February 12, 2007
Who's the lucky one?
Martin Parr
I am currently staying in the Cap Ducal Hotel in Vina del Mar in Chile. This is probably the most memorable hotel I have ever stayed in. As their literature says, "We are not so much by the sea, but ON the sea." Built in 1936, it is an Art Deco-style, concrete-based liner with spectacular views from all the rooms and the restaurant that stretches over three floors. In the morning you can watch the resident seal while you sip your cafe con leche. The hotel is delightfully run down and, as you can imagine, has a loyal and interesting clientèle.
I am here because I am doing a tour of South American beach resorts in the height of summer. Two days earlier, I met a group of Chilean photographers organised by a photographer called Luis Weinstein. He circumnavigates the tricky problem of earning a living in Chile as a photographer by being a TV weather man. He works three hours a day, half the week, and is home to watch himself do the weather after the main TV news. At this most pleasant encounter, I learnt that the main gripe from the photographers is that there is no market for photography, little interest in buying prints, and the magazines are terrible.
Sound familiar?
Yes, we all believe this, even if there is a market and the magazines still give half decent commissions.
I had just come from Rio, where photographing is a real problem. The beach of Copacabana would be a delight to photograph on if you could walk around with an invisible camera. If you have a biggish camera, you have to watch every step. I was nearly arrested because a father took exception to the fact that one of his children was in the background of a shot I had taken. However, on Chilean beaches the opposite is the case - friendly, charming, not a hint of malice. It is a delight to photograph on. It reminds me of when I first started shooting in the 1970s in the UK.
So now you see the dilemma, as when I was telling my new Chilean friends how lucky they were to have the ability to shoot without hassle, they thought my envy was rather poorly founded. I come from a part of the world where you can earn a living by shooting the images you want.
Looks like you can't have it both ways.
See Martin Parr's multimedia essay "Agenda" produced by Olivia Wyatt/Magnum In Motion
Published on the Magnum Blog on February 12, 2007
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