Following on from my last post, ironically, I have just finished giving a pre-booked talk to 40 ladies from the Menai Bridge Womens Institute, (I was told just 20 ladies but was overwhelmed by LOTS of women ! :-)) It seemed to go down extremely well and I also set them a photo competition with a definite Glyn Davies twist, which they seemed equally excited by.
"I am NOT looking for the sharpest or best adjusted image, I am looking for your ability to ‘see the dramatic’ and capture its mood. When it works, that sort of image could be taken on a Box Brownie! Do not emulate what you have seen others do, use your OWN vision!"
Anyway they have three months to complete their competition entries which I will then judge.
I showed them most of the set of images from my forthcoming Nant Gwrtheyrn book and aimed the talk more at the wonder of the lost valley than about photography itself. This is all that matters to me anyway, and it was lovely not to have to answer any banal questions about what camera I used! They were just excited by the place and my enthusiasm for its nature and spirit, though thankfully marveled at the compositions and light as well. Phew!
As an aside, it was such a great feeling of community tonight. Not only were the ladies themselves all from my own village, but Kiu from the Chinese Take Away over the road, lent me several of his chairs from his waiting area, and so did the guys from Gwynedd Office Supplies next door to him. There was no hesitation, just an immediate wish to help. Good on you guys, SUCH a great village!
Monday, 19 January 2009
The Value of Education
I was recently asked to do a talk at a camera club. However when it came to remuneration for the preparation, traveling and delivery of the talk, the fee was no more than I was paid about 10 years ago at other clubs. I was unprepared to accept their fee, considering what is involved, but more particularly, for the knowledge and insights I would have provided.
It got me thinking about the value placed on other people's knowledge and skills, in a market place already devalued by the sheer quantity of snaps and snappers out there, and the ability of corporations to play one photographer, agent or library off against another.
In a one hour talk I would be giving away information that has taken me YEARS to accumulate and resolve. It would have given a large number of listeners valuable insights as to what makes me, as a professional artist, gallery owner and self publisher, tick. In many ways this is even more of an issue for me in relation to camera clubs, where many of their members attempt professional shoots for pocket money prices, often relinquishing intellectual property at the same time.
After dinner speakers may be paid hundreds of pounds simply to entertain with anecdotes and jokes, so I am surprised that budgets are so derisory for those willing to impart relevant, hard earned knowledge and insights, to so many people. It is one of the main reasons I gave up teaching at the University about five years ago. Everyone WANTS professional wisdom but few are prepared to pay properly for it.
© Glyn Davies 2009
It got me thinking about the value placed on other people's knowledge and skills, in a market place already devalued by the sheer quantity of snaps and snappers out there, and the ability of corporations to play one photographer, agent or library off against another.
In a one hour talk I would be giving away information that has taken me YEARS to accumulate and resolve. It would have given a large number of listeners valuable insights as to what makes me, as a professional artist, gallery owner and self publisher, tick. In many ways this is even more of an issue for me in relation to camera clubs, where many of their members attempt professional shoots for pocket money prices, often relinquishing intellectual property at the same time.
After dinner speakers may be paid hundreds of pounds simply to entertain with anecdotes and jokes, so I am surprised that budgets are so derisory for those willing to impart relevant, hard earned knowledge and insights, to so many people. It is one of the main reasons I gave up teaching at the University about five years ago. Everyone WANTS professional wisdom but few are prepared to pay properly for it.
© Glyn Davies 2009
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