Leica Blog Posted January 11, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 11, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Invitation to submit entries for the ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ photographic competitionPhotographers wishing to take part may submit their entries online from 15 January to 1 March 2011 Read more... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Hi Leica Blog, Take a look here Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011 Invitation. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
biglouis Posted January 22, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 22, 2011 Invitation to submit entries for the ‘Leica Oskar Barnack Award’ photographic competitionPhotographers wishing to take part may submit their entries online from 15 January to 1 March 2011 Read more... I have to say that each year I read the rules for this competition I feel a little more insulted. The requirement that only 'professional' photographers submit their portfolio is poor marketing. Would Leica prefer it that I and thousands of other serious non-professionals not use their products because we are not professional photographers? I wonder how long the company would survive if this was the case... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinsiam Posted February 1, 2011 Share #3 Posted February 1, 2011 But what is exactly a 'professional photographer'? Is it somebody who works as a photographer? If so, what does 'work' mean? Does it mean 'make money'? If a professional photographer is somebody who photographs for money, then what about the surgeon who once in a while manages to sell a print? Or somebody who does it for money but regularly fails to make any? Or does it maybe mean somebody who photographs full time? If so, should this person present a contract that states that photography is his only/main profession? 'Professional photographer' could also mean somebody who knows how to use a so-called 'professional camera', I guess? But what if Salgado posts a photo taken with an X1 in auto mode, then? Doesn't make any sense to me. So maybe somebody who uses whatever camera in a professional way? Wow, this is not going to end here... Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 1, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 1, 2011 Yes it is. A "Professional Photographer" is clearly defined as one who makes most or all of their living from photography. It's not rocket science. That is the preserve of "Rocket Scientists" whom I would fervently hope are all professionals by default. Some of us are "Amateurs" by both choice and inclination, and wear the appelation proudly. It is as much a state of mind as a "tag" Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 1, 2011 Share #5 Posted February 1, 2011 But what is exactly a 'professional photographer'? You earn your living from taking photographs, i.e. it's your job or 'profession'. Like a professional footballer, as opposed to someone who has the odd kickabout down the park, or plays sunday league (often displaying a higher degree of skill and commitment!). Then you have the semi-pro of course...... I've taken the odd wedding/function and sold some individual prints but that doesn't make me a professional as I earn my living from something else. I can see Leica wanting to promote their brand to professionals, and associate themselves with professional photographers, as many aspiring amateurs will consider a 'good' camera one that pro's use. It would seem more sensible for Leica to open the Oskar Barnack award to all, or at least have a 'non professional' catagory, given that their main market these days is the amateur. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted February 3, 2011 Share #6 Posted February 3, 2011 The requirement that only 'professional' photographers submit their portfolio is poor marketing. I'm not so sure. The Barnack Award is meant to showcase genuine talent - usually youngish career photographers who may be the next "big thing". Being associated with the award gives Leica a certain amount of kudos that they don't get by being chummy with B-list celebrities. If the organisers opened the award up to all photographers, they are going to be wasting a lot of people's time - including their own. The judges are looking for a portfolio of coherent work (probably part of a longer term international scope project) and not semi-random collections of street shots, tree stumps, rusting VW beetles or glamour shots. In truth, the award is isn't even open to all professionals but only a small subset. It isn't going to be won by a wedding, event or architectural photographer but only by a previously published and/or exhibited photojournalist - the kind who will have recently had some quirky work shown somewhere like Arles or Perpignan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted February 6, 2011 Share #7 Posted February 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well, it is interesting. I was looking around the internet and came across several competitions. Each one has a professional catergory and a non-professional category. I've only ever entered two photography competitions in recent years and one was open to all, the other the IPA competition has parallell sections for both professionals and amateurs who are equally celebrated in their achievements. To my mind, this is just another example of how Leica is largely out of touch with its customer base. I don't believe they are premeditatedly managing this competition to create an aura for their cameras which encourage amateurs to emulate professional users. I do think, like a lot of their marketing activities, it is out of touch with the majority of their customers. LouisB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkie Posted February 16, 2011 Share #8 Posted February 16, 2011 How about