A new year. Offering up a bit of self-critique, which we as photographers engage in sometimes too much, and sometimes too little. You know the feeling. You wake up, look at the mirror and put a big finger based “L” on your forehead as you stare bleakly at your ever whitening scruff, fumbling for your glasses while unfolding your frame like a rusty lawn chair. You eventually reach full height, but it takes a while.
On our Instagram channel recently, we showed a glimpse of 2023 in an IG Reel. It showed a range of pictorial endeavor from that turbulent twelve months. At first, I didn’t want to do it. “My pictures from last year sucked,” I whined. Photogs are excellent whiners. Back in the day, when this industry was fairly awash in cash, you could hang around the picture department say, at Newsweek, and if you complained loud and long enough about wanting to go do a story about such and such, an editor up there would pretty much give you a $1,500 guarantee for a first look at your film just to get you out of their cubicle.
But Annie, my beloved and determined wife, who also happens to direct our studio social media channels with a deftness and a determination that rivals a world-class chess player, insisted I pull images. So, like an old school fishing trawler, I threw the nets over the side and started dragging for pictures. The result was salubrious, like a wind blowing through the leafless trees of my brain. A radiant shard of optimism sliced through the clouds of my relentless, personal, near daily employee review session and warmed my face. Hey, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all! Wow, look at that one. Not bad!
Ok, calm down. We put it up on our Instagram channel, and it played over 60,000 times, evidently. “Natural” views…still not sure what all that marketing/internet hoo ha means but I guess that’s good! Clicks that simply bounced in over the transom. No antibiotics, cage free views. looked at the run of the year, one thing struck me, and it has been with me since the very beginning, back in 1976, pounding the cracked, uneven pavement of NYC, the pungent smells of unpicked up garbage wafting into my nostrils like a snort of smelling salts. Look for work. I can do this. Give me a job. I can do it. Let me shoot. Fifty bucks a picture for a shot over the UPI wire? Ok. I’ll do that. Once, dear friend Jimmy McGrath at the NY Daily News rang me up. We were hurting, on strike. He offered me a gig shooting the harness racing finish pictures at the old Roosevelt Raceway out on the island. Speed Graphic, plugged into a flash system. Zone focused. Pop! Deadline process the 4×5’s in an old wet darkroom that reeked of Dektol and cigarette butts. Payment? No money, but a steak dinner at the track restaurant. Ok, I’ll do that.
Decades later, another thing resonated for me seeing our quick draw, set-to-music selection of ‘23. Versatility. A lot of value in versatility, as a photog, even though it’s not discussed much in these often-indulgent times of “photographing your creative journey.” Technology abounds, pixels proliferate like a virus in a sci-fi movie and new lenses have apertures wide enough to drive a truck through. But the unglamorous underpinnings—versatility, durability, tenacity. Oft overlooked, perhaps. Something I drive home to photogs trying to survive nowadays.
The sad, recent demise of splendid actor Tom Wilkinson focused me a bit on this question. He had the ability to inhabit a role, to effectively disappear into a character. He said of his acting, “I see myself as a utility player, the one who does everything. I’ve always felt that actors should have a degree of anonymity about them.”
I owned up long ago to the fact I’ll never be the best at anything when I look through a lens. You want the best sports shooter? It ain’t me. Best fashion photog, best documentarian? Look elsewhere. But you need something done, with clarity, professionalism, thought, imagination, and adherence to deadlines and budget? You got a job that requires you to be personal, do research, bring the skills and the tools to bear that lead to a set of fresh frames that have merit? You have an assignment that requires journalism, portraits, concept photography, and illustration work? Ok, here’s my number.
Take the often overlooked, seemingly ordinary and bring it to life. Operating theaters! Badly lit factories! Computer labs! We have to find good pictures when, at the first look at the location, it appears there isn’t a picture within a country mile. So I try to tell young photogs the same thing I tell myself. To look local, think of companies who might need a refresh or a rebrand. Can you edit? Can you do web design? Are you good at social media? All that helps. At my studio, we go after a job as a team, all bringing various skills to the table.
I shot a job last year that presented, at least on the surface, some relatively ordinary scenarios. Thus, it was gratifying to hear from the publisher who hired me. He’s been in the business a long time, and knows his stuff.
“I don’t know which world you came from, but these shots are definitely other-worldly. I saw what you had to work with, and I now see what you saw. It’s really unbelievable. It’s amazing.”
That’s our job. To see what others don’t. To memorialize and make important that which others walk by every day. To be astonished by the unusual, as most are, but to also observe the mundane of life and celebrate it with pixelated permanence. To make others do a double take, a head tilt, or cause a furrowed, intrigued brow. To get someone to just stop, even for a few seconds. Don’t swipe. Look. Feel. Think.
If you’ve chosen this photographic path, understand it’s a long road. It’s not a new toy, just unboxed, and soon to lose its shiny panache and wonder. It’s lifelong and needs patching and tinkering along the way. It’s alternately a sprint or a slog. A joy, or a heart wringing mess. The sound of the shutter is a clarion call, time and again. We must answer. It’s part of who we are. We don’t want to photograph. We need to photograph.
A thing to remember, perhaps, as we all collectively shoulder the cameras for the coming year. Ready for work again. Step out onto the tightrope of the creative life. Figure it out all over again.
The joy of being a photog always runs strong. Even the tough days still make me smile.
More tk….
