Are you a trustafarian rich kid...

Hmmm… haven’t met too many of those around these parts….

red sox got Gagne

the red sox should get the clap

as for the rest of the LS description:
1. I dont have a rangefinder, much as I would like to have one, but bargain basement Leicas and Voigtlanders are bit hard to come by these days, even on eBay.
2. My parents arent rich
3. I dont have a trust fund; I do have a large distrust fund, peopled mainly by politicians and my relatives
4. I turned 49 a week ago, so I guess the kid part doesnt really apply to me
5. I work for a living, said work barely supporting my photography addiction
6. Never been to a war zone, unless you count being at my brother’s house on Super Bowl Sunday when my now ex sister in law somehow snagged the remote and changed the channel to watch An Officer and a Gentleman. Love lifted her up and damn near threw her out the nearest window.
7. I have my own credit cards, my father having passed away in 2004. I suppose I could still use his cards, but why would I bother? However, we did bury him wearing one of my favorite ties. The funeral director was supposed to get it back for me after the wake, but he must have forgotten and now not only am I out one father, I am out one good Italian silk tie; I’m not sure which fact annoys me more.
8. My idea of vicarious is buying an extra gallon of $3.15 gasoline when I’m already up to $27.89 on the pump. It may be nothing to you, but it gives me a positive chill whenever I think about it.

what’s a red sox?

David, red sox are the symbol of the legions of Satan.

hahaha, funny thread

um, some of us have jobs

Akaky, thank you. It’s always good to have a well-informed and objective guide. Would you like to be my fixer? Sorry to hear about your tie.

Red Sox rule!

seriously, though, it does seem like there are a good number of people who seem to travel alot but dont seem to actually be published or anything. credit cards? it’s a mystery!!! thus the “trustafarian” label

how do you respond?

offer a psychologist, the person who wrote this is evidently fighting with him/herself.

well, it is a stupid response even if it does raise (jealousy?) questions

hey now, at least they share the love!

all photos copyright e. mcdonald

wtf?

“trstafarian”? What complete and utter rubbish.
I am completely broke, I have no trust fund and never did. I do travel quite a bit, but never to a war zone (unless you consider Kingston, Jamaica). I have worked for years as a staff photographer, chief photographer, photo editor at various newspapers – so my work has been published. I have sacrificed much to choose this way of life, which I would not trade for a barrel full of money and a cushy life. If anyone is jealous and wishes that they too could travel about and do photography for a living – then all I can say is just do it. You don’t have to have a trust fund, you just have to work – like in any other field – and make your way. It is not easy, but what worth doing is?
Whoever is labeling people on this site needs to get a clue. There are way more pressing issues out there.

Erica
Is that the last LS get together at Woodstock?

http://johnwreford.com

I have to laugh, really. I don’t know much about Editorial Photographers of the UK, but that is a sad sad first impression.

oh come on, it’s just the response of one person. saying that Ed. Photo. of UK gives you a sad first impression is using the EXACT same logic as the person saying that LS is a collection of “trustafarians” really now…..

“the red sox should get the clap” ….. (gasp)

o, daddie-o ;))))))))) cool thread….see again the world of internet forums is a nation (tundra?) of insight ;))))))) including, at times, our own cuddly place we sometimes call home ;)))

well, okay, i’ll fess up:

Im a 42 year old “trustafarian wanna-be” who, quite frankly, would LOVE to HAVE enough cashola on my credit card to buy paper to print on (let alone a family vacation for my wife and son, fuck the photography shit ;))) ….and i’d LOVE to UNLEARN all i know about rangefinders, make that rangefinders, holga’s, rollei’s, lomo’s, etc….sad to report too, that my son would also LOVE to be a trustafarian, but sadly he’s been saddled with the burden of 2 photographers for parents, sadly aint no trustfund in his future ;)))))…hopefully, instead, something else, and i dont mean a frickin’ valut of stupid books of old negatives………o, yea, that too ;))))

p.s. as to the beloved field of dreams, i think bonds should get the clap ;l))))….not the bosox (even though im a lifelong yankee)….

