HAMBURGER EYES

Photo by Graham Wiebe

I know, I know, I know. I was the main guy talking shit about social media, and now here I am back on it. I started a Hamburger Eyes Facebook Page. In order to unlock the extra features of Instagram, you have to have it.

The spying, the behavioral programming, the correlation between teen suicide and fomo, the vanity, the disgrace, all of it, I hate it. About a year ago I deleted multiple Twitter accts, multiple IG accts, multiple Tumblrs, Flickrs, and Facebooks. I had personal accts and Hamburger Eyes accts. I would start new accounts all the time for exploring new ideas, sometimes on my own and sometimes with friends.

In one day I deleted all of them, not disabled them or removed the apps from my phone. Deleted all the content first, then the accounts, as well as some of the email addresses associated with those accounts. I kept YouTube. I like making videos.

The plan was to just make zines, update blogs, and occasionally push out a video. I kept the email list so I can send out a news blast whenever pertinent.

There was lots of different reactions, “I’m gonna delete mine too,” or “You just killed your business.”

Our monthly sales did go down hill. Even though before I deleted everything I could prove that it should only be around 10% or less, it was more.

This all sounds like a disclaimer or a defensive standpoint, maybe it is, but here’s what it is. I want to do photography for a living. In order to do photography for a living you are either selling services like shooting and teaching, or you are selling products like books and zines. Personally, I prefer selling products.

Either way, “selling” is entrepreneurship. I could go the route of talking about social media is just marketing, and it is, but that sort of thinking is what soured me in the first place.

Before the internet, we would leave stacks of zines at cafes, record stores, and book stores. If I could sell them or consign them, I would. But if I couldn’t I would leave a stack for free for whoever wants them. My favorite was sneaking copies onto the shelves of the MOMA bookstore. Later people would be like, “I bought your zine at the MOMA.” And I am like how did they ring you up or even know what to charge for it, awesome though.

I would also mail a lot of copies to friends in different states. And then they would give copies to other photographers who want to be down. The best part of all of this is connecting with other photographers into the same type of photography.

And that’s my point. When I get an email from a kid in Puerto Rico or Jerusalem or Sydney saying they like Hamburger Eyes, then just that is enough to keep going. A lot of this correspondence happens through social media. This sorta does speak to the vanity of getting likes and comments, but it also speaks to finding and connecting and creating and collaborating.

I guess that what’s happening. It’s a battle between my personal concepts of social media vs what is Hamburger Eyes trying to accomplish. Both sides have matured a bit and the platforms themselves are figuring out better algorithms to make it a more pleasant experience. Photographers and photography outlets seem to be using it properly now and that is encouraging.

Hamburger Eyes is about to turn 18 years old and is coming into adult hood. I have surrendered to it. Now I’m really only here for when it gets arrested or hospitalized.

Photo by Chris Leskovsek

I was going to title this post “Quality Vs. Quantity” but I feel like we’ve talked about it already a bunch. My usual schpiel is that if you shoot a ton your photos will get better over time, but now I am realizing this is not really true. You have to be learning from the results, but learning is only intentional if you have a goal.

For instance, let’s say you want to shoot for the New York Times. You will have have to “develop” all sorts of skills. But if you are just shooting for Tumblr, there really is no pressure to quickly learn to make better photos, it’s totally casual.

Most of the work we get for Hamburger Eyes is from photographers attempting to cross the border from hobbyist to working professional. Or people that cross this border back and forth all the time like me. In fact I pretty much live at this bordertown and sometimes I think I should run for Mayor.

Within the emails I get, I see the main problem that people don’t think about properly is knowing why they want to cross at all in the first place. They don’t have clarity. I think you get clarity through action. You have to go out there and play with cameras, play with assignments, and play with different techniques. But really here is the real answer: you want to make a living doing what you love to do. That’s it.

At minimum, let’s say rent and bills is $2500 per month. Can you sell enough products and services to make this much or more on a monthly basis? This should be your primary goal if you want to make a living doing anything besides working a regular job.

Photo by Joshua Zucker

It is a dream to have Hamburger Eyes come out once a month. 120 pages every month. We have tried it many times with no success. I have been in hyper attack mode about making a production schedule for this entire year. That schedule includes regular postings on this site. You guys who have voted in the last poll have helped steer us in the right direction which makes it easier to figure out what to post on a weekly basis. So a huge thank you for that.

Looks like we will be featuring more photographers and writing more articles. Then once a month for new zines and books and will sprinkle in other things like videos and batches of photos. Thanks again!

Photo by Johnny Salas

I started trying to come up with more content ideas for this here website. But then I thought maybe I’d just ask what you would like to see. I like the feedback. For instance while we get the most comments on the written articles, some just want to watch more videos on famous photographers.

Here are the basic categories on the site. Vote on which ones you would like to see more of. After this voting, we can see where we can expand. You can select more than 1 choice.

Also, I put zines and books in the vote. That means you don’t care about website content at all, you just want us to put out more zines and books.

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Photo by David Root

I went to my friend’s house one time and he had been printing in his bathroom darkroom. His whole house smelled like stop bath. I don’t think it is the deadliest chemical in photography, but for sure it is the stinkiest. I told him he didn’t need to use it. He was somehow convinced that it was the most important ingredient and we argued for a bit. I said just do a straight water bath and change it often. He didn’t want to hear it.

A week went by and he said he looked it up and that I was right. While it is a good thing to stop development of a print before sticking it in the fixer, it isn’t necessary. Water worked just as good especially if you are just making rc prints and paying attention.

I bring this up because Happy New Years! It’s time to get to work and we think we might need more stuff to properly do what we are trying to do, but sometimes we don’t have all the right info. A new camera, a new lens, a printer. I’m guilty. I need everything. Guess what, we don’t need shit. We only need time and action. Let’s get busy. Let’s make stuff.