Nachtwey’s burden
12 Dec
I just have to say that the antagonism shown toward James Nachtwey for his posting in search of an unpaid intern is just ridiculous. The main jibe thrown at him is that for some who works to bring exploitation and conflict to light in hopes of bringing about change, not paying an intern while requiring them to be highly skilled is hypocritical and exploitative. Threads like that really disgust me. Tearing viciously into James Nachtwey of all people for looking for an intern! He’s asking someone to make HIS PRINTS and do some post, not dig in a coal mine, for god’s sake! Like his work or not, it’s still totally uncalled for. (Fortunately, there’s some reasonable comments over at The Online Photographer.)
You can easily file this one under “Overblown Internet Drama” but I think it raises a good question of what an internship is. Is it a job? Or is it a class? It’s very difficult for me to view a chance to observe Nachtwey at work as exploitation. That’s some strange exploitation there. It’s like expecting other people to pay for the privilege of educating you.
Now, I am one to believe that education should be free, but I don’t think I’d go so far as to say that the educators should pay the students to show up. And that’s what this really is – not a job but a practicum class. Is it a job where they stick someone in a closet and tell you to do 10 straight hours of post? Or is there an opportunity to learn, to speak to the man himself? Those are things you cannot tell from the ad.
At the least, it’s a chance to meet a photographer, possibly make a good impression and get to know some other people in the field. Some forms of compensation aren’t monetary, but they are in fact probably worth more, will lead to a living down the line with some patience. You’ve gotta be retarded to think getting paid peanuts to work for some no name photographer is better than getting paid nothing to work for Nachtwey.
Not to mention he’s asking for 3 days a week, so the intern could conceivably find a part time job those other 4 days of the week… If you really believe in wage reform, then use your work to promote those ideas, but in the meantime, any aspiring photojournalist in the area who has free time would be insane not to jump at the chance.
And I don’t buy the “highly skilled” labor in exchange for nothing argument either. Yes, knowing Photoshop basics, Lightroom, scanning and ICC profile management are skills, but damn, do you know any aspiring photographer serious enough to apply for internships who doesn’t have those skills?
It’s certainly no excuse to say, “well, everyone else uses unpaid interns,” but it seems to me that not paying interns is a not-so-pretty way of weeding out the people who aren’t 100% dedicated, of giving those who really want it a crack at a special opportunity. I was watching Inside the Actor’s Studio with Renee Zellweger while making dinner the other day and she said that at one point, while going to call backs, she had all of $12 in the bank and couldn’t even get that out since it’s less than the minimum $20 that the ATM dispenses. In an ideal world everyone is paid well for their time, but what can a person do if the field is so competitive that people are willing to do work for free, if others are simply willing to endure more than you are?
UPDATE: Jamie is now asking industry folk as well as Nachtwey studios to weigh in on this for future posts. Might be very interesting!
While the commentary on this post came at an unexpected and surprising level, I believe this speaks to greater industry issues that need to be addressed directly.
Therefore, I have decided to invite industry leaders in a series of postings over the next week to write posts that deal specifically with the issues you all have discussed. I have invited the heads of major publications, professional organizations and independent photographers to respond to this topic is a formal and educational discourse.
