Julian Priester at The Bus Stop Theatre |
I do wish the Jazz Fest people would provide me with better insight into how my work is used since I really don't see much of my photography used by the festival. It would give me a bit of a thrill to not only get to take the photos but also to have them used by the festival. This will be the fourth year that I've photographed the festival and I have only ever seen them use one of my photos.
I recognize that I am the one who enjoys the photography and maybe that should be enough but I also feel like they should appreciate the work I do and it would be good to get a little recognition for that in the form of having my photos used.
This was especially highlighted this spring when I volunteered for the East Coast Music Awards. I had volunteered through the website. I had to fill out availability forms at least twice. One of the forms included a space for me to list my photography gear. Apparently, that didn't impress the individual who was organizing the volunteer photographers. After jumping through a bunch of hoops to volunteer I got an email reply which included the the line "I note that your camera and lens probably are not the greatest for really low light situations..."
Metric - Centre Stage 2017 Jazz Fest |
After a couple of days of thinking about it, because I do enjoy concert photography, I withdrew my offer of time and effort and walked away. It made me sad to do so as I felt like I let them down but I also felt like I had to send a strong message as too often a simple complaint is ignored. I hope that my stance doesn't affect my future in volunteering for such events but I was convinced that I had to "say" something.