Peter Lik photo sells for 6.5 Million dollars

Peter Lik also shoots film, medium format panoramic, on occasion.

The biggest difference I think for the different values bestowed on Lik's vs Adams prints is first of all the generational gap. AIPP, PPI, fellowships, private galleries, etc were not around or not that common when Adams was prolific. Lik having been awarded highest awards from these organizations surely helped catapult his print value into orbit. Also, one that has baffled me for a long time is the fact that working photographers (Adams) don't get as high of praise in the fine art world. Adams, who cut his teeth and refined his craft as a newspaper photographer will likely be stuck in the segment he is in just because of it. He was a true master of his medium, no doubt, I enjoy his prints and even standing in the same place he did to take famous photos, but the "fine art" world will still not value ($$$) his work as highly as other esoteric art photographers.

So I've been doing some reading on this via other photography sites. It seems to be a consensus that there is no real proof that this photograph was ever even sold, especially for that amount of money. Lik seems to bee the modern Thomas Kinkade of the photography world. Mass producing commodity photography and using some questionable marketing practices to inflate the prices of his prints.

Edcculus said:

So I've been doing some reading on this via other photography sites. It seems to be a consensus that there is no real proof that this photograph was ever even sold, especially for that amount of money.

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It was purchased by this 17 year old high school student.

How much should I charge for this genuine jazzman original?

That is a terrific shot.

I would pay a C-note for a copy.

I live about 5 miles from where the image was taken. The hardest part about that image was getting exclusive access without a hundred other tourists jockeying for the exact same position this image was taken. What happens is someone is standing on the lip of the canyon and kicks some sand down into the shaft of light that hits there in the early afternoon. This is a digital print. Apparently it is a one off. I remember seeing this on his site as a color image. It is no longer there.

Below are two links why I am unimpressed with Lik.

http://www.lik.com/thework/canyons-arches/soultemple.html
http://www.lik.com/thework/canyons-arches/templeoffire.html

As you can see these are the same image. Neither says where the image was taken which is White House Ruin is Canyon De Chelly AZ. I'm just not impressed with this type of attitude. IMO it shows a lack of vision.

That being said, the man is quite the marketer and he is paying the bills doing what he loves. Can't fault the guy for that.

Edit: This link, about half way down the page has the color version I could not find on Lik's site.
http://petapixel.com/2014/12/10/exp...feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+PetaPixel+(PetaPixel)

It sure goes against the old skool, that's for sure. I'm one of those weirdos that rarely converts my color digital to b&w because it just feels weird. And I've shot enough film in enough cameras and subsequently developed it in my bathroom that b&w is still fun, but I don't tell people it's magical or timeless like I hear others do.

His color print in the red is pretty good too. It's a good composition. And as we know with slide film and digital, if you burn the highlights, there's nothing to work with. That's the major "Doh!" in the shot for me.

There's a ton of dudes who think really highly of themselves and their produced work. I will just say that I'm more of a fan of your Sam Abell, National Geographic types that go out of their way to expose properly and only deliver a photograph as it was shot. At least when we're talking about millions of dollars for a payout. Hole-in-one sort of rare perfection is what would demand high prices as opposed to a paid up copy of Nik Silver FX Pro to convert your color digital photos to b&w. I do like to mess with my digital photos though, and find it enjoyable to shift the colors for a look that I prefer in my head.

And yeah, I can't fault anyone for putting food on the table even if I'd never get along with them personally due to ethics or personality differences. I haven't been heavy into photo stuff in a few years now, but I used to love to hate on Ken Rockwell. I've grown past it now (I hope!)

ouch said:

It was purchased by this 17 year old high school student.

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So what's the story on this kid? Where does he get so much cash to toss around? Is he from some oil-rich state? Is he Royalty? Did he develop an Android app on his own and sell it for Big Bucks?

And I'm wondering what else he's purchased, too.

dpm802 said:

So what's the story on this kid? Where does he get so much cash to toss around? Is he from some oil-rich state? Is he Royalty? Did he develop an Android app on his own and sell it for Big Bucks?

And I'm wondering what else he's purchased, too.

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I think I found him:
http://nymag.com/news/articles/reasonstoloveny/2014/mohammed-islam-stock-trading/

But according to this article, the whole thing is a fake:
http://observer.com/2014/12/how-the-72-million-kid-duped-new-york-magazine/

I think that was Ouch's point. There is very little known about the sale and could be a lie. But...Maybe not.

natenaaron said:

I think that was Ouch's point.

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As always.