LOOK3 Festival Shuttered

Photo District News is reporting that the LOOK3 photo festival, held for the last decade or so in Charlottesville, will not continue due to financial issues.

This was on my bucket list for a long time, the line up was always intriguing and the atmosphere, reportedly, amazing.

But I’ve also heard there was minimal, if any, discussion on the business of photography. Every venture has risks involved, markets move on from where you’ve staked your claim. The key is in making sure you’re able to survive those market moves.

Without a sound footing in the business of photography, you won’t succeed. I hope there’s something new that comes along, that the organizers take what they’ve learned and build a new program, one that will continue to be supported by the industry, that will draw in amazing storytellers and have them talk about how to both make the images and how to market the images in a sustainable way.

Maybe call it LOOK4Ward … to the rest of your career.

(Thanks to John Harrington for the lede.)