PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CECILIA DE QUEROL
DEAR ASPP MEMBERS AND FRIENDS, Every year as the weather cools down, the photography season heats up in New York for a photo-intensive week of trade shows, conferences, and meetings. For the first time in many years, ASPP will join friends from the PLUS Coalition at the PhotoPLUS expo in NYC’s Jacob Javits Center, October 22–24. After a one-day breather, we travel to Jersey City for the two-day DMLA Conference, and then on October 28th, we’ll be with the image/footage/art buyers at Visual Connections at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea, Manhattan. Finally, on the day after Visual Connections, we will hold our annual day-long board meeting. It promises to be a rich and inspring time. Please take advantage of the many opportunities to seek out an ASPP table or booth, or to reach out to a board member: Tell us what we’re doing right, what we could be doing better, and how we should celebrate our 50th Anniversary in 2016! In 1966, the year ASPP was founded, the war in Vietnam was expanding and protests against the war were raging. During this time of great cultural, political, and technological upheaval, creativity blossomed. The use of photographs exploded in print media, as people turned to picture and news magazines to catch glimpses of what was happening. Textbooks used more photographs in their layouts as printing technology evolved and the value of images to “tell a thousand words” became more and more evident. Stock photography was a nascent industry, but picture professionals found themselves busier than ever and turned to each other for support and guidance. ASPP
was born, established by a group of picture professionals who realized the value of coming together as peers to be each other’s guides and interpreters. They reaped the benefits of networking to share professional techniques and creating the fellowship of like-minded businesspeople. The fifty years since have seen constant revolution and evolution. Excitement and bursts of creativity sparked by the new markets, techniques, and technologies mingled with fear and anxiety as old ways became obsolete and new paths were not always evident. But through it all, images still continue to be our window into the world—nonstop and from all angles. Among the billions of images that come our way these days, there are always those that stand out and reveal previously unseen aspects of our world, past and present, in all its beauty and horror, love and hate, sadness and joy. With one foot in the past, looking forward into the unknown of the future, ASPP will be here to help us all understand what’s happening, what’s going to happen, and what it means for picture professionals. As we approach our milestone anniversary, ASPP members continue to turn to each other for guidance, collegiality, and business connections. We will continue to do our best to bring you news, information, and insight via our events, this magazine, and our website. As always, I love hearing from you! Please send your ideas, inspirations, comments, questions, and suggestions to me at president@aspp.com.
CECILIA DE QUEROL ASPP.COM
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