Peter Lik -LIKE or EEK?
Discussion
I'm not sure what to think of him really.
I've been looking at and quietly admiring his work for a few years ever since I went into one of his flagship galleries/shops in Key West.
I browsed the galley and genuinely came out thinking WOW, but the more I read into him the more I dislike him and his 'art'.
He is a monumental bell end really and completely up his own arse, and his shops are just there to sell as many photos to rich or gullible people as they can. They lure punters into thinking that they aren't simply buying a Peter Lik, but INVESTING in a Peter Lik, and looking after it for future generations and all that b
ks.
It simply isn't true because he sells so many of the damn things.
I watched an episode of Pawn Stars recently where some guy was wanting to sell one of the more popular Peter Lik pictures which had cost him $15,000 new and totally sold out a few years ago. In the end he took $5000 for it as he realised after the evidence was presented to him, that average Peter Lik stuff hadn't ever gone up in value... Quite the opposite.
I mean it's never going to be worth nothing, but people should just be aware that with mass produced photography prints the resale is always going to be limited and they should be buying it because they like it, and not because it's an investment.
But I still like his work and would gladly have one on my wall. I would probably pay £1000 or so and not much more, but that's just me.
I've been looking at and quietly admiring his work for a few years ever since I went into one of his flagship galleries/shops in Key West.
I browsed the galley and genuinely came out thinking WOW, but the more I read into him the more I dislike him and his 'art'.
He is a monumental bell end really and completely up his own arse, and his shops are just there to sell as many photos to rich or gullible people as they can. They lure punters into thinking that they aren't simply buying a Peter Lik, but INVESTING in a Peter Lik, and looking after it for future generations and all that b
ks.It simply isn't true because he sells so many of the damn things.
I watched an episode of Pawn Stars recently where some guy was wanting to sell one of the more popular Peter Lik pictures which had cost him $15,000 new and totally sold out a few years ago. In the end he took $5000 for it as he realised after the evidence was presented to him, that average Peter Lik stuff hadn't ever gone up in value... Quite the opposite.
I mean it's never going to be worth nothing, but people should just be aware that with mass produced photography prints the resale is always going to be limited and they should be buying it because they like it, and not because it's an investment.
But I still like his work and would gladly have one on my wall. I would probably pay £1000 or so and not much more, but that's just me.
RobDickinson said:
His self beleive and cut throat business skills are something else.
His photography is average and often very photoshopped ( and not even by him).
That stupid moon shot he insists is one frame and took forever to get is just a joke.
this one?His photography is average and often very photoshopped ( and not even by him).
That stupid moon shot he insists is one frame and took forever to get is just a joke.
incredible anyone tries to pass it off as genuine!
Yep - 'Bella Luna'. As a 'shot' its impossible.
Here is his release text on the image :
"This shot has eluded me my entire photographic career. I have spent years trying to perfect this
image, there are so many variables you don’t even think about. It’s a really touchy image, but when it all
lines up, the result is out of this world… literally. I have drawer full of transparencies that I have shot
over decades that just didn’t cut it. I tried all the variables; different lenses, exposures, compositions,
times, then much to my frustration the results back from the lab were always disappointing.
The remoteness of Kadachrome Basin in Utah was an obvious choice to finally nail this elusive
image; remote, clean air, and a selection of cliff tops to shoot from. I had been watching the
phase of the moon and tonight the moon was close to full. I had a specific composition in my
mind and I searched for days to line up this classic tree with the moon. Tonight I hope it all comes
together. It was a long night but I knew at some point my perseverance would be rewarded.
I was white knuckled as I set up the mammoth lens, filling the viewfinder with this balanced scene,
the tree framed amongst the rocks and the low lying clouds added to the tension… this had to
work. The desert silence was stunning, my pulse raced, I could hear the blood running through my
veins. Then, I saw the horizon starting to glow. The golden sphere slowly rose in front of me. I was
totally stunned. I couldn’t believe it. So connected to this lunar giant that I was trembling. Such
an impact on my life. I pressed the shutter, a feeling I’ll never forget. The moon, tree, and earth.
I hope to share with you this amazing connection I had on this special evening
with the moon, that affects our lives. It certainly affected mine.
-Peter Lik"
Here is his release text on the image :
"This shot has eluded me my entire photographic career. I have spent years trying to perfect this
image, there are so many variables you don’t even think about. It’s a really touchy image, but when it all
lines up, the result is out of this world… literally. I have drawer full of transparencies that I have shot
over decades that just didn’t cut it. I tried all the variables; different lenses, exposures, compositions,
times, then much to my frustration the results back from the lab were always disappointing.
The remoteness of Kadachrome Basin in Utah was an obvious choice to finally nail this elusive
image; remote, clean air, and a selection of cliff tops to shoot from. I had been watching the
phase of the moon and tonight the moon was close to full. I had a specific composition in my
mind and I searched for days to line up this classic tree with the moon. Tonight I hope it all comes
together. It was a long night but I knew at some point my perseverance would be rewarded.
I was white knuckled as I set up the mammoth lens, filling the viewfinder with this balanced scene,
the tree framed amongst the rocks and the low lying clouds added to the tension… this had to
work. The desert silence was stunning, my pulse raced, I could hear the blood running through my
veins. Then, I saw the horizon starting to glow. The golden sphere slowly rose in front of me. I was
totally stunned. I couldn’t believe it. So connected to this lunar giant that I was trembling. Such
an impact on my life. I pressed the shutter, a feeling I’ll never forget. The moon, tree, and earth.
I hope to share with you this amazing connection I had on this special evening
with the moon, that affects our lives. It certainly affected mine.
-Peter Lik"
I'm sure I've got some big pictures of the moon somewhere, and there are some trees near where I live. I've already got a picture of a night sky with some red clouds, but are they supposed to go in front of the moon or behind it? I can never remember. Also I need to find out which way up the moon is supposed to be.
I have Photoshop though. Being out so close to the moon is so romantic, the tug of the tides rules all our lives. Waiting so long to caress the shutter and commit that one image to, er, a load of bits is like a sexual tension in my soul.
D'oh, I haven't got a gallery to sell them in.
I have Photoshop though. Being out so close to the moon is so romantic, the tug of the tides rules all our lives. Waiting so long to caress the shutter and commit that one image to, er, a load of bits is like a sexual tension in my soul.
D'oh, I haven't got a gallery to sell them in.
I wouldn't say he's the best landscape photographer I've seen by a long chalk. However, he gives people what they want, big bold colours, big images to hang on their walls and the speel that goes with it i.e. it's all art, only uses film, no Photoshop etc etc, despite some of these things being clearly untrue.
I do respect the sheer front of the bloke and his ability to sell prints, no doubt it takes a lot of effort to keep your name right out there always being mentioned.
I do respect the sheer front of the bloke and his ability to sell prints, no doubt it takes a lot of effort to keep your name right out there always being mentioned.
http://www.peterlikexposed.com
I don't know who owns or runs the above site as its not the official Lik website, but it's worth a quick read if you are bored because it's so funny.
It's the website equivalent of a 'reach around'.
Packed with phrases like 'the Master Photographer has reached stratospheric new heights'
I don't know who owns or runs the above site as its not the official Lik website, but it's worth a quick read if you are bored because it's so funny.
It's the website equivalent of a 'reach around'.
Packed with phrases like 'the Master Photographer has reached stratospheric new heights'
Amusingly I just found this article which is dated yesterday, which backs up what I said early in the thread about his work having pretty much no investment or resale value.
http://news.artnet.com/in-brief/new-york-times-exp...
http://news.artnet.com/in-brief/new-york-times-exp...
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