It used to be that this kind of access would sell tons of magazines and now look what’s happening. http://flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/
Found it on Jackanory.
Obama Has A Flickr Photostream
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This is really interesting. I think some photographers who in the past have sneered at Flickr will finally start to re-examine it’s roll in photography publishing on the web.
Flickr has it’s flaws, but I think photographers who want to succeed in New Media are completely foolish to ignore that audience.
@BryanF, I totally agree with you.
I’m not saying that traditional media and the traditional way of doing things is completely dead … but I have seen that since the emergence of digital that doing any kind of business has changed in the world of photography & photographic products.
There is just too much ease of use; access to; too much instant news; and very little left for traditional photo sessions (even those of 60 seconds) simply because there is no need for them anymore.
On the other hand, good for David Katz to have such a loyal client as President Obama. It’s good to be trusted and have access.
That’s pretty awesome. Not that I am a big Flickr dude but its crazy that we just found out about it now.
it’s a shame the photos are so bad, though; what a historic moment that could have been captured so much better!
I saw this while on Obama’s campaign website. I wish the elected president would edit his selections a bit, there are a lot of marginal photos to sort through up there.
@Nels Nelson,
It’s the raw feed so you could go in and make an edit then publish a story on your website.
What if all events had photographers hired to provide a raw feed of images so bloggers could produce stories with pictures? That would be an awesome development for everyone (except traditional media).
@A Photo Editor, excellent point. which raises the question, what is the roll of new media photography editors? and maybe more importantly, how do photographers get compensated if their photographs have legs on the web? what if a blogger makes an essay from the raw feed that drives enormous traffic to their blog?
@A Photo Editor,
I think that is a wonderful idea! (I especially think its wonderful because I started off as an event photographer and I can practically do it in my sleep) There must be a way to market this… and then, since you’re risking a lot with the cc licensing, you would have to be paid a lot too… I feel so vunerable now with the easy-to-steal-ness of internet photos, but I digress… I really really like that idea.
I’d have to agree with ‘a critic’.
Such a historic night should’ve been captured with much better quality.
Scout Tufankjian has done such a great job documenting the campaign. I wonder why she wasn’t the one to capture these moments.
http://www.scouttufankjian.com/main.php
Obama’s campaign run was brilliant. He created a massive following (i.e., a fan base) through a medium that is largely free once the infrastructure was developed. He was able to use this fan base to promote his message at every corner with electronic messages on Flickr and also Youtube, where he also has an account.
Photographers, the media, and of course, the GOP should be paying attention, though I hope the latter does not. By the way, he’s also on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BarackObama
I guess community organizers do know something after all, and they probably even know how to hire a good plumber…
@Tim, i think the intimacy of the moment might trump a deficiency in quality in this situation, but yes, i would agree that perhaps another vision might have been more revealing.
Scout’s work is fantastic.
Wow. Behind every transformational historical moment there’s a family. Too bad there’s not always a photographer who can focus his camera.
Raw feed or not, these pictures should be of higher technical quality.
Jonathan
An interesting footnote is that the Flickr images have a Creative Commons license – which in this case prohibits commercial use and a few other uses
wow, nice try, but bad photos.. too bad!
this isn’t exactly news — that barack obama has a flickr stream. (he has been one of my flickr ‘contacts’ since january or thereabouts…)
and to all of you critics up there, including “a critic,” you’ve all clearly missed the point, which is : BARACK OBAMA HAS A FLICKR STREAM.
it’s so not about the photography, and i’m sure it was never supposed to be about the Photography (with a capital P)… after all, he’s not claiming –or even striving– to be a ‘photographer.’ but he was and is striving to be connected, to be human, to be of/for the people, et cetera and forth. having a flickr stream was just one more facet of obama’s ability to connect, to be attuned to communities and what’s actually happening on the ground, and it’s yet another testament to his community organizing skills. being on flickr, regularly uploading photos of himself and his campaign, and adding other flickr-ers to his list of contacts was just another brilliant way of connecting with an audience of would-be supporters.
imagine george bush or john mccain having a flickr stream — a real one, with silly, poorly executed snapshots of themselves and their campaign workers and volunteers. ha! i doubt they would have the smarts, the savvy or the guts to do it.
i’m not on facebook or myspace myself, but i wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if obama has a facebook and/or myspace page either.
i never cease to be amazed by how out-of-touch/tune ‘real’ photographers and photography industry people are with the world of flickr…
I, for one, look forward to Barack Obama doing a 365 project. ;)
@jcyrai,
ha! that would be hilarious. the man does have a sense of humor…
cynthia:
you surely must be joking. obama himself has nothing to do with uploading the images to his flickr page. it’s quite obviously operated by his staff and staff photographers.
it’s an offense to photojournalists everywhere that such a historic moment was captured in a completely incompetent way. especially when such talent was out on the road with him for nearly two years.
it isn’t news that he has a flickr page. he also has a facebook page, myspace page, and his campaign covers every other available social networking application.
@a critic,
i’m wondering if you actually read what i wrote…since my very first line reads, “this isn’t exactly news — that barack obama has a flickr stream.”
and yeah, i didn’t really think that obama himself was taking all those [50,000+] photos and uploading them to flickr (i might be a girl, but i’m not that gullible).
but the fact that he allowed his staff and volunteers to do all that stuff brought things down the level ‘of the people.’ and, as i also said, i think it was a brilliant move/way to connect with an audience of potential supporters.
it seems to me like there were plenty of photojournalists and ‘real’ editorial photographers who got to cover obama’s campaign for the presidency. (i don’t know about you, but i’ve seen some photographers’ sites…not to mention all the magazine covers and other press coverage…) as i see it, the flickr stream is something else altogether, and it was never meant to take the place of ‘real,’ quality photography.
unless you’re saying that it’s an “offense to photojournalists everywhere” that other types of photographs were even allowed to be taken and/or made public (?).
but that strikes me as oddly anachronistic –or something!?– when we live in a world where practically everyone walks around with the ability to produce images all the time…either because they have a digital camera, or simply because they have a cell phone (or an iphone)…
David Katz’s shots are great. Most of the other shots I have seen from the campaign (as touted by other posters) are ordinary, People magazine stuff.
@rodinol,
“David Katz’s shots are great. Most of the other shots I have seen from the campaign (as touted by other posters) are ordinary, People magazine stuff.”
Are you serious?
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