Fixer,
Poor quality photos are tolerated these days, what people have a hard time dealing with, at least in the world I work in is, the small amounts of time you have to get the photo, get it right, and get it out. I can't go back and do anything over.
People who shoot landscapes, products have all the time in the world, compared to my having seconds to get it. Yet, I see of many of my colleagues miss some easy shots. For the work I do you have to be on guard or you will miss it and that's that, what ever is you miss has passed into history in just seconds, never to be seen again.
Over my career, I have photographed every professional sport you can imagine Super Bowls, World Series but, figure skating and boxing are the most difficult. I still cover the big fights in Vegas from time to time, sports keep you sharp, any journalistic photography does that, and if I was to do a wedding, for example, you already know what will happen, they are all alike, and for the formal photos you are the director.
I don't do them often but, at least I admit that I do...ask any journalist and they will snear at you, however, I can guarantee you they have shot them, as well, and are lying about it. They think are above that. I have covered weddings to war zones. Brides can be awful, often, you can deal with people in not so friendly places much easier. My wife always comes with me as my second camera, I like the idea of a woman's perspective at a wedding. Plus she is one of the best boxing photographers I have ever seen.
I never cared for boxing that much one way or the other, then I got an assignment to cover Oscar De La Hoya,s first professional fight, post Olympic Gold Medal. It was in LA at the... the...I forget the location, and I am not at my office where my field notes are but, after being ringside, I was hooked on boxing. Photography as a journalist opens windows, and draws back the veil of new delights since it exposes you to things and people you would never come across, or events you would never have thought to even bother to attend. I wish I could recommend it as a career but, I can't. I did very well, and made more money than I ever thought I could, (Thank you O.J. and President Clinton), however today, everyone is a photographer.
The consolation is that, myself, my wife, and my company, and assistants at the time, my lab and its print people are all pioneers, genuine, real pioneers, in a new media that changed the world forever. All of who were film shooters and struggled through the transition, are in the eyes of history, pioneers. We were the ones on the frontlines of making it happen, helping the engineers, and we called in many mistakes to Nikon that their instruction manuals had wrong, other published books too, mostly because of my wife and her huge talent with computers, (I called in the most of the Nikon errors). So many of my colleagues of the day ran from photography when digital replaced film, we embraced it, and it happend so much faster than any of us thought it would. Digital turned out to be a gold mine for those who stuck it out at a high level, yet, there were still plenty of flakes who stayed and had no knowledge of what they were even doing. What great years! At the time it could be frustrating, long hours, dial up modems and several minutes to transmit just one photo! I now look back on all of it as a fantastic experience that few people over the course of history are able to experience. Like the first people to use a printing press.
Really, even if you had a point and shoot and switched to a digital camera, you are a pioneer, too, just not at the level of figuring it all out, and making it work with clients, editors, deadlines and no one with experience you could call, who had done it before. We were the ones with the experience, and we had to figure it all out, make it work, and remain in business, and by then my company was already working at high levels, major companies and the political elite and power of the world. In many industries none of them, even that they knew this was really foreign to all of us did not accept any excuses, and the wanted the work right then. However everyone, (clients), since the Civil War up to today Needs it NOW!
For a time, I used to shoot with a film rig and a digital one, Same lenses on both. Thank god that was short lived, as you missed shots, one was either on film or digital. It's just you had to get the shot, one way or the other.
That's enough, I am now ceased with the sudden fear I have drifted wildly off topic...But, that's the way is was back in the Stone Age. What a time to be a working photographer. May be interesting to some.
