Damaso Reyes Photography » Musings

Giving it Away

Damaso — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:03:19 +0000

I recently got an email form an amateur photographer celebrating the fact that a photograph he took of a famous writer was published on a trade magazine’s website. On congratulated him and asked, already suspecting what the answer would be, how much they paid. His answer was that they published his photograph in return for a photo credit. This is how I replied:

“Hear me very clearly.

You are part of a community. Whether you believe it or not you took food out of someone else’s mouth. When you work for free or give your work away for free you damage those of us who don’t have the benefit of a staff job not related to photography.

When you complain about not getting recognition; when you are sad that you don’t get what you feel you deserve please remember each and every time you gave away your work. There was someone else trying to make a dollar. And even if there was not?

You just lowered the bar.

You are smart enough to understand that. If you truly want to be a photographer you should play be the same rules as the rest of us instead of undermining us. If that sounds harsh I’m sorry but ask any professional photographer you claim to respect if this is a good approach to building and supporting the community you claim to be a part of.”

Rwanda, ten years after the genocide. This image was not crowdsourced.

As a professional, and one who struggles to make ends meet, I care deeply about this issue. There are lots of hobbyists out there who are happy to let massive multinational corporations use their work for free. Heck there are lots of professionals who do the same and it has sadly become something of a rite of passage for young photographers to trade their images for “exposure.” I know because I’ve been there too. I have sinned as well. Today major magazine and websites are now sourcing some of their photographs from Flickr users who don’t ask to be paid. Ten years ago how many contract photographers did Time Magazine have? How many do they have today?

Crowdsourcing may let editors cover many things but here are places camera phones can’t, and won’t go. If we think that long form documentary work and independent photojournalism is important then we as a community need say enough is enough. Non professionals need to accept that yes, they are part of the community too, and need to be responsible members of it. When you give away that image just to see your name in lights it is a problem…

This little rant won’t change anything but I feel like it is important to put the idea that images have value out there when so many people are telling us exactly the opposite.

Are We There Yet?

Damaso — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:46:39 +0000

Everyone seems to be looking for a shortcut. Is there a single place where I can find every grant I want to apply for? Are there five things that I can do to become a successful photographer in the next six months? Is there a way to get food in my belly without all the cooking and chewing?

This Marine knows you have to crawl before you can walk. Parris Island, S.C.

While no one has actually asked me that third question the first two, or variations thereof, I have heard countless times. Photography, like life, is a process, why try to rush it? You have to take the bad pictures to get to the good ones there’s no way around that. You have to get lost in order to figure out where you want to go, why not enjoy the ride? Sure sometimes it’s bumpy. Sometimes you feel like you are falling off a cliff but what is the alternative? A life so measured and ordered that there are no surprises?

It’s called photography not photograph. The photograph is just a symbol, a representation of all that went before and after that moment but the experiences around the photograph are what make up photography. These experiences are vastly more important than the relic they leave behind. Sure we all want to make great images and that is how we communicate our experiences but why try to short change the act?

You have to put the time in. There is always a temptation to find a faster way, an easier way. But that is not always or perhaps ever, the better way. I’m the sum total of my experiences not of my photographs. Every misplaced step, every wrong turn, every blunder and error are part of me. Why would I give that up?

The Europeans Featured on the New York Times

Damaso — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:39:34 +0000

What nice image to wake up to!

Yesterday images from my project, The Europeans, were featured on the New York Times Lens Blog. Needless to say I’m pretty excited that my work is reaching a larger audience. I’ve been working on this project for the past seven years and there have been many times where I felt I was toiling in obscurity to say the least. Getting a little recognition every now and then feels good.

And then you go back to work. Photographing in small churches, walking down lonely lanes and living the same life you did before. I’ve always felt I was incredibly lucky to be able to do this work on my own terms. I’m going to continue being lucky as long as I can…

The Day I Became a Photojournalist

Damaso — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:53:05 +0000

March 23rd, 1995 is a day I’ll always remember. I was a junior in high school who enjoyed photography but wasn’t totally committed to it. Probably a week before I heard there was going to be a big demonstration around cuts to education in New York and I thought it would be a great opportunity to go out and take some pictures. As the New York Times recounts:

“Thousands of university and high school students, accompanied by professors and teachers, walked out of their classrooms yesterday to protest proposed budget cuts to education, drawing instant rebuke from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Gov. George E. Pataki.

“At a rally in front of City Hall, the protest turned into a skirmish when police officers in riot gear tried to keep demonstrators, mostly students, from marching down Broadway. Some officers sprayed pepper gas at the protesters; some protesters threw black paint at the officers. Sixty people, mostly students, were arrested, and 16, including 11 police officers, were injured. All of the injuries were minor, the police said.”

Ten years later I was still photographing protesters. London, April 2005.

I remember the huge crowd and the raw energy that seemed to come out of nowhere as the conflict erupted. I had never experienced anything like it in my life. For me the biggest disconnect was between what I experienced and what I saw reported in the newspapers the next day. I can’t say my images were amazing but the people I met were and I would spend the better part of the next year joining them in organizing protests around this issue. A year later, after organizing a small protest of high school students that resulted in a small turn out, I came to the conclusion that I could do more to influence the way people saw the world through my images. That earlier disconnect I felt had never left me and it was at that point I decided to dedicate myself to photojournalism.

