Age of the Amateur Professional
Reading an interesting blog post the other day over at Gary Fong's site, I learned that there's a new book coming out that speaks to the heart of my topic today (I tried looking for the title but I can't seem to find it). We are living in a new age...one in which everyone is trying to find a way to make money doing everything. All of the amateurs out there are trying to go pro..making a new category - the Amateur Professional.
It's like this...let's look at the world of photography. Have you gone on vacation or even just taken a walk through a beautiful park lately? It seems that everywhere we go there are people with new, snazzy cameras snappin' away at whatever they see. People are shooting nature shots, landscapes, architecture, sporting events, abstracts of who knows what, sunsets, sunrises, solar eclipses...well, you get the picture. And because of the technology found in everything from their little Point-and-shooters to the big-time dSLRs their pictures are turning out rather good. What now?
Well, today's amateur professional has learned that through the power of the world wide web they can sell their images online. There are online companies providing royalty-free "e-kiosks" where you can upload your stuff and entice prospective buyers to pony up a few bucks. Others might be trying their hand at wedding photography or trying to get aunt Rita's family to come over to their makeshift portrait studio for a session. These folks have caught the ripe scent of the American dollar and they're going after it, buddy!
The problem is that the lines between the amateur and the professional are becoming hazier and hazier. The market (and certainly not just photography) is becoming saturated with a sea of suppliers which of course begins to lower demand for the service. Something else that seems to, at least arguably, occur is that the overall quality of the service in general degrades. A market which previously was made up of mostly highly qualified, trained individuals loses ground when it experiences an influx of less qualified, less trained wanna be's. See what I mean?
Like I said...this is definitely not just in the world of photography. Think about it. Everyone is a writer as well...you can't even begin to count the number of blogs (yeah, me too) in existence these days. I subscribe to around 15 myself). It seems like about 50% of Americans have published a book. Have you been to Barnes and Noble lately (I haven't)?? You can even see this phenomenon in the church as seminaries are producing more and more ready-made preacher boys...prepared to be inserted into the nearest empty pulpit.
I'm not quite sure what my point to all of this is...it's just very interesting to me. Honestly, I find myself falling prey to all of this stuff as well. I love photography, so what do I do? Instead of allowing myself to just enjoy the photos I take, I begin daydreaming of how to make a buck off of my hobby. I love to write and teach. So, invariably I end up thinking about what it would be like to write a book one day (what could I possibly write about that hasn't already been covered??).
I think that in this age, as so many amateurs are trying to pass as pros, I am becoming more and more appreciative of the true artists. Be it the musicians that are doing more than just looking the "right way"...or the photogs like Cole Thompson whose heart can be seen in his art...or the author who pours his soul out on the page because if he didn't he would be unable to go on...these are the people that are beginning to stand out even more to me these days.
The lesson in this for me is to stop thinking so much about what affect I might be able to have on the world...be that through some brilliant, earth shattering book or through some beautiful picture someone might get to hang on their wall. Maybe God will use me in that way somewhere down the road...maybe. But until that time I need to focus on now...today...how the passions and joys He's given me can be used to touch the people around me as well as to continue drawing me closer to Christ.
In short...there are already more professional everythings in the world but there's only one Michael Benjamin Shattuck. To be working to become the next Ansel Adams (or even Cole Thompson) or Brian McLaren would be shortchanging what God is trying to do with me. Make sense? Good.
It's like this...let's look at the world of photography. Have you gone on vacation or even just taken a walk through a beautiful park lately? It seems that everywhere we go there are people with new, snazzy cameras snappin' away at whatever they see. People are shooting nature shots, landscapes, architecture, sporting events, abstracts of who knows what, sunsets, sunrises, solar eclipses...well, you get the picture. And because of the technology found in everything from their little Point-and-shooters to the big-time dSLRs their pictures are turning out rather good. What now?
Well, today's amateur professional has learned that through the power of the world wide web they can sell their images online. There are online companies providing royalty-free "e-kiosks" where you can upload your stuff and entice prospective buyers to pony up a few bucks. Others might be trying their hand at wedding photography or trying to get aunt Rita's family to come over to their makeshift portrait studio for a session. These folks have caught the ripe scent of the American dollar and they're going after it, buddy!
The problem is that the lines between the amateur and the professional are becoming hazier and hazier. The market (and certainly not just photography) is becoming saturated with a sea of suppliers which of course begins to lower demand for the service. Something else that seems to, at least arguably, occur is that the overall quality of the service in general degrades. A market which previously was made up of mostly highly qualified, trained individuals loses ground when it experiences an influx of less qualified, less trained wanna be's. See what I mean?
Like I said...this is definitely not just in the world of photography. Think about it. Everyone is a writer as well...you can't even begin to count the number of blogs (yeah, me too) in existence these days. I subscribe to around 15 myself). It seems like about 50% of Americans have published a book. Have you been to Barnes and Noble lately (I haven't)?? You can even see this phenomenon in the church as seminaries are producing more and more ready-made preacher boys...prepared to be inserted into the nearest empty pulpit.
I'm not quite sure what my point to all of this is...it's just very interesting to me. Honestly, I find myself falling prey to all of this stuff as well. I love photography, so what do I do? Instead of allowing myself to just enjoy the photos I take, I begin daydreaming of how to make a buck off of my hobby. I love to write and teach. So, invariably I end up thinking about what it would be like to write a book one day (what could I possibly write about that hasn't already been covered??).
I think that in this age, as so many amateurs are trying to pass as pros, I am becoming more and more appreciative of the true artists. Be it the musicians that are doing more than just looking the "right way"...or the photogs like Cole Thompson whose heart can be seen in his art...or the author who pours his soul out on the page because if he didn't he would be unable to go on...these are the people that are beginning to stand out even more to me these days.
The lesson in this for me is to stop thinking so much about what affect I might be able to have on the world...be that through some brilliant, earth shattering book or through some beautiful picture someone might get to hang on their wall. Maybe God will use me in that way somewhere down the road...maybe. But until that time I need to focus on now...today...how the passions and joys He's given me can be used to touch the people around me as well as to continue drawing me closer to Christ.
In short...there are already more professional everythings in the world but there's only one Michael Benjamin Shattuck. To be working to become the next Ansel Adams (or even Cole Thompson) or Brian McLaren would be shortchanging what God is trying to do with me. Make sense? Good.
posted by Michael Shattuck at
3:32 AM
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