Slate magazine just published an interesting article on David Hobby and his popular blog Strobist, and shared this interesting example of how the photography industry is drastically changing due to low barriers of entry:
To get a sense of just how bad things are for professional photographers right now, the story of Robert Lam is instructive. When Time needed a photo to illustrate its “New Frugality” cover story in late 2009, it purchased Lam’s image of a jar of change from stock-photo agency iStockphoto. The going rate for a Time cover had typically been $3,000 to $10,000. Lam was paid $31.50. Nevertheless, Lam declared, “I am happy”—the payment was more than he’d expected the photo to generate, and he was delighted to have a Time cover in his portfolio. Veteran professional photographers were livid, calling Lam an “IDIOT,” among other unkind words.
The article also mentions how Robert Lam earns just $4,000 from his stock photography hobby, and that the Time cover photo was shot using DIY equipment purchased from a local sign store. What are your thoughts on the changing landscape for professional photographers?
Forget the uber-expensive Leica cameras with their special edition embossed ostrich skin. Custom cut exotic skins is what it’s all about! CameraLeather is a company that can outfit or restore your camera with a wide range of different materials. You can go from the basic goat skin leather all the way up to lizard and snake skins. The above Olympus camera is sporting the black & white cobra skin covering. It’s not too pricey either — outfitting a 35mm SLR with snake skin starts at $40.
Outdoor Photography Canada magazine’s latest cover features a photograph that’s pretty unique. It’s not the subject matter, but rather how the image was captured: photographer Paul Burwell captured the photo on his Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 3200.
On his blog, Burwell writes,
It’s my shot of a Kermode “Spirit” Bear and there is an accompanying article inside about a trip I lead last fall to photograph these wonderful and uniquely Canadian bears. This isn’t my first cover shot on a magazine, but it is one I’m particularly proud of as I believe it may be one of the first cover shots ever published that was made at ISO 3200.
He was using a 500mm lens wide open at f/4, with a shutter speed of 1/400th of a second. The composition works quite well, but the high ISO is noticeable in the desaturated colors and noisiness of the image.
What do you think of this cover shot? Do you know of any other covers that featured high ISO images?
(via Planet5D)
Update: Cildydd points out that a photo shot at ISO 100,000 was published on a magazine cover in France.
