When I first started out in photography, I was fortunate to find a great stock agency to sign on with. The woman who ran it was very knowledgeable and provided tips on what to shoot and more importantly, perspectives from which to shoot. On one of my early visits, I asked for a list of subjects. Saguaro cacti at sunset was one of the items on the list.
When I returned about a month or two later with material to review, her response was less than enthused. She accepted a couple, but then said, “Can you find a postcard cactus?” “A What?” I replied. “A postcard cactus – you know, one with one arm on each side, but one side slightly lower.”
I had never heard that expression before, but apparently in the early days of postcards, someone had taken a picture of this type of cactus that sold very well. People then came to expect that all saguaro cacti looked like that. The state of Arizona has one on their standard issue license plate, but the previous red license plate had the perfect stereotype.
So the entire request went something like this: One saguaro cactus (of the postcard variety) without any others nearby…..close enough to recognize, but not filling the frame…..at the right angle so as to not cut off the base…..with generic looking mountains in the background…..and a spectacular sunset. Right.
In my travels, I eventually spotted a couple of these elusive cacti, but they were always in some location that involved scrambling – something I didn’t want to do with a flashlight. I was looking for “road kill“. The top shot is as close as I ever came to the complete request. Along the way, I encountered many beautiful, unique saguaros. One of these ended up being my best selling stock photograph by a huge margin.
For this week’s Daily Post Challenge: Quest
September 27, 2016 at 10:09 am
Beautiful photos! And too funny about how so very specific her request was.
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September 27, 2016 at 10:32 am
Thank you! She was getting feedback from clients as to why shots sold or didn’t sell, and would pass that info along. She always wanted the photographers to be more efficient, and in the end more profitable for us and her. It seemed more like an assignment at the time, but certainly funny now!
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September 28, 2016 at 5:46 pm
I was publishing director or DoP at two major stock agencies. Your editor was wrong. She was way too specific. I would rather see a collection of pictures that were your vision of an icon.
Postcard pictures should be thought of in this way. They are the first thing you shoot as you work the scene, but they are the last thing you submit.
Stock agency editors who want the same picture as their competitors offer are a big what of what killed the stock photography industry.
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September 28, 2016 at 9:58 pm
She had told me that there were many occasions when clients said they wanted something different and new, but when it came time to make a final selection, they went with the tried and true, aka boring. Because of this, she wanted to make sure we had our bases covered. There were quite a few times when she sold my work which was different from the pack.
I always shot with my vision in mind, and if I had time and saw an angle she suggested, I would take a couple shots that way. The one which did very well for me, Lone saguaro and distant thunderstorm, doesn’t fit the stereotype, so that was all the reasoning I needed.
I dealt with a publisher who was putting together books about the National Parks. His stock call went out to a lot of top photographers, and his comment to me was “You guys all seem to end up at the same places. It really comes down to who got there at the right time.” Maybe photographers were just as guilty as stock agencies in providing more of the same.
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September 27, 2016 at 10:49 am
Nice job on the postcard cacti. 🙂
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September 27, 2016 at 10:52 am
Thank you, Irene! Not such an easy task to find one, let alone the rest of the request.
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September 27, 2016 at 11:52 am
Amazing shots!
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September 27, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Thank you, Bloggerman!
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September 27, 2016 at 12:24 pm
Beautiful photos! Wish we had these in Vegas.
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September 27, 2016 at 2:08 pm
Thank you, John! The colder weather in Vegas (said with a laugh) is a bit much for these plants. Fortunately, there are Joshua Trees, which southern Arizona doesn’t have.
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September 27, 2016 at 1:15 pm
Simply stunning!
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September 27, 2016 at 1:57 pm
Thank you very much, Grammy!
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September 27, 2016 at 1:46 pm
A real long-lasting quest 😀
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September 27, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Yes it was, and eventually I realized I was just going to photograph all the unique ones I came across and forget about finding a ‘postcard’
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September 28, 2016 at 5:39 am
Give them hundreds and let them decide what suits “the frame”;)
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September 27, 2016 at 3:07 pm
Love the pics! Turned out to be a successful quest, I must say.
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September 27, 2016 at 3:22 pm
Thank you, Minu! The desert at sunset can be spectacular, whether I found the perfect cactus or not.
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September 27, 2016 at 6:02 pm
Isn’t funny how icons come into being? You never know! Great shots, Steve. My favorite is the SNP sunset – love that sky.
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September 27, 2016 at 11:09 pm
So true, much like new words that make the dictionary.
I’ve always liked the giant older saguaros like the ones in SNP more than the postcard types. Thank you, Eliza!
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September 29, 2016 at 2:25 am
Beautiful shots! I’d never heard the term roadkill applied to photos. It’s so appropriate, it made me laugh.
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September 29, 2016 at 6:33 pm
There’s no extra credit in photography for physical effort. As much as I enjoy hiking and getting into seldom seen territory, I’ll take roadkill any day. The only trouble with that is someone else might get the same shot.
Glad you got a laugh out of it, and thank you, Nadia!
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September 29, 2016 at 11:04 pm
I like your photos a lot. I found this story interesting as well, very nice post.
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October 1, 2016 at 11:06 am
Thank you! I’d like to believe there is a story that goes along with every photograph. Not a thousand words, but a story nonetheless. 🙂
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October 6, 2016 at 2:59 pm
They are all glorious; they all fit my frame… ❤
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October 8, 2016 at 10:40 am
Thank you very much!
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October 18, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Gorgeous! I see that Ray is your friend, too. Love the talent I see on WP.
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October 18, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Thank you MamaMickTerry! There are a lot of talented people on WP, and Ray is one of those I’ve come to know through the WP family.
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October 18, 2016 at 3:19 pm
I can’t wait to see more of your pictures!
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October 18, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Thank You! There are plenty in the archives from the last year-and-a-half if you have some time. 🙂
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October 18, 2016 at 3:48 pm
Awesome! I will look 🙂
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October 21, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Beautiful cacti photos.
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October 21, 2016 at 9:34 pm
Cacti are a subject I never tire of. Thank you, Cardinal. 🙂
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