Talent Not Up to Par with Marketing

[tmartenst]

Anyone else think that Peter Lik is a king of marketing his photography without really having the props to get the type of love that he gets.

Great job for him to get the kind of career that he has built but the work is well inflated in my mind. He just sold a print for $1 million and it is in no way worth any where near it IMO. My comment left on the page in response to his photo poetry trying to explain the scene.

Thomas Martens (http://www.facebook.com/thomasmartens.purelightimages) Nice work and congrats. But I have to ask, wouldn't the scene not 'vanish with the morning breeze'? Seems like one could stare at that scene for hours with the same effect since the water, trees and overcast nature are all quite static. I can think of many fleeting one-time opportunities, but this isn't it in my mind.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/peter-lik-fine-art-photography/peter-lik-photograph-one-sells-for-1-million/10150381874435637

Not hating, just stating the shared obvious, I hope.

[ibenick]

Holy crap that's ridiculous. No landscape photo is worth $1 million and I can not stand when photogs get all dramatic about how impossible and unique that one picture was to take. Utter bullshit.

[oldno7]

I think there has been hundreds of pics on bogley that put his to shame.

[denaliguide]

who?

but then again, anyone who could get a million dollars for a photo is a genius.

[CarpeyBiggs]

yeah, there are lots of more talented photographers. but it seems in photography, maybe even more than other professions, the cream doesn't always rise to the top. it's the guys who can talk a big game, for sure.

[Sombeech]

I agree with you guys, but maybe it's the buyer who's the bigger fool.

[denaliguide]

I agree with you guys, but maybe it's the buyer who's the bigger fool.

valid point.

[dioscuriII]

My Mesa Arch photo is the same thing as his. He does have some good pics. But, 1,000,000 dollars. Right. Dr. Evils, "One billion dollars." Pinky to mouth.

[CarpeyBiggs]

his photos really are about as cliche as it gets, no doubt. but, they are good, don't get me wrong. just not sure they are as good as his ability to sell them... and get gigs with the weather channel, etc...

[Sombeech]

his photos really are about as cliche as it gets, no doubt. but, they are good, don't get me wrong. just not sure they are as good as his ability to sell them... and get gigs with the weather channel, etc...

Maybe he's just really good looking.

[tmartenst]

Oh, he is good looking alright. Also, often, his arms stay warmer than his torso which comes in handy for light and quick hiking. No sleeves=less weight.

40687

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Here is a video about his life. This guy says that what drew him to working with Peter was his genius and his ability to transport his audience to a place but I think it has more to do with their similar fashion sense.
http://www.tripsmarter.com/videos/play.php?vid=1087

I guess what it comes down to is....I am jealous. Good on him for making it happen and as I said in the beginning, he really is the king of photo self-marketing and it has paid off.

[Sombeech]

I think it's the hat that does the trick

[CarpeyBiggs]

i love that his show is called 100 miles from nowhere, but many of his famous images you can pretty much drive right to. even that shot above is him at dante's view, death valley. nice little parking lot for the 100 photographers to park at every morning.

[denaliguide]

I think it's the hat that does the trick

that's gay

[iceman]

OK...I'm not saying any of his photos are worth a million dollars, but I think he has some great photos and is a very talented photographer. This may sound pretty harsh, but I visited purelightimages.com and viewed every picture on your site and did not see a single photo that jumped out to me as special or great. You have been to some very nice places and have captured some nice memories of them, but I can't imagine anybody dishing out any hard earned cash for any of them. He markets his as he sees fit and you do the same. I have taken close to 50,000 pictures since I moved out west 10 years ago. They are all as good if not better than anything I saw on your website and I would never presume that any of mine are marketable. Just 1 guys brutally honest opinion.

[tmartenst]

Ouch. I wasn't comparing my photos to Peter Liks, he does this for a living, if I had the time and motivation because it was my career, I could do what he does, no doubt. It takes in order; an eye (being a photographer even without the camera), practice, patience, reading on latest trends.

I love my non photo-related career and love taking photos on the side because I love going to beautiful places anyways. Might as well bring along the camera. I started my site because I also had thousands of photos and nothing to do with them.

My point is that Peter Lik's photos do not warrant the prices he gets for them based on their talent. He has great shots, he is a good photographer, just not as good as so many amazing photographers out there (me not included, iceman). He gets the money based on his marketing and gallery lighting. As mentioned multiple times in my posts. Good on him for getting it, I'm jealous.

Thanks for looking at my site. You sound pretty good.

[asdf]

I visited purelightimages.com and viewed every picture on your site and did not see a single photo that jumped out to me as special or great.

hands down the douchiest post ever

[ibenick]

hands down the douchiest post ever

x2 :roll:

[apcronnelly]

Damn Iceman....you sound like one pissed off collector of Peter Lik's work.