I can’t say how many, if any, lives I’ve impacted through my work. All I know is that I have and will continue to try…

Damaso Awarded Knight-Luce Fellowship

Damaso — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:03:04 +0000

There’s some good news this week: I’ve been awarded a Knight-Luce Fellowship in Global Reporting from USC Annenberg!

“Damaso Reyes will investigate the growth of European Pentecostalism led by immigrants from former European colonies. Reporting from Spain, England and Ukraine, Reyes will examine how Charismatic faiths are growing while traditional European Christian religious observance continues to decline. Reyes is a photographer and writer whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, and The Christian Science Monitor.”

As you can imagine, I’m pretty excited! I’m looking forward to doing some traveling this spring and exploring this topic in more depth.

For me what’s interesting is how this all started. I was here in Barcelona last spring and I heard some music from my bedroom window. I went down to investigate and found a small group of Pentecostals singing and evangelizing on my street corner. I started taking photos and they invited me to come and photograph at their church later in the day. I did so and kept coming back week after week. What started as a personal project grew into something more. The more I learned the more I began to form connections and the more I wanted to explore this topic in other countries. Less than a year later I get this fellowship.

For me the take away is how one never knows what a personal project will lead to. If you want to grow as a photographer working on your own personal projects isn’t just nice, it’s the most important thing you can do.

Directly Indirect

Damaso — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:20:42 +0000

Even after all these years it amazes me what you come across just walking down the street, sometimes the same street you always do…

Barcelona, February 2012

Back To Church

Damaso — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:40:11 +0000

When you get to set your own deadlines as a photographer you can revisit the same topic over and over again. Some might feel that’s repetitive but for me it’s an opportunity to dig deeper and find the nuance that I might have missed earlier.

You might remember that last year I spent time documenting a Pentecostal church here in Barcelona. Well I’m back and this week you’ll see some more images!

Not Even Close to Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

Damaso — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:14:49 +0000

In the spirit of full disclosure, here are some more links that will help you understand both my photography and my current project, The Europeans.

All About Me…

Damaso — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:13:31 +0000

Sometimes when you blog you assume once you’ve posted something everyone has seen it. Well of course that’s not true so I thought I’d post some links about me and my work…

This Time Next Year

Damaso — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:42:41 +0000

This time last year I was up to my neck in snow in New York City, dreaming of being back in sunny Barcelona.

Snow bound and down. January 27th 2011. New York City.

A year later here I am…

And next year? I can honestly say I don’t know where I’ll be. And for me that’s the point. I don’t get two weeks of freedom each year, the rest of my time beholden to someone else. Of course I don’t get two regular paychecks a month either. It’s a trade off I’ve been happy to make for some time now. The idea that this time next year I might be in Florence or Prague or St. Petersburg is hard to resist and one I’m not sure I can live without. Once you start actually following your dreams it’s not unlike a drug. It’s hard to stop. It’s even harder to come up with reasons why you should…

The Dream Goes On

Damaso — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:29:50 +0000

Dreams happen quickly but realizing them takes much, much longer. Remember that as you continue down your own road. Remember how brave men and women throughout history have sought out the impossible and prevailed, most often after many failures….

If you haven’t listened to The Speech lately I highly recommend taking a moment to get yourself inspired…

“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”

Everyone Loves a Parade Except Me

Damaso — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:16:25 +0000

It’s true I’m not a huge fan of parades. Growing up as a press photographer in New York City you cover a lot of parades and they all tend to suck. They come in two flavors: boiling hot (Puerto Rican Day Parade, Fourth of July for example) or blisteringly cold (I’m talking about you Thanksgiving Day Parade). Or they are drunken ( St. Patrick’s Day or Halloween). Parades are crowded (at least till you get past the spectators and onto the actual parade route) and once you’ve been to one or two or fifteen there is little new to capture. But this year in Barcelona I went to the Three Kings Day Parade and was pleasantly surprised.

Three Kings Day Parade, Barcelona 2012

First off it’s a parade named after me (in Spanish it’s El Día de los Reyes)! So already we are off to a good start. Here in Barcelona the parade is incredibly artistic and multicultural. Plus they literally throw tons of candy on the spectators. It wasn’t freezing, there weren’t any drunken frat boys and the costumes, floats and interpretive dance were all top notch. Perhaps I’ve regained my youthful innocence and joy when it comes to photographing parades? In any event this week will feature some images from the parade…

Last of the First

Damaso — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:01:57 +0000

So how was your first week of 2012? For me it sure seemed a lot like 2011 I have to say. But the days are getting longer so there’s that…

Public Festival, Barcelona January 2012

Two New Postcards!

Damaso — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:07:20 +0000

I know it has been a good long while since you saw some new postcards from me but the long wait is now over!

Groundbreaking, Barcelona

You know the drill. Or maybe you don’t. So here it is: the first ten folks to send me an email with their mailing address gets a limited edition (only 100 are made) card. You don’t get to pick which one, this is all about luck baby!

Train, Bratislava

This or That

Damaso — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:34:28 +0000

Sometimes I just can’t decide….

Good thing I don’t have to…