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07-13-2018, 06:09 PM - 4 Likes   #1
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Wildlife photographer who lost it all

Wildlife photographer Steve Parish had it all. A multi-million dollar business, mansion, 125 staff. But then he lost it all. However, his passion for photography remains. And he uses it to tackle mental illness, his own and those of others.

Wildlife photographer Steve Parish went from mansion to shed, but has found a new focus - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

07-13-2018, 06:30 PM   #2
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Yes,it is a strange world! But I like his attitude.
07-13-2018, 07:01 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Paul the Sunman Quote
Wildlife photographer Steve Parish had it all. A multi-million dollar business, mansion, 125 staff. But then he lost it all. However, his passion for photography remains. And he uses it to tackle mental illness, his own and those of others.

Wildlife photographer Steve Parish went from mansion to shed, but has found a new focus - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
I didn't know about that. Thanks for sharing.

I'm pretty sure his calendars still come out. I'm sure to get one now.
07-13-2018, 08:38 PM   #4
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Wow. I'm glad he's been able to get his head "right". Quite a roller coaster ride for him.

07-13-2018, 09:56 PM - 1 Like   #5
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Crazy stuff. He does make good points about not being one of billions of people getting lost on the web saying "look at me". It is all to easy to let people pleasing become a source of anxiety and nueroticism.
07-14-2018, 03:53 AM   #6
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I didn't know that. Very sad. But I am glad he has got himself back together.
07-14-2018, 05:43 AM   #7
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I can see why he has been what he has been. Spirit of that is at there. Interesting. Thanks for posting this

07-14-2018, 07:14 AM   #8
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A sad but uplifting story. He found what is truly important in life and that is happiness.
07-14-2018, 07:25 AM   #9
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"I am not into recording what I see, I want to create art."

He made millions with his photography and this is how he did it. I wonder if there is a soul out there who made millions selling archival photo that while technically good had no artistic merit.
07-14-2018, 01:24 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
"I am not into recording what I see, I want to create art."

He made millions with his photography and this is how he did it.
The article made it sound like his business was built on traditional landscape and wildlife photography and that creating art (and the digital processing he's using) is a recent dramatic shift in his approach, and was not his massive money making technique.

Not that this should stop anyone from pursuing their creative vision...

---------- Post added 07-14-18 at 04:26 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Paul the Sunman Quote
Wildlife photographer Steve Parish had it all. A multi-million dollar business, mansion, 125 staff. But then he lost it all. However, his passion for photography remains. And he uses it to tackle mental illness, his own and those of others.

Wildlife photographer Steve Parish went from mansion to shed, but has found a new focus - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Interesting article, thanks for posting! Seems like quite a turnaround in his life and re-calibration of his approach.
07-14-2018, 01:37 PM   #11
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Can't say I'm a fan of the pictures he's making, judging by the samples in the article, but good luck to him.
07-14-2018, 04:30 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
"I am not into recording what I see, I want to create art."

He made millions with his photography and this is how he did it. I wonder if there is a soul out there who made millions selling archival photo that while technically good had no artistic merit.
Professional photographers do it every day for their clients. National Geographic did not pick the most artistic or stunning photographs for their articles. They picked the ones that helped tell the story.


Whether they admit it or not. Artists today who sculpt and paint owe a lot to photography. It freed them to explore whole new areas of expression. In my opinion the whole modern art movement owes it's very existence to photography. Interesting how photographers are now trying to imitate what the artists are doing.
07-15-2018, 06:29 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by BrianR Quote
The article made it sound like his business was built on traditional landscape and wildlife photography and that creating art (and the digital processing he's using) is a recent dramatic shift in his approach, and was not his massive money making technique.

Not that this should stop anyone from pursuing their creative vision...
I'm not sure why that's relevant. The guy has made millions, he's looking back on lifetime of work, this is what he sees as important. To make art.

To me his current interpretation is spot on and I'd encourage anyone to bypass the nonsense and cut to the chase.

His other advice is also worth reading. My take would be he's finally realized it was his artistic vision that was selling his images, not his subject matter.

QuoteOriginally posted by gaweidert Quote
National Geographic did not pick the most artistic or stunning photographs for their articles.

Too funny, National Geographic took the 2000 images the photographer submitted, they picked the best ten, then took the most artistic one. Your statement that they did no artistic evaluation of the images is absolutely , insane. The process is well documented. Otherwise their images would look like the photos in medical text books. I have never once seen an image in National Geographic that wasn't a piece ofart on it's own. That doesn't happen by accident. I'm really unclear as to why you even say these things. Surely, you'e aware of the difference between National Geographic and medical / biology texts. The park biologist I talk to is always complaining about the lack of composition skills of donated photos that are to be used in the park wildlife guides. He judges those images as more than illustration. And that's always been true. The fact that you are documenting something, doesn't mean you can't do it artistically. A man of your background should know that more than anyone else, not be posting hogwash like that.

I suspect that your evaluation of art was so ingrained, that you could focus on the technical, because you knew intuitively which images were good enough on an artistic level and got rid of those that weren't before you even started looking at the technical aspects of the image. Either that, or as in the case of many art directors, they ask for the Artist/photgraphers 10 best and make the final selection themselves, usingg the photographer's artistic vision to cull the images.

Last edited by normhead; 07-15-2018 at 06:43 AM.
07-15-2018, 11:07 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
I have never once seen an image in National Geographic that wasn't a piece ofart on it's own.
To quote you, "Too funny" A lot of great photographs in National Geographic, but they are not all works of art. My fine arts teacher in college flat out stated that photography was not an art at all. We all know that college professors are never wrong. They tell us this all the time.


I admire the guy. He built a very successful business supplying a need. Lost it all to natural disasters and a bout of mental illness. Now he is just trying to find joy in what he is doing. Good for him.
07-15-2018, 03:54 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
I'm not sure why that's relevant. The guy has made millions, he's looking back on lifetime of work, this is what he sees as important. To make art.
You said that he made his millions using this "I am not into recording what I see, I want to create art." viewpoint. It wasn't, and I didn't think it was irrelevant to point this out. Following your creative artistic drive first and foremost while still managing to bank serious coin at the same time would be grand, but that wasn't the case here.

QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
To me his current interpretation is spot on and I'd encourage anyone to bypass the nonsense and cut to the chase.
Absolutely. Follow your creative vision.
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