Can you imagine that? And to make the matter even worse, I don’t post much on social networking sites or anywhere else. I’ve been so busy working, supporting my family and adapting to the lifestyle in a new country that I completely forgot to communicate. It’s going to be my New Year’s resolution, to start posting. I will even try to cover the key events that happened since my arrival to Canada in winter 2007. And I’ll try to keep them illustrated, I am a photographer after all. Don’t expect to see many photos of myself, I am behind the camera at all times But there should be plenty to look at, fashion, fine art, nature, and hopefully to read about.

I’d like to thank and give a big hug to everyone who worked with me during these four years. You’ve been amazing. Hardworking and creative. Let’s do more magic together. I believe we all gained valuable knowledge and experience by working as a strong team.

Much has happened in the photo industry during these 4 years, many significant changes that brought excitement, uncertainty and frustration. Numerous companies and photographers went out of business or had to reinvent themselves. Rise and fall of stock photography. Financial crisis that resulted in budget cuts, and consequently, in lower image licensing fees. Groundbreaking technologies that left many publishers and advertising agencies wonder if they have to abandon print and switch to digital, and right after, if they should replace still imagery with motion video. Technologies that gave everyone a fair chance to be a photographer, a videographer or a self-published writer, but at the same time creating, never seen before in these industries, competition.

It seems that we’ve got all the power we need to be creative, and this year should finalize all the substantial changes that has happened. We will never get back to where we were before the changes, but the old values remain. The print is already coming back with a new force, bringing digital publications as an addition, not a replacement. Advertisers and publishers realized that motion video is not a magic pill, but it can be a valuable addition to still imagery in certain applications. A good photograph can communicate an idea in an instant, and an instant is usually all the time that potential customers are willing to give you to persuade them.

And creative talents are embracing the fact that they don’t have to be professionals anymore in order to create, to market themselves, to get noticed and be published. For most it will be a hobby, for some, a full-time job. We can’t stop crowd sourcing, but we can be distinctive from the crowd. It’s easy to follow somebody’s path and do what’s already been done, but it’s of little value to the society and to your own growth as an artist. I look forward to seeing more fresh and never-done-before ideas this year and I hope that I am not the only one who is tired of seeing artists copying each other and recreating what’s already been done over and over.

That’s been a long post. I never though I could write that much. You can kick me the next time you see me if it was boring

New inspirations to everyone in 2012! See you all soon. And a big thanks to you!

Alex
alexmaxim.ca

PS
Whether you like my posts or not, feel free to comment. I am open to your support and criticism. 

Photography © Alex Maxim http://alexmaxim.ca. Unlicensed use is prohibited.