pps (sorry, finishing now): I think our beloved (ok, he’s one of my beloved men in history) Auggie March (why the extra g?) hit the nail on the head in his memoir dictated to bellow, and which might be useful (or not) for that bloke in the other forum, and too for the rest of us as well, here:

“…in the end there isn’t any way to disguise the nature of the knocks by acoustical work on the door or gloving the knuckles…”

trustafarian or elsewise ;)))

go fucking bluejays ! ;)))

John W.—-you should just agree with the guy. Tell him you must be trustfund trash to even apply to LS. You need an American Express Black card plus a full set of new Leica gear to even think about applying for LS. A Mercedes (McLaren) SLR is helpful, too. Oh, and be sure to tell them it’s US$1000. a year to belong to LS. And ofcourse you need the Rolex Daytona watch, crocodile loafers and lizard skin covered body armour. Nothing but the best for members of LS. And most importantly nobody over 30 years of age.

haha, yes bob. i mispelled my own name. mustve been from the jangled nerves coming off the dan ryan onto fullerton ave that did it.

i hear ya Augie ;)))))…and you’re still one of my gods, literary or otherwise :))))

Hey if anyone finds one of these ‘trustafarians’ can you let me know?

I’m single and looking for a ‘rich kid’ to fund my credit card and buy me a leica, as I have never had one.

My parents are useless, they both died years ago!

Well, there are assholes everywhere, but I certainly don’t know any LS people who survive from trust funs. Of course I don’t know all 16,000 of them (or whatever we are up to now), but the ones I do know are a financially struggling lot.

So I think the guy who posted that reaction was either ignorant or off his meds (or both).

“the red sox should get the clap”

You can bet your ass I’ll be clapping this October when they do it again.

Gotta admit, Gagne and Papelbon makes for one mighty quiver of closers.

Bob. WTF?? A Yankee fan. Consider that open invitation revoked. Or at least on probation (double secret of course)

Don’t forget Okajima and Dice-K!

Maybe this is why some of my clients pay me so late… they figure I don’t really need the cash. I wish that were true! I still wouldn’t trade this job for anything.

i’m a studentloanafarian

“…trustafraian rich kids playing at vicarious internet-war-tourism with daddy’s credit card and a rangefinder…”

The photographer that comes to mind that would have ever best fit that description is Cartier-Bresson.

It’s easy to be dismissive of groups of people.

I suspect the writer overheard a teenager use the word “trustafarian” and was delighted to find an opportunity to use it. As this idiot is tittering to himself over his cuppa, pleased with how clever he is, there are Light Stalkers out there getting shot at and kidnapped and killed. It was a rude and inappropriate thing to say.

I wouldn’t be of much use in a war zone, but I’m happy to teach people who are how to encrypt their images and scp them safely home or get their pictures off a failing hard drive or provide a private proxy through which they can safely use the Internet from wherever they happen to be.

I’m no rich kid. I’ve been supporting myself since I was eighteen, doing jobs that others wouldn’t. If I buy a nice rangefinder, it’s because I worked to earn the money for it and you can be damn well certain I understand how to use it.

lol..retarded dumbass…

I have got the rasta but am not Rastafarian nor trustafarian… I have some nice different format rangefinders that I bought with sweating from my ass.

I choose to live as an independent photographer not as an “editorial photographer” who would shot for corporations or any client.

send my “d..k rash” wishes to him..

Lisa, you need a help I guess :)))

Ah Ali lovey, I guess you’re not volunteering ‘cos you just said you’re not even a Rastafarian!

Thats no good to me, I mean whose gonna pay for my hairstylist if I go to Kabul?

Lol :))) Kabul, credit cards, rich kid over there or anywhere, and plus rastas…what a dream :))))

do what I did…you gotta do your own dread locks by yourself.

I mean how am I gonna be Rastafarian as an atheist dude? Himm, I think I am half of it since I listen father Bob Marley…

ok?

Christ, I’d say the total gross debts of the Lightstalker membership is higher than then the national debts of some small countries. If I took the minus number off my financial situation, I’d still be poor.

