Because the photographer discussed in this entry seems to have disappeared from the webscape, I have removed his name and web address from this entry.

I am not normally critical of other photographers. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I am fairly sensitive to criticism of my own work, and find that it upsets me when I think something of mine is of valuable artistic merit and is openly slammed, particularly if I didn’t ask for it. Secondly, I am neither a professional art critic nor a professional photography critic, so I lack the credentials to give critiques.

But sometimes some work needs to be criticized. I was thinking about this today because a fellow photographer is in the process of hiring additional photographers for the expanding business of event photography, and he is getting all kinds of applicants, many of whom are laughably unqualified; their images are mediocre and they seem to have little knowledge of the tools and demands of real professional photography.

So with that in mind, I remembered the web site of a photographer who I think is not only not particularly talented, but is also among the most arrogant and pretentious I have seen.

Let me be clear: I do not refer to myself as “master” anything, since I believe a claim of being a master is fraught with peril, particularly the peril of being a master of not being a master.

My example: (Name of Photographer). The home page of his web site claims, “(Name of Photographer) one of the leading master fine arts photographers of our time. (Name of Photographer) is known for his compelling works of the American West…” That’s quite a claim. I suppose if he is making a living through such claims, maybe he has earned the right to say he is a master. However, his work is, to me, uninspired, derivative, and redundant, and his editing in Photoshop is amateurish and immature. If you feel differently, by all means comment.

I don’t know. Maybe (Name of Photographer)’s claims are really just a form of marketing. “Wow, I bought a picture in Santa Fe from a Master Photographer!”

In looking over the shoulder of my photographer friend who is hiring, and talking with him about it, I guess what we decided we really want is less hubris and self-promotion, and more, “Here is my work. Let it speak for itself.”