semi-professionals? - people who get paid for their work but do it as part of their creative arsenal, who also do other creative pursuits like painting, designing, inventing Lets get some clarity on this. Would Leica's Tina Wiesner (if you're reading this) like to comment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfage Posted March 1, 2011 Share #9 Posted March 1, 2011 The way I see it is: I sell prints to people. I have invested thousands of dollars in to the equipment that allows me to do this. I am also represented by a gallery. When I sell prints, it is by default, a profession. I used to own a gallery. I was lucky and got out when the crash hit. I am waiting for an opportune commercial space to resign a lease upon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted March 1, 2011 Share #10 Posted March 1, 2011 A "Professional Photographer" is clearly defined as one who makes most or all of their living from photography.. That may be true for your country. In mine, a "professional photographer" could also be one who has learned the profession of a photographer and is thereby certified to be a photographer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfage Posted March 2, 2011 Share #11 Posted March 2, 2011 That may be true for your country. In mine, a "professional photographer" could also be one who has learned the profession of a photographer and is thereby certified to be a photographer. It's similar to the title "professional" composer. If you have written for everything from electroacoustic to solo or chamber works, all the way up to orchestra... and charge money to do it (which of course, means someone will PAY you to do it)... then you are a composer. ... and yes, there is an element of training. But, of course, you can't write for orchestra and not know what you're doing. You'll get caught, pretty quickly, in front of 70 people. It's pretty impressive to see how little time it takes to make 70 people furious So yes, in that context, it's the same here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmu Posted March 11, 2011 Share #12 Posted March 11, 2011 Anyone else having a problem that your set has not been uploaded to the gallery? I e-mailed them, no answer... It's 12 days since I completed my submission. EDIT: And of course, it is online seconds after posting this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted March 14, 2011 Share #13 Posted March 14, 2011 How about semi-professionals? - people who get paid for their work but do it as part of their creative arsenal, who also do other creative pursuits like painting, designing, inventing I'm sure the 'status' will be fine if you have a good enough portfolio (the kind that is going to be exhibited at major photography festivals and/or printed in a decent - not self-published - magazine or book). There aren't going to be any hard and fast rules. The competition organisers are simply trying to set the bar high enough to keep the judging process manageable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgarangelone Posted March 19, 2011 Share #14 Posted March 19, 2011 Anyone else having a problem that your set has not been uploaded to the gallery? I e-mailed them, no answer... It's 12 days since I completed my submission. I have entered the competition, place my portfolio, to find out that the website did not receive the images, despite the fact that the website reported that the images were successfully entered. I went to see my images weeks later and my images were no longer there. I email the person responsible for the competition, and she sent me an email stating that she was sorry, but my images were never received . I reply I was willing to uploaded again, and I got a reply stating "sorry, try next year." As you may realize I am not happy with the answer I got. I do not know what the problem is, I have entered Hasselblad Masters, Pix Photographie, Black and White Magazine, Spider awards, etc, etc, never a problem. So, I am done, good lack to all the photographer that were successful in entering the competition. I think Leica should be a little more responsible and respectful with photographers that are willing to spend the time and effort to scan, resize, and prepare the images to meet the requirements. Ed http://www.edgarangelone.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted March 28, 2011 Share #15 Posted March 28, 2011 Anyone else having a problem that your set has not been uploaded to the gallery? I e-mailed them, no answer... It's 12 days since I completed my submission. I have entered the competition, place my portfolio, to find out that the website did not receive the images, despite the fact that the website reported that the images were successfully entered. I went to see my images weeks later and my images were no longer there. I email the person responsible for the competition, and she sent me an email stating that she was sorry, but my images were never received . I reply I was willing to uploaded again, and I got a reply stating "sorry, try next year." As you may realize I am not happy with the answer I got. I do not know what the problem is, I have entered Hasselblad Masters, Pix Photographie, Black and White Magazine, Spider awards, etc, etc, never a problem. So, I am done, good lack to all the photographer that were successful in entering the competition. I think Leica should be a little more responsible and respectful with photographers that are willing to spend the time and effort to scan, resize, and prepare the images to meet the requirements. Ed www.edgarangelone.com So my indictment (above) that Leica are out of touch with their customer base is expanded to include a lack of technical expertise to operate a professional competition in this day and age. I rest my case. LouisB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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