What a million dollar potato photo has in common with Donald Trump
Jan 23, 2016 09:13:01 #
A man sold a photo of a potato. For a million dollars. You can see the photo below. I have superimposed the potato on Donald Trump's face.
More on that in a moment.
Why would anyone pay a million dollars for a photo of a potato? It's not even a real potato. It's merely a photo of one.
The guy who did it also charges $150,000 for headshots from dumb silicon valley types.
Abosch's iconic black backdrop shots have become something of a status symbol among the tech and entertainment elite. A simple portrait commission begins at $150,000 and can rise as high as $500,000 if commercial licensing comes into play. And this week, Abosch is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, because that's where all of his clients are.
The first breakthrough moment was in the 1990s, when he was working with CBS Records. The record company needed a photographer to shoot one of its bands and Abosch volunteered himself for the job. But when CBS asked to see his portfolio, Abosch realized he didn't have one. Instead, Abosch pulled up eight of his favorite pictures, which he always carried around, and negotiated a $2,500 salary for a half day of work not bad for a photographer's first gig.
Abosch says he arrived at the relatively high number because he read an article about one of Hollywood's most famous photographers, Herb Ritts, charging $10,000 a day. He told CBS he wanted a similar rate of $5,000 for the few-hour-long shoot. At first, CBS laughed and told him they could hire Ritts for that amount. Abosch replied, "Do you want Herb Ritts? Or do you want me?" CBS met him in the middle.
Since then, Abosch has had no trouble charging high prices for his time and work. And as more and more high-powered people ask him to take their photos, those prices keep getting met. Occasionally multiple people will go in on one of his pieces together, effectively time-sharing his art.
Last year he sold this photograph of a potato for 1 million Euros
Basically, he conned people into thinking he was a tremendous photographer. That's how he got some poor fool to pay a million dollars for a photo of a potato.
Donald Trump has done much the same thing. He has conned people with his charisma. All the contradictions in his record--his past support for a******n, i*****l a***ns, liberals, the Clintons, his long period of crony capitalism--means nothing. People want the potato, wh**ever the cost.
http://newsmachete.com/?news=1410
More on that in a moment.
Why would anyone pay a million dollars for a photo of a potato? It's not even a real potato. It's merely a photo of one.
The guy who did it also charges $150,000 for headshots from dumb silicon valley types.
Abosch's iconic black backdrop shots have become something of a status symbol among the tech and entertainment elite. A simple portrait commission begins at $150,000 and can rise as high as $500,000 if commercial licensing comes into play. And this week, Abosch is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, because that's where all of his clients are.
The first breakthrough moment was in the 1990s, when he was working with CBS Records. The record company needed a photographer to shoot one of its bands and Abosch volunteered himself for the job. But when CBS asked to see his portfolio, Abosch realized he didn't have one. Instead, Abosch pulled up eight of his favorite pictures, which he always carried around, and negotiated a $2,500 salary for a half day of work not bad for a photographer's first gig.
Abosch says he arrived at the relatively high number because he read an article about one of Hollywood's most famous photographers, Herb Ritts, charging $10,000 a day. He told CBS he wanted a similar rate of $5,000 for the few-hour-long shoot. At first, CBS laughed and told him they could hire Ritts for that amount. Abosch replied, "Do you want Herb Ritts? Or do you want me?" CBS met him in the middle.
Since then, Abosch has had no trouble charging high prices for his time and work. And as more and more high-powered people ask him to take their photos, those prices keep getting met. Occasionally multiple people will go in on one of his pieces together, effectively time-sharing his art.
Last year he sold this photograph of a potato for 1 million Euros
Basically, he conned people into thinking he was a tremendous photographer. That's how he got some poor fool to pay a million dollars for a photo of a potato.
Donald Trump has done much the same thing. He has conned people with his charisma. All the contradictions in his record--his past support for a******n, i*****l a***ns, liberals, the Clintons, his long period of crony capitalism--means nothing. People want the potato, wh**ever the cost.
http://newsmachete.com/?news=1410
Jan 23, 2016 10:18:05 #
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.