I knew it was bad, but not THIS bad. I probably was trying to convince myself that everywhere else was the same, and that this was normal. Being Miami such an Image-Driven City, with iconic South Beach and Little Havanna, and the many model agencies operating in the area, you would think that Photography is everywhere, but -besides a handful of oasis- it can be really dissapointing to try to get photographic equipment or related services locally and many times I end up getting them online.
Also and during almost every single one of my photographic excursions in Miami, I have always sensed some type of hostility in the air. It is like the paparazzi have paved the road to doom for all shooters in this area. I was just taking innocent shots last week of some fuel tanks that I thought might be useful for stock when a guy came asking me for my "Press Pass". When I replied to him that I did not need one to take editorial material, he shifted his argument to "you have to leave". I was still surprised when this week Popphoto published on their online edition a"Photo-Friendly cities" survey. 30 cities, ranked on several factors such as number of parks and zoos, number of camera stores and photo finishers, museums and galleries with photographs, and number of private security companies operating in the city. Miami is not even on the list!
Maybe we were not even considerd, but hey, Isn't that bad already?
Here is an idea for stimulating the economy: Make Miami a Photo-Friendly city and promote its many premium locations for photoshoots. We have already many ammenities, access to our city is easy from anywhere in the US and many South American countries, we have plenty of sunshine and sometimes dramatic weather du jour.
(This is a reprint of an earlier article on The Examiner)
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