Comments on: ‘Arrogant, absurd and offensive’

By: Skin color and the photography industry | dvafoto

Skin color and the photography industry | dvafoto — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:07:26 +0000

[...] and APhotoEditor all weighed in, and I’m sure there were others. Duckrabbit’s now added more fire to the flame…. Some of the best discussion I’ve seen on the topic occurred on [...]

By: Stan B.

Stan B. — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:34:04 +0000

Scott- I’ve never actually met the man, so I can’t really address Benjamin’s physical stature- but you really should familiarize yourself with the work he’s actually done (as you have with Mr. Knight’s) before criticizing. And in all fairness, I’m betting both have at least tried to leave this world a better place. But I really take offense to Mr. Knight’s assertion that he would have to comb the far corners of the earth if he really wanted to diversify VII. Sometimes the most well meaning of people can be blind to the fact that they can enact significant change much (much) closer to home.

By: vivek

vivek — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:23:07 +0000

…. duckrabbit

imho gary’s post on lighstalkers ws mis interpreted by you …

and as a photojournalist student frm India I agree with gary there is a expectation from senior photographers here to make

“white images fr white people”

…. if you see national geography s all roads project (fr 3rd world photographers ) winners from bangladesh three to b precise in the last 4-5 years ….. they are plainly producing “white images fr white people”

shld national geography promot such work ?

http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/featured-in-print/e3i6e35e0f4967c742abd543000b8f5d8d2

this cover page is shot by a photographer based in delhi india …..

ps the first line says gary founder of vii agency … i think it shld b co – founder … thts arrogant absurd and offensive imo ……. lol … jst kiddin …

lookin fwd to bob b’s post

By: davidwhite

davidwhite — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:25:34 +0000

“the fat and lazy blog obsessed self righteous westerner who would rather flame posts online that go out and change the status quo.”
Scott…come on…. that’s lame.
Ben’s not THAT fat.

By: Scott Robert Collins

Scott Robert Collins — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:45:37 +0000

Gary Knight is very much NOT out of touch with reality. His very job depends on finding ways to probe and explore a changing reality that this world is. VII Agency is not a strictly American endeavor, with members from Italy, France, Britain, Czech Republic, as well as the USA, it does offer a dynamic and varied view of the world. Most members have spent most of their lives away from their birth countries, working for the continuation and growth of media in nations that have traditionally had very little professional media. For people to accuse him of being out of touch “racially” because he is a white male speaks greatly of the disconnect between the reality of how the media is, and how it wants to be seen.
I understand for sake of argument that there is a disproportional amount of northern european upper-middle class males in the fields of journalism, but this has far more to do with economics that it does with race. Money has far more often been the determining factor in occupational choices. Cameras, training, travel and higher education are luxuries that most working media professionals are aware of. I see no evidence what so ever of Mr. Knight, (whom I have had the privilege of learning from) is being a “white power media elite.” Such a statement is both ignorant and foolish.
Gary himself has been teaching photography and journalism for many years now, and there are substantial discounts or nearly free workshops given to media professionals or students who reside in the countries where the studies take place. Cambodia and India are two places I know that he has had tremendous success in with regards to local photographers working on local stories.

From my understanding, Gary is IN NO WAY tolerating a white man’s only club approach to the media. Because VII agency has more men than women and no brown, black, red, yellow, purple green or fuchsia people does not mean that they are insulting minorities. (I have a problem with using the term minority, because it is a term so ethnocentric to WASP’s, who actually believe that they are a majority in the world, which is ridiculous to say the least.)

The unfortunate truth is that resorting to a banal post on a blog offers little creative solutions to a perceived problem. Instead of taking the inflammatory north american standard approach to devaluing a person by resorting to race or sex, (issues that were supposedly addressed in the 1960′s and 1970′s…) why does nobody try to look at a more global opinion for solutions.

Gary Knight and VII are not out of touch with reality. What is out of touch with reality is the fat and lazy blog obsessed self righteous westerner who would rather flame posts online that go out and change the status quo.