LenKowitz.com: Bill Zaner in his Studio

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Bill Zaner in his Studio

Last month on the way to the Shooting West Texas symposium at Sul Ross University I stopped in Boerne and had lunch with Bill. We sat in his studio and ate beans and corn and talked about making pictures.
Bill has been David Caton's first teacher and mentor for many years. He has a very realistic attitude about his work, he just does it. Something I need to learn. I'm off to Big Bend National Park to spend a few days with Bill and David and a couple of cameras.
We'll see what happens.

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It occurs to me...

I've been thinking about the business of making photographs and I'm going to use this forum as a place to share some of those thoughts.
I'll also post new pictures as they get to the "finished" state and provide information on how you can go about having your very own copy. Taking a cue from Duane Keiser, http://www.duanekeiser.com/ , I think marketing my own work is the best way for me to go, at least for the time being

As I think about becoming a "photographer", I've spent some time with people who have made that choice long ago and are now working very hard at it.The work they have produced is in many cases, excellent. What I have noticed is that the profession has a very low return on the time invested. It's far cry from my previous career where the return on my time was actually very high.
Great credit is due those individuals who choose to become photographers and then actually make a "living" by making pictures.

One night last week I took two "portfolios" to the Houston Center for Photogrphy to have them "reviewed". It was an interesting experience.
I was told that the landscape work had no relationship to the short set-up comments I made and that I should keep working on the blk&wht, "Ode to O'Keffee" portfolio.
It was pointed out to me that "landsape" work is highly competitive. Interesting observation, how did I fail to see that?
It occurs to me that showing my work to strangers is a productive activity, at least for me. Unfortunately, I probably gain more from the experience than those who see the pictures for the first time. Maybe it's a fault of the work, not strong enough or unusual enough? Maybe it's the "reviewers" problem?
In any case, it's all just opinion and not fact. I will continue to seek out the opinion of anyone who is willing to look at the pictures, I will also continue to make pictures that I like.