If there is one thing photojournalists are good at it’s telling stories. They’re great story-tellers and often you will find a small group of them sitting around sharing tales tall and short about their exploits and adventures in far away and sometimes less than salubrious locations.
Among the stories I have heard photojournalists tell there is one traditional tale that tends to be repeated in chorus in every photographic department I have visited. It’s a tale of woe and despair about the state of photojournalism in Australia and it’s lack of representation in Australian media.
Photojournalists love this story and we all sit in agreement with one another that it is indeed easier to grow money on trees than sell photo essays for publication in the Australian press.
Not content to resign ourselves to this tragic tale, a small group of nerdy and slightly overeducated photojournalists have banded together to fight back and take the proverbial bull by the horns by establishing an association that seeks to rewrite the tale of Australian photojournalism, one story at a time.
About ten weeks ago we began discussing our new project and today it stands in existance as The Pineapple Press Club, an organisation destined to squirt juice in the eye of the naysayers.
With our squinty eyes fixed on coordinating exhibitions, professional development opportunities, competitions and workshops, The Pineapple Press Club is set to become the pointy end of the pineapple when it comes to arguments as to the future of photojournalism in Oz.
Keep in touch with developments through our blog at www.pineapplepressclub.wordpress.com and leave a comment. We love a good argument story.
It’s easy to slip into the comfort zone on offer when working in the photographic department of a newspaper and it can really take something to step out of that routine to become a freelance photojournalist.
At a newspaper you know what is expected of you and indeed others know what they can expect from you. It can be quickly assertained which photographs will be selected for publication and which will never see the light of day and in the hectic pace of the newsroom, the demands of the day often preceed the quality of work being produced, particularly in the understaffed photographic departments of Australian newspapers.
Freelancers, by contrast are faced with the challenge of pitching stories to editors they may have a limited working relationship with, producing work for a wide variety of publications in a number of styles and coordinating their own time, transport and finances in such a way that they will make some money at the end of the day.
The MEAA’s Twelth Annual Freelancers Convention, held in Melbourne last weekend, provided an opportunity to explore the challenges facing freelance journalists and photojournalists in today’s changing media landscape and offered practical advice to professional and emerging contributors who attended from all parts of Australia.
Amongst the talented and accomplished speakers, Luis Enrique Ascui, who has been affiliated with agencies including Getty Images, The Associated Press, Reuters Atlas Press photo, and Polaris over his 20-year career, spoke to a small group of delegates delivering a wealth of information specific to photojournalism.
Luis offered an honest account of his own experience as a freelance photojournalist and back it up by providing links to web-based file sharing options and account keeping software.
Luis demonstrated his genuine interest in questions from the delegates in attendance and spoke to many of the photographers after the session was complete and continued to share a wealth of information and wisdom.
It became increasingly clear through the delegates line of questioning that much more training is required for producing content for online sources and while many journalists are already required to supply images with their copy, photojournalists should also consider producing words to compliment their images that extend beyond just captions.
A great summary of the conference is available at the ON THE ROAD, OFF THE PAGE blog where you will also find a complete list of speakers and information about the convention.
Rollerskating is not for everyone. I did try throughout my adolescence to develop some skills on skates but managed only to gather enough experience to not to humiliate myself at the Saturday skate session at Mackay Skate Bowl and Squash Centre.
I could dance to Agadoo and do the Time Warp while maintaining some degree of control and didn’t do any permanent damage to my coccyx but there was no speed skating celebrity on the rink for me.
So when I showed up in my very practical flat shoes to shoot Roller Derby girls training for their upcoming season, perhaps understandably I was immediately intimidated. Not only because most of these woman appeared to be capable of breaking me in half between two fingers but because I knew they could do it on roller skates.
So for an hour, in the heat of Queensland summer, I shot the North Brisbane Roller Girls push, shove, maneuver and charge their way around the tight derby track in 35+ degree heat, training for their first season of competition.
Each sporting the name of their derby alter ego on either their shirt or their helmet and each proudly showing their own sense of style with their choice of attire or footwear.
Training in strength, balance, strategy and speed, derby girls aren’t a novelty social club for chicks who like to roller skate. Derby girls are athletes training with a purpose and their drive to succeed was evident by their commitment to a four-hour training day that Sunday.