was important was that I could watch them if I wanted to. I call this the VCR Principle.
A similar principle applies to the general public and their view of our wild places. The vast majority of Australians will never see, let alone experience, the wilderness. However by viewing the recorded image they know that it’s there, and that they can experience it if they want to.
As landscape photographers, we bridge the gap between the wilderness and the public. Thousands of people can view the wilderness through our eyes without actually going there and increasing the strain on the environment. A simple photograph can even remove apathy, causing normally complacent people to stop saying "What’s all the fuss about, there’s hundreds of rivers" and start saying "Enough is enough". The best example of a photo having such an affect is that of Peter Dombrovskis’ Rock Island Bend image. It is credited with saving one of Australia’s most pristine wilderness areas, the Franklin River.
It’s possible however that this is a two edged sword, removing apathy on one side and generating complacency on the other. As the wilderness decreases and becomes more difficult to find, the intrepid landscape photographer will try harder to create great photographs. The public will view these photos and feel warm and fuzzy knowing that there is still wilderness out there, somewhere.
The fact that the wild places depicted in their 2025 calendar were the last 13 remaining wilderness areas may go unnoticed, and when 2026 arrives and there is no calendar it’s too late.
So are landscape photographers the good guys or the bad guys? Are our images causing more harm by encouraging people into the wilderness and thereby overloading it, or do we help people find the courage to fight for a heritage which, whether they use it or not, is theirs to enjoy.
I believe that we are the good guys but I’m prepared to leave the question open. One thing I do know is that as much wilderness as possible should be preserved so future Australians have a choice.
Rob Gray - Insult to Photographers, 15/7/10, Rob Gray
Cocklebiddy Cave, Nullarbor Plain, South Australia
I received an email the other day requesting that I submit a tender to photograph all the images for the brochures of a large travel company (who we'll call Big Time Tours for the purposes of this essay).
At first it looked like a dream gig, free tours to exotic places, easy photography as the end product only needed small reproductions, and I get paid.
I soon learned however that they were offering an insulting amount of money, presumably on the assumption that anyone would love to get a free trip.
I declined the offer to tender then wrote this letter to the manager.
Dear ****,
A couple of weeks ago I was approached by **** from your art department, and asked to consider tendering for a position of photographer on your tours, with a view to providing photographs for use in your brochures.
While I was initially interested, further discussions revealed that the budget for photography on each tour was a mere $1200. I subsequently declined the offer and that was that until I thought even more about the job.
I now feel that I should write to you and explain my thinking on the flaws in the proposal, as put to me. The salient points are as follows,
- Roughly 300 photos are required from each tour.
- The photographer has to work with limited time as they are part of the tour.
- The photographer has to pay for many of the meals over the (nominal) 20-day period.
- It is assumed that the photographer can supplement their income by shooting personal stock images while on the tour. These images however should not be exact duplicates of those supplied to Big Time Tours.
- Big Time Tours will not pay for the photographer's time scanning images from film, you expect digital files.
Let me address these points.
- While I appreciate that the images in your brochures do not have to be masterpieces, they must be good. To produce 300 good photos at least 1000 should be taken, possibly a lot more depending on the exact circumstances.
- Working fast is no problem in itself , but it severely limits both the quality and quantity of images that can be produced. It almost totally precludes the production of late afternoon and early morning photos which, almost invariably, are the best scenic photos.
- Paying for meals is not a minimal expense, especially as at many of the tour locations one would be forced to use the nearest cafes/restaurants which would have inflated "tourist" prices, or to eat in the hotel due to a shortage of time, at similarly inflated prices.
- Let's skip the "exact duplicates" part as there would be little time to hunt for separate photos. If the photographer did shoot exact, or similar, photos for his own use and produced 300 for Scenic, we can assume that he also got 300 good images for his own use. The rule of thumb for earnings from stock images is $1 per image per year. Therefore, each tour would, in theory, produce another $300 pa. in earnings.
A look at one of your current brochures shows a very high percentage of aerial photos and photos that are setup, with models and/or special lighting and/or special circumstances that almost certainly will not be available on most tours. These I assume are currently purchased from stock libraries at prices you may feel are expensive. However most of them would cost several hundred to a thousand dollars and more to produce, all costs considered.
Let's roughly analyse the photographer's time and cost spent. Firstly time,
- 20 days on tour actually taking photos.
- At least 2 days before and 2 after in transit to/from the tour start point.
- Therefore 24 days in the field unable to deal with day-to-day business.
- Five days photo processing and producing catalogued CDs.
- Assume 8 hrs per day lost to this job, that's 232 hours, in fact it's a lot more than that as few small business people work a mere eight hours per day. Many jobs that are done after hours would not be able to be performed while on the tour.
And costs,
- 1000 exposures = 28 rolls of film x $12 per roll for purchase and processing = $336 (note: the film cost probably won't be an issue to digital photographers anymore although initial investment in quality digital equipment is still fairly high even we have already entered the digital age)
- Travel and, in some cases, depending on the country in question, extra medical insurance, say $200.
- Meal costs, over and above "normal", due to being in the field, say $200.
- Long distance phone calls, over and above "normal" due to being in the field, say $200.
- Other miscellaneous costs that occur just because you're in the field, say $100 (very conservative, a couple of taxi trips will eat this amount).