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Everything in this post resonated with me today. Every bit of it. I was feeling somewhat uninspired to continue my photographic journey. I have not been feeling good about my work and my future. But now, not so much. Thanks, Joe, for the shot in the arm.
Joe, I’m a few years older than you and have been a photographer since 1972, although my path and experience has been not nearly as notable as yours. Your overview today greatly inspired me this morning to the extent that I am forwarding it to all the serious students in my photography courses. So much of what you said applies personally to me and the many seasons of photography in my life as a career and more significantly as a passion. I am very grateful to you for the example you set in the industry and the encouragement you offer to every shooter who loves the technology, business and art that we live in every day. Best to you in 2024!!
Hi back Joe…thank you for stopping by the blog. All Best back to you. Yes, once your are in, you are in. And it’s a lifelong celebration and struggle. The creative path is never a straight line. All the best for 24! Joe
All good, Fran! Hang in there. This is never a constant, ups and downs all the time. There’s great reward, often, just for staying the course. All best to you…Joe
Wow, amazing post. “I saw what you had to work with, and I now see what you saw…” I so remember walking you into some pretty gnarly situations back when we worked together – blah board rooms, unforgiving subjects without an once of energy to bring to the corporate publication we were working on – and saw what you were able to draw out of it. Making the ordinary extraordinary. That’s where the longevity of being a photog comes in and makes the whole thing more than just “pushing a button.” You’re an influencer, Joe. Just maybe not in the social media sense. Definitely in the photo sense. 🙂
Joe, your work is inspiring sir. I looked you up after hearing a mention of your name from Art Wolf. Man, you do good things with a camera. Thanks, some of your pics I found utterly inspiring. I do wildlife photography as an amateur in SA, but nevertheless your range of subjects and ability to notice the beauty in the ordinariness of life really stands out
Just when I think I’ve read your best, you climb to a new level. Wordsmith, indeed!
Thank you Jim….appreciate the kind words and the fact you stop by the blog. Long road, this photo thing…. We’re def going to see you in 24!
Thank you Dave. Art Wolf is a heckuva photog. All Best to you and keep after it…..Joe
Hey Mark…yep we’ve had some photo adventures. I loved em all. Bombing around through Europe. Getting acquainted with Johnny Walker Blue. (Surprise!) And lots of pictures….and we’re still shooting and loving carrying a camera. All Best, K-Man!
well i have a long time that not read so manys trues in one article
thanks Joe you always put a smile on my face and a little tear too
huge hug for you and your relentles crew from Santo Domingo the heart of the caribbean
Joe, you truly inspire. I spent the bulk of my time the last two days going through thousands of bird shots from the rain forest of Palawan, to Diliman University campus in the middle of Manila looking for the jewel. My first impression was that I took a lot of normal bird guide photos. I keep going back in my mind to one image shot at night in the rain of traffic through the windshield. It may be that seemingly ordinary. Love the blog BTW
I will only say, Joe, our beliefs may belie our success. We may be far more successful than we take credit and perhaps rightfully so. There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance and you know it when you experience it.
Your workshops sell out and you draw a crowd for your demonstrations. You have produce videos encouraging students to go beyond their present limitations. Unfortunately they don’t give Noble Prizes in photography. Certainly, you would have been awarded one.
I believe the Irish are good at self-depravation as a way of getting themselves into the confession booths. Otherwise they would be in pubs brawling with each other.
Over the years, I have grown dedicated to you via your workshops and personal conversations. Anyone who has been in your presence and workshops comes away renewed and invigorated in the art of seeing well.
May this year of the Dragon be one of your finest and bask in the sun as we did in Portugal.
Marco…you are an eloquent friend, indeed. Very astute on your observations about the Irish relationship to the confessional! I hope we get to do another adventure soon, Marco. The workshops we teach are always enriched by your presence. Best, Joe
Hi Kordeen. So good to hear from you and the Philippines had to have been a wonderful adventure. I can’t wait to see your final cull from that trip. In the meantime, Annie and I can’t wait to see you again. Looking forward to future adventures….best, Joe
Much appreciated, Ivan! Hugs back to you and the whole crew!!
Thank you for always widening my vocab, Joe! I will use salubrious sometime soon. What an encouraging post, as usual! I had the same thought when I did my instagram year review…..it was a whirlwind of a work year, and I felt that most of what I produced was probably crappy. But they weren’t. We really are our own worst critics, but I guess that’s what helps make us grow too. Thanks again for such a poignant and uplifting article.
Joe you have always been one of my photographic hero’s. I’ve been a commercial photographer for over 27 years…you started your career when I was 3. Your work continues to inspire. Thank you!
I’m digging through my work this week with my tablet pen in one hand and beer in the other. It’s laborious and you are right, we are our own worst critic. I have surprised myself looking at images long forgotten over the year and have moved the self loathing meter up to you are OK at this and sometimes pretty darn good.
Time to get the creative juices flowing again for some new adventures. Thank you for being you and always being a visual rock to gain strength and inspiration from. You are so fortunate to have a partner that understands how the creative mind works and knows how to keep it going, thanks Anne for pushing the image review.
Hi Valerie…lucky indeed. To be doing this, to have a partner like Annie and still be fueled by wanting to do better. You have the same drive, for sure. Always. We seek the next level, the next good frame. Be well…and thank you…Joe
Thank you back! Keep it going!
Sir Joe McNally, You are photo master and my ideal in photography. I learn a lot from your post. Thank you for sharing this.