Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Eric, > freelancing is > not the same as being a full-time photojournalist. Most people can only do > that by being staff on a paper or magazine All of the arrested had police press cards and that, to my mind, is what makes the difference between an armchair journalist and a true journalist. Newspaper staffers are, after all, just freelancers with staff jobs. I've had the pleasure of knowing many photographers, who work in a wide range of disciplines. Respectful professionalism is not singularly practiced in any genre and I'm puzzled by your apparant disdain for the practices of 'freelancers'. All of the photgraphers arrested that night were acting in a freelance capacity for their respective agencies; yes. Big but is that, anyway you slice it, these were (and usually are) fully legitimate and talented photojournalists who work for the same type of agencies (and some of the same) as the greats everyone is so damn in awe of. I know of no newspaper, great, awful, big or small, that could even function without freelance photographers. As you've pointed out, there is only maybe 5 magazines left on earth that actually have staff photographers. Because of that, no magazine could hold interest without freelance photographers. Who are they? Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber, Sebastio Salgado, Dan Winters, Dominique Issermann, Deborah Turbeville, Sarah Moon, Irving Penn, etc. To name just a few..... Regards, Danny Gonzalez