So, in return for neglecting the normal operations of his or her business, the hapless photographer receives $1200 gross and nets $164. Even assuming only eight hours a day on the job, that's 69c an hour! If we include the $300 theoretical first-year earnings from personal stock photos taken on the tour, we are now up to $2 per hour. Still not good.
A professional photographer's rate is usually several hundred dollars a half-day, plus expenses. Even with a vastly reduced rate to allow for the large amount of work on offer, the $1200 budget is, in my opinion, just not viable.
Let's look at it another way. You get 300 photos for $1200, that's $4 per image. I believe there's nowhere in the western world you will find someone to produce professional photographs, specifically for a client, for $4 a piece.
I suggested to **** that a rate of around $5000 was closer to the mark, a highly discounted rate because this is not just a one-off job but a continuing relationship. Even at this rate that's only $16.66 per photo.
After all this you will still need to buy a lot of images from libraries. For example, of the 11 Big Time Tours brochure covers I've seen, I estimate that a photographer working on the tour would only be reasonably certain of capturing two of the cover photos, and possibly another one or two if things fell into place on the day.
My suggestion is to look for a student or unemployed/retired person who is willing to commit the large amount of time required in return for some free trips and some pocket money. Another idea employed by some companies is to ask their patrons to submit their best photographs, either directly for sale to the company, or in the form of a competition in which you keep the rights to all photos "selected".
Most tourists would be thrilled to have some of their photos published in a travel brochure.
Please accept this letter in a constructive light, that is certainly the intent.
Regards
Rob Gray
Darwin, Northern Territory
OK the rule of thumb I mentioned for stock images is probably out of date, but then I doubt the photographer would get many useful stock images within the constraints of an organised tour.
I'm still waiting for a reply but they can shove their offer where the sun don't shine, and I'm not referring to a darkroom.
Pele Leung - Photographers and Tourism are in the Same Boat, 8/7/10, Pele Leung
The sunrise view from the deck of the cabin we stayed during our recent visit to Wilsons Promontory
Dreams and curiosities are probably two major driving forces behind the advance of our civilisation. The same theory applies to travel. I cannot remember how many times my decisions of travel destinations were inspired and influenced by some great location photos and imagine many other travellers out there would have shared the same experience.
A startrail attempt from the same deck of the cabin mentioned earlier
I could not imagine how we would choose our holiday or travel destinations if photography does not exist. Perhaps drawing and words can be the substitutes but they are relatively inefficient and inaccurate especially in today's standard. In other words, what I am trying to say is that photography contributes a lot to tourism by showing the potential visitors how attractive the destinations are. A land without visitors is simply a "barren" place and tourism simply would not exist. Perhaps it is exaggerated to say photography is the key to flourish tourism but its benefits brought to the tourism industry should never be ignored and underestimated.
A scenic lake view near Grantville, Gippsland
Apart from the advertising effect that photography produces, many enthusiastic photographers spend hundreds to thousands of dollars for accommodation, food and transportation for every single trip. This direct financial contribution is another push for tourism economy.
One of my favourite locations in winter - Lake Eildon
Having said all, many photographers of all kinds would expect a welcome message from the official - whoever they are. Let's hope so, at least in the near future. Believe it or not, photographers and tourism are in the same boat. Fingers crossed.
Pele Leung - The lone moments at Cape Schanck, 1/7/10, Pele Leung
Panorama of Cape Schanck
Cape Schanck could be an unfamiliar place to many tourists or even some Melburnians. This isolated cape is located at the south west corner of the Mornington Peninsula and is within 100km from Melbourne. Although it hasn't got a grand scenery like the Great Ocean Road, its charms and power after hours are quite unique. The visitor traffic to Cape Schanck is hardly high even during weekend. Needless to say, you will barely find any souls after sunset. As it is isolated and has access to the rocky coast, after-hours visit could be potentially dangerous but the experiences could be worthy as long as you take every possible care to secure your steps on the rocky ground.
Water can craft any patterns you can imagine
Although the wave looks calm and silky in photo, don't let it catch you...
With numerous accidents reported recently of people being swiped away by massive waves near rocky coasts, I took a plunge to photograph Cape Schanck after hours. Standing at some coastal corners, I could felt the power of the merciless ocean. At some extreme moments, the waves were so close that I thought my life had been threatened. Although I knew the safety rules and had prepared for them, the result still could be unpredictable. I cannot imagine how scary it is for those people sailing solo across the globe. The ocean water just couldn't be lightly ignored and the powerful nature won my serious respect to it.
Untouchable water. Watch out and stay away.
After the nightfall, I was the lone soul temporarily isolated from the civilisation. The visibility dropped quickly and my head light helped marginally to orientate my path. Although the headlight appeared to be very bright at home, its power was largely absorbed by the immense darkness out there. At this anxious moment, the full moon came out from its cloudy shield. Although the moon light still wasn't quite bright enough for me to walk freely like during daytime, it still helped me a lot especially for taking photographs in long exposure. With the presence of the moon light, I could better express the moody atmosphere of this unique place.
Just before the nightfall
The moonlit rocky beach. The actual scene was much darker.
Is it really worth taking risk for a few photos? No. But will I go back to Cape Schanck after hours again? Yes because I think I can manage. Perhaps it is time to try a pre-dawn and sunrise trip. If I bump into you over there after hours, don't say a word and keep your focus on the path in front of you. Don't talk unless you stop walking as this is an important safety rule for hikers. After all, safety is our priority.