A studio shot, like the ones you example, are just produced as tools in support of something else. Sure, they are called photographs, but they are really masquerading as “things” designed to manipulate your response and (usually) sell something. It’s like a trip to McDonalds. Sure it is called a “hamburger”, but it really is just that “thing” which reminds you of a taste, or something else, to get you to buy it.

David Burdeny does tip his hand when he says: "...my position is, these are fairly common tourist locations [...] So in a sense I’m taking things where basically, there might as well be a ‘scenic viewpoint’ sign. There are hundreds of copies of pretty much the same viewpoint.” Regardless of the issue of copying another photographer's perspective, motivation, etc., Burdeny does show how really lazy he is about taking pictures. Come on, get off the beaten path; explore; find something different in the same subject. Only a tourist picture-taker starts with "taking" images from the parking lot. Rick

Mike, You’re not old, you are normal. I, too, have gone along for 52 years. Some time ago, after long years of imagining, evaluating and evolving, I took a major step in a different direction. I wanted my photography and art background to be in the foreground. I also wanted my world to be greatly simpler – to be less pushed around by the hyper-media, everything one should be (but are not) – demand for attention to something/somewhere else. The biggest challenge, every day, it to not be driven completely by a culture that says I need to have the next BIG THING. I have to concentrate on what is important in front of, and has value, to me. Some days are frustrating, with constant questions from the culture around me:”I am not doing it like everyone else?” “Is my nascent photography work realistic?” Or, “Who am I kidding?” "I spent HOW much?"... But then I say: “Wait a minute, Look what I did. If just one image is the best one I could ever do, there is NO ONE who will ever be able to make it again or dispute its importance. That one photo can “hold the wall” with the best of them, and no one has done any better. Yeah, I have grown enough to determine (sometimes) what is right for me – right now, right here. I hope so. Do I need a better camera? I don’t need one right now, but, Mike, You DO need that A900! It will help you grow. You know sure enough the difference between wanting something for a purpose, rather than just because it will reach some other itch that you can’t scratch. Sure, I have made frugality into a life-long Holy Grail. How else could I live in one of the most expensive U.S. cities, successfully, on a shoe-string. (And there are many others who do the same everywhere.) Other people are at different places, with different focus and internal horse-power. So don’t compare. Everyone knows and sees things that others do not. I, for one, know where there is a restroom (for immediate relief!) anywhere in San Francisco. That way, I can stay out all day with a decent camera, go home to a good but dying printer, and have a few other photographer-fiends to tell it all to. That is enough, and that’s when I am most happy. Best regards, Rick

Mike, Do books that sell-out immediately after being featured, but are low on availability, not get tallied in your totals? For example, Fred Hersog's "Vancouver Photographs" was in short supply and immediately became unavailable. But one could also consider it to be very popular. Rick

In companies where I have worked in the Human Resources Departments, photos were routinely removed from personnel files and resumes to avoid any "silent selection" based on anything other than a person's work qualifications. Including a photograph when making a decision was considered not legally defensible. It is interesting that now people who have accounts on Facebook, MySpace, et.al. seem to think that having their photo and VERY personal information is good for them. Some are finding out that that "big party night" picture has done them more harm. This is just a "modern" example of controlling the image, regardless if it is a photograph or a online page. If people want to manage their "images", they should consider where the images go and how they could be used. Rick

"I'm just sayin..." It is interesting to hear word or phrases come in and out of the lexicon. I think the "I'm just sayin'..." phrase came originally from a 1970's TV sitcom "All In The Family". It was said by the character Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) or his son-in-law Meathead (Rob Reiner). All of which probably goes back to some Boston or New York City street-speak. I'm just sayin'.... Rick