[gnwatts]

What I love about this site is the lack of "I am better than you" rhetoric.
Edward Weston said it best when asked how he compared to Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Steiglitz, and I am paraphrasing: At the end of the day I ask myself if I have made strides to better myself and my craft, not whether I am better than anyone else.
Now I am not saying that I am better than iceman, just that I hope I am not as big a douchebag as he is. :)

[iceman]

Guilty as charged.
41058

[ibenick]

Guilty as charged.
41058

:roflol::roflol::roflol:

[Atlantaguy]

I've been watching the forums for some time but decided to comment on this because I've just watched my umpteenth Peter Lik promo commercial on the Weather Channel (when I was actually trying to see the weather, but still haven't). These are just my personal opinions as someone who's been into photography since I was about 12 (I'm 46 now). I sell images on stock sites and have sold some through a couple of local shops, done a few weddings (ick), but I don't like to title myself as "photographer" as it's not my primary source of income. (background finished).

That being said, I asked a friend of mine who is from Australia what she thinks about Mr. Lik. In her opinion, he's is a very talented photographer, who is also an expert at three things that make America roll: Looks, Marketing, and our fascination with "anything Australian". She thinks he's over-umphing his accent a good bit, playing up to the ladies and gay men who she knows drools over his always-exposed arms, and taking advantage of anything he can get out of capitalism in America. Her words, and she added, "Hey, it's all Hollywood, and if he figured out how to milk the cow, good for him". Apparently though, sales of his images were so poor in his native Australia, he closed shop there but per the Aussie fascination here, he's doing very very well in the States. On a personal, and "nothing to do with photography" note, she said she has heard strong rumors from her gay friends he's active in the gay party circuit, but then she's also heard he's a bit of a right-winger too - so toss a coin on that one.

My personal opinion: I know my way around cameras and have for quite some time. I'm not willing however, to teeter on the edge of a volcano, nor am I going to dangle from a helicopter or walk through 25 degree weather wearing a sleeveless shirt for 3 hours. So on that note, I guess I would say Mr. Lik is a better photographer than I, as I'm not willing to put myself in the extreme conditions that yes, sometimes you do need to get into in order to get the "money shot". He's also obviously a much more devoted person when it comes to the business and marketing side of things than I am, so in that regard too, he gets the A+. Do I think he loves himself an awful lot? Yes. Do I think he overhypes himself? Perhaps. Do I think he's a talented photographer? Yes. Do I think any photograph is worth 1 million dollars? No - unless it proves that alien life exists or that Sarah Palin is indeed, an Alien. And finally, do I now hate the Weather Channel because I can no longer actually see the WEATHER on it?? YES.

Ok. Done. Sorry my first post is a lecture and two months since this thread was last active. I just wanted to comment on him since I just saw the 114th commercial for his show. LOL

[CarpeyBiggs]

:roflol:

nice first post atlantaguy. good stuff.

[Atlantaguy]

:roflol:

nice first post atlantaguy. good stuff.

Hey, I'm just glad I didn't post a link to my portfolio. That iceman guy might have told me how bad my stuff is. LOL. :haha:

[RedMan]

Jelousy is such an ugly thing. I am happy that Peter Lik is enjoying fantastic success. Wishing him anything less is simply petty.

[WoodNewb]

I've done my fair share of hobbyist stuff as well. I've done weddings and family portraits professionally, too. It's not my main source of income either. But I have to say, anyone that has a talent and works hard to get somewhere deserves whatever they get. He's not a reality star, famous for nothing. Angie's List (http://www.angieslist.com/plumbing/) has reviews for photographers. Are we going to shun them too? People have to eat. He's very talented. Who cares what he's done to get big? He got there. Good for him.

[gnwatts]

Who's Peter Lik?.
I canceled my cable a few years ago, so no commercials on the weather channel.
He must be a decent photographer if he can convince some shmuck to fork over a million dollars.

[gnwatts]

I just took a look at his blog. Beautiful photo.
But what is truly gut wrenching is his description of his singular moment, or something to that effect. All photographs are singular moments, aren't they?

[dhoni2011]

nice pic

[maxpower]

He is definately a master of self-promotion, as is the case with many of the most succesful people (i.e. Donald Trump, Richard branson). I am not a photography expert so I cannot comment on the quality of his work over others or vice versa. I have been to one of his galleries before and must say his work is impressive, regardless of how cliche some of his shots may be. I guess he has the perfect combination of photography and marketing skills. Now days marketing seems to outweigh talent in most things. Lots of people take excellent photos, very few can market their work or themselves to rise to the top, so I commend him for that.