I was on the EP UK mailing list for a while recently. It seemed to be largely made up of people complaining about how the internet and camera phones were destroying their livelihood. I’m too busy trying to make a living to listen to that kind of thing every day…

I have to agree with Dave. I am a former member of EPUK too and know one of the founders well. It’s not his fault that the EPUK forum got joined by several idiots. I left EPUK because I got fed up with the vicious and cynical backbiting and bitching on there. Also I got flamed for daring to disagree with an idiot poster who said that only local photographers in a disaster zone should be there and foreign photographers should stay at home watching it on the TV.

I’ve found that LS is generally much friendlier although there is the odd idiot or two and those suffering from weird superiority/delusional complexes lurking in the background,(you know who you are!!), as in any forum.

The cretin who posted that on EPUK isn’t even worth responding too. No doubt they all had a good laugh about it then went down to the pub for a bit more bitching.

Despite my surname, I’m just a photographer trying to make ends meet like everyone else. My dad would love to bail me out from a trustfund but as he is a former resident of Father Hudsons Homes and from a working class background that wasn’t an option. I’d love to tool around with a rangefinder Leica M8 but unless I win the lottery
all my photos will be taken on my battered Nikons. So up yours EPUK !!

funny funny funny. go SOX!

“Actually you might try Lightstalkers as a source of trustafraian rich kids playing at vicarious internet-war-tourism with daddy’s credit card and a rangefinder they barely understand”

I’m a studentloan-&mom&pop-give-me-money-afarian that can’t even apply for a credit card and still uses his banged up Nikon D70 for lack of funds for anything better and for whom Leica’s equal some galaxy far far away. I would like to go to a warzone one day though, but not for tourism but for letting people see what we do to each other.

www.rutgherpruijm.com

Would anyone in this thread actually admit to being one? :-)

Not me. Considering a job at Home Depot or something…or regular visits to a plasma bank…

Look if I was Paris Hilton I’d let the fucking world know!

(HMMM…. Guess thats what she does for a living really….)

Would anyone in this thread actually admit to being one? :-)

ha! well I would. Give me a loaded trustfund and a whole sleeve of creditcards and a rich daddy anytime. I think that a whole bag of M8’s, 50 f/1.0 35, 1.4 etc etc. will surely compensate for the nasty comments jealous people will throw at me.

I think I resent being called an odd idiot with a delusional complex. I do not have a delusional complex; I live in a split level house. As for Bonds, when he and his asterisk finally make it to Cooperstown, I trust that the plaque will at least have the common decency to give Bonds’ pharmacist an honorable mention.

I am a grantafarian and I have no problem taking other people’s money (at least when there is a selection committee involved!

Hey Akaky-you must have a guilt complex. I’m afraid you don’t appear on my idiot’s radar and I certainly wasn’t referring to you :-))

“God save the Queen”

Sex Pistols

:-)) Enough of this idle banter-I’m off to use my battered old nikons on an assignment !!

I must have a guilt complex? I went to Catholic school for eight years; I dont just have a guilt complex, I have guilt simplex, duplex, complex, and apoplexiglass.

Dear all, to coin a great phrase: opinions are like assholes; everyone has one.

Let’s not forget that aforementioned member of the Editorial Photographers of the Uk who brought up the cynical and demeaning sentence to which this post is based has probably never had the smell of death from a war embedded in his very deepest memories or had some 14 year old, drugged up kid stick an AK47 in his face for no real reason.

On the issue of war photography I could not careless if a photogrpapher traveled to cover a war with money won on the Lotto, dad’s credit card or from the proceeds of selling the tiles from your own house.

The important thing is for human’s; and thus photographers; to remember is to NEVER turn our backs on the many conflicts that scare our planet for not witnessing the victims of the conflicts is to turn our backs on our very souls.

Mmm, spose that was a bit deep and off the topic.Sorry.

I’m with Kim, much better that the trust fund baby spends his/her money photographing the things that the world needs to know about, rather than sit on his/her backside getting even richer from investments in Halliburton and BAE Systems! And when they tell their rich friends what they’ve seen maybe a few more will shun the easy profits made at the expense of others.

I’m with Kim. People always ask why would you want to do such a thing, why take the risk? Well for me it’s maybe hopefully getting people to take their heads out of their asses and stop looking the other way. Their’s a lot of f*cked up stuff going on in our so called enlightened(spelling!)world.
He well if I would have a trust fund I would still be a aspiring photojournalist, but I would invest some money here and there for the future(kids are expensive, and so are Leica’s haha).

With kind regards

I wish.

“trstafarian”? What complete and utter rubbish. I am completely broke, I have no trust fund and never did. I do travel quite a bit, but never to a war zone (unless you consider Kingston, Jamaica). I have worked for years as a staff photographer, chief photographer, photo editor at various newspapers – so my work has been published. I have sacrificed much to choose this way of life, which I would not trade for a barrel full of money and a cushy life. If anyone is jealous and wishes that they too could travel about and do photography for a living – then all I can say is just do it. You don’t have to have a trust fund, you just have to work – like in any other field – and make your way. It is not easy, but what worth doing is? Whoever is labeling people on this site needs to get a clue. There are way more pressing issues out there.

I agree there, Richard. And while I wish, I had a trust fund or rich parents. I hate being in my mid-30’s and driving a Nissan Sentra. If, I were rich, then I wouldn’t be living off of pasta, or at least pasta without the lobster :)

Leica, G-d, I’d love to have a Leica, or at least shoot with one jsut once to say I’ve used a rangefinder. That’s such a dream of mine, just to curse under my breath that I effed up a shot cause I forgot about paralax.

Travel, now that’s something that can be done cheap. I’ve never made over 25k a year, and have managed to travel all over the world. Since, I refuse to use credit, I did it with cash.

First, my opinion of the Red Sox and their fans:

Second, I’m not sure why the concept of Rastafarians in Kabul is giving me such a case of cognitive dissonance, but it is. On the other hand, if the Taliban were Rastas, the war would be that much easier to prosecute; just look follow the smoke and look for the really mellow dudes at the end of the vapor trail. Maybe we could get them to give up by offering industrial sized bags of Doritos at half price; the munchies are a powerful inducement to surrender.

I’m a workafarian, though my parents are the ex-rulers of a long forgotten empire. Their fortune was made recycling bubblegum and turning it to sex toys for midgets. Other than that I get up early i go to bed late and I get paid, hopefully.

Sounds like the enlightened individual on one of the photo forums who explained to me that Cartier-Bresson’s pictures weren’t worth shit on account of his family being rich. I pointed out his opinion wasn’t worth shit on account of him being blind. P.

i like the red sox

We all have our faults, Erin

I am a member of epuk and feel a little sad that this comment has been made about Lightstalkers. Although there may or may not be some truth about some Lightstalker members being somewhat spoilt, I can’t help thinking that it doesn’t matter where you get your money from as long as your trying your best to take good pictures and getting them published.

I don’t feel people need to be ashamed that they have rich parents or a massive trustfund which helps them in their photo endeavours. Saying that if there are some rich lightstalkers here who feel stressed by the fact that they have more money than most can shake a stick at, then I can only say I am more than willing to take your money in the form of a trust fund myself. I can assure you that I will make good use of the money to travel the world and complete as many useful photographic projects mainly based on humans insatiable need to destroy the planet and each other in wars.

In the mean time take every thing said on any website forum with a pinch of salt. See you all at Perpignan those that have a trustfund can buy me a pint or two.

cheers
Rupert

I agree with Rupert; anyone wanting to salve a guilty conscience brought on by familial expoloitation of the toiling masses can start by sharing their ill-gotten pelf with the photographic proletariat here at LS. And now, a completely gratuitous photograph of a large bird.

Oh I would also like to say in defence of the EPUK photographer moaning about lucky trusafarian rich kids. As you all know it’s not easy making a living out of photography these days infact it’s debatable whether it’s really a living. But you gotta keep on striving haven’t you!
Some photographers rather than look at the positive always will look at the negative and make excuses for their failure. Blaming rich kids who turn out average photos in visually rich topically interesting environments is number one on the list for pissed off hard working editorial photographers who keep getting crap jobs for some woman’s magazine or train monthly. Whats more of an annoyance though is when the rich kids turn out really good work.
Some people are just born lucky.

I am not bitter —-honest:-)

All you lucky people don’t forget to buy me a drink at Perpignan

To Paul Hardy Carter….

I’ve spat wine (ooops – giveaway) over the table after your ‘blind’ comment :)

What the hell’s a rangefinder?

Go Cubbies!

Trust fund? Hahahahaha….I don’t think so.

Sure, I get to travel around but if I wasn’t a hustler, constantly looking for ways to make a little here, a little there, I wouldn’t be able to pay the bills. My wife has begun calling me “Mr. Sunday” because she seems to think that I live my life like every day is a Sunday and I’m always on holiday.

What she doesn’t know is that although I’m sitting on my arse a good deal of the time, while I’m doing so I’m emailing clients, organizing photos, etc., etc. Then I get to travel, pinching my pennies to do so while fighting with the magazines to make certain I’m paid.

Maybe the reason I’m so vehement about being paid and not offering freebies is because my so-called trust fund has virtually nothing in it except for the price of a loaf of bread.

I wish I was one of those (rich kids playing at vicarious internet-war-tourism with daddy’s credit card and a rangefinder)…

Would somebody tell my boss that im a trust-fund baby so i dont have to go carry lumber and bang nails while sweating my ass all day just to fund myself to get the fuck outta here and make pictures while paying off a huge mound of student debt cuz newspapers dont pay squat…..

Oh yeah, and Barry Bonds rules to all you haters out there!!! :)

What the hell’s a Cubbie?

Go The Rangefinders!

PS Akaky I love the Mr Potato Tree and all gratuitous large stork like birds.

Go Akaky!

Thank you, ma’am, and as for your question, Cubbies are an ongoing exercise in futility and those that take an interest in such things the spiritual heirs of Sisyphus.

Yup. It’s just me and my boulder.

Whatever makes you happy, Brian

Are you kidding me, money may buy you an open door, but nobody will respect you, unless your work is good.

Plus, I am sure editors love a money is no object photographer, with rates going lower and lower, why not hire out the rich guy.

Reason to hire “trustafarian” Photogs:

1. Deep pockets mean less out of pocket for the mag/newspaper.

2. Lack of never-ending whining about gear. “well if I had the money I could have got that shot with my new M8” or “if I just had the money, I could be a better photographer”

3. No wedding photog mentality

4. Usually well dressed for the awards show.

any others….

seriously though, is photography a class issue now? As for LS being a group of rich kids. Maybe so, I am sure there are a few, but as for quality of image, there are some serious players in these threads, I consider it a great honor to have access to such a place. Well worth my $10 bucks a month.

-M

What are you saying about wedding photography, if it’s to earn a little extra on the side?!

mentality not pursuit, I’ve run into quite a few shady, money hungry wedding photogs.

Good points, matt.

Remember, too, that it is completely free to be collegial with one another, and impossible to quantify the benefits. Everyone shares the responsibility to the market for charging a fair rate, and not signing away rights. Regardless of whether or not you can afford to undercut the market, or you can’t afford not to, we all have a cost of doing business and responsibility to our clients to produce high-quality work on deadline. We want clients to see why they should continue to pay industry-standard rates, or better yet, increase their rates.

It is an expensive business to be in, and hard to stay competitive on a shoe string budget. Instead of increasing the rift between the have and the have nots, get creative, make a business plan and commit yourself.

Just think, perhaps your positive attitude and ability to creatively work your way through a pinch will be what editors will like about working with you! Okay, good luck out there.

melanie (from small shitty town, USA, with two states, one very expansive desert, and a time zone away from wealth) Conner

p.s. btw, dave walsh, that was pretty funny! “If I took the minus number off my financial situation, I’d still be poor” Also, the bit about the LS accumulative debt.

Thank Melanie. I’m not quite sure if it makes sense though.

Anyone want to buy a minus number?

Actually I’m gonna start working on the power of positive thinking. I’m going to have a gaggle of offspring that will be all Trustafarians… either that, or they’ll be so abhorred by the living conditions of their parents that they’ll become sucessful stockbrokers, and I can live off the kids!

Geez, John! Great website! I LOVE the category setup. Independent and simply stated. You have my vote.

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I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study
mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and
philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture,
navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children
a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary,
tapestry and porcelain."
— John Adams
(1735-1826) Founding Father, 2nd US President
Source: in a letter to Abigail Adams, 1780
http://liberty-tree.ca/qb/John.Adams.Quote